For-sale real estate inventory rises 11.2% in December

More homeowners listed their homes for sale in December compared to the same month the year before, according to a report from national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

The number of multiple listing service listings for single-family homes and condominiums in 26 major markets rose 11.2 percent year-over-year in December, to 595,922 total.

Four out of the five markets experiencing the highest annual jumps in inventory are in California, and the fifth is in foreclosure-ridden Las Vegas, which saw its for-sale listings jump 50 percent.

Month-to-month, inventory has fallen four straight months, down 5.3 percent in December. All but one out of the 26 markets experienced a monthly drop. Orlando, Fla., remained essentially flat both month-to-month and year-over-year with 20,878 for-sale homes.

Chicago had the biggest inventory by volume in December, at 59,958 homes.

Total overall inventory peaked for the year in September 2010, with 675,872 homes for sale.

Five markets with the highest year-over-year growth in for-sale inventory:

1. San Diego: 65.9 percent, to 11,325 homes.

2. San Francisco Bay Area: 50.9 percent, to 19,620 homes.

3. Las Vegas: 50 percent, to 17,090 homes.

4. Orange County, Calif.: 38.2 percent, to 9,806 homes.

5. Los Angeles: 36.1 percent, to 50,517 homes.

Five markets with sharpest month-to-month drop in for-sale inventory:

1. Boston: -14.4 percent, to 28,365 homes.

2. San Francisco Bay Area: -12.8 percent, to 19,620 homes.

3. Washington, D.C.: -8.5 percent, to 30,762 homes.

4. Richmond, Va.: -7.8 percent, to 8,205 homes.

5. Seattle: -7.7 percent, to 26,384 homes.

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