Inventory declines for 17th straight month

The number of nationwide home listings continued to slip for the 17th straight month, according to a study by ZipRealty, a national real estate brokerage. The number fell 2.42 percent in November compared to October, and is down 27.64 percent year-over-year.

ZipRealty's November Housing Inventory Index is a monthly report of homes listed for sale on multiple listing services (MLSs) in the 27 major U.S. metropolitan areas surveyed. There were 579,413 single-family home and condo listings within all 27 markets tracked in November, down from 593,794 in October.

Markets with the most significant year-over-year inventory declines have seen median list price increases over the same period, ZipRealty reported. They include San Diego and Los Angeles, both with a 53.7 percent inventory decline; the San Francisco Bay Area, at 51.8 percent; Las Vegas, at 51 percent; and Phoenix, with a 40.7 percent decline.

Markets with the most significant month-over-month inventory declines: Boston, down 8.5 percent; Minneapolis-St. Paul at 6 percent; Washington, D.C., down 5 percent, Denver at 4.4 percent and Chicago at 4 percent.

Due to a high concentration of distressed properties, several markets experienced a rise in inventory in November as compared to October, including Tucson, Ariz., up 2.6 percent; Las Vegas, up 1.3 percent; and Orlando, Fla., up 0.6 percent. The Las Vegas increase was the first in 12 months, with a 1.86 percent month-over-month increase tracked in the same months last year.

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