Housing Inventory Down 22% From Year-Ago Levels

At the national level, the inventory of for-sale single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses, and co-ops dropped by 22.29 percent over the last year, according to new statistics released by Realtor.com.

The site concludes that at the close of 2011, there were 1.89 million single-family homes on the market, down 6 percent from just one month prior.
The median age of the inventory in December increased by 7.02 percent from November, but Realtor.com says the
bump is largely seasonal reflecting the end of the homebuying season.
The median age of existing inventory during December was 122 days, which is down nearly 4 percent when compared to a year ago.
Realtor.com notes that median list prices, which have remained essentially unchanged since June, are up by 5.03 percent nationally on a year-over-year basis.
Each of these developments can be viewed as “a positive sign that the housing market is holding its own at the national level,” according to Realtor.com.
Patterns differed across the 146 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) monitored by Realtor.com. Over the past several months, the site reports an increasing number of markets have registered year-over-year increases in median list prices while fewer markets have experienced year-over-year declines.
Still, markets remain fragile, according to Realtor.com, particularly in light of the large number of potential foreclosures and the recent uptick in delinquency rates in November.