Oakland sees biggest drop in available home inventory in the nation (Fresno: for sale, real estate)

[18Montclair]

Interesting.

Oakland, CA=Alameda & Contra Costa County

The nationwide inventory of residential homes for-sale dropped 21 percent in March compared to a year ago, according to newly released housing data from Realtor.com, tracking 146 metro markets.

In fact, all 146 markets posted a drop in their inventory, except for two — Hartford, Conn., and Philadelphia.

The nationwide median list price in March also saw improvement, increasing more than 5 percent last month compared to last year at this time.

The housing picture is much different than last year at this time, when inventory was up 26 percent and list prices were down 4.81 percent.

“If the market continues to hold its own, 2012 could well mark the beginning of a broad-based housing recovery,” according to Realtor.com.

The metros that posted the biggest drops in listings of for-sale homes in the last year are:
1. Oakland, Calif.: -51.91 percent year-over-year drop in total listings
2. Bakersfield, Calif.: -50.35 percent
3. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: -48 percent
4. Fresno, Calif.: -45.56 percent
5. Miami: -42.34 percent
6. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: -39.66 percent
7. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.: -39.38 percent
8. Atlanta: -39.26 percent
9. Orlando: -39 percent
10. Portland-Vancouver, Ore.-Wash.: -38.79 percent
11. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.: -37.35 percent
12. Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: -36.18 percent

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine Daily News

39% Drop in Seattle Real Estate Inventory: U.S. Homes Available For Sale Down 21% | Seattle Waterfront Homes - seattlepi.com

[baybook]

and you think this means?? Significant how?

[mayorhaggar]

Seeing some Central Valley and Florida towns on the list is a good sign, they were destroyed by the housing bubble.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Seeing some Central Valley and Florida towns on the list is a good sign, they were destroyed by the housing bubble.

Yeap.

This signifies movement in the housing market, which is a major sign that the economy is improving.

[DMenscha]

Even in my little corner of the world the inventory is down significantly. Not much choice for buyers.

Supply and demand seem to indicate a firming in prices, if not an actual increase.

[Shelacious]

^I've noticed this anecdotally. I get daily email on houses for sale in the zip codes and neighborhoods I'm interested in around Oakland and San Leandro, and I've seen a marked decrease in the availability at my price point over the past eight months. I attributed that to the normal ebb and flow of the sales cycle, but maybe it's something more.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

A (temporarily) under-priced (relative to the overall metro) close in place with good transit. It was inevitable.

[Bulldogdad]

CoreLogic Reports Shadow Inventory as of January 2012 Remains Flat