Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, February 21, 2012

In a growing number of housing markets, sellers are facing less competition now compared to a year ago.Inventory of for-sale homes has dropped by about 23 percent compared to this time last year, and fell by 6 percent alone from December 2011 to January 2012, according to Realtor.com data.

The age of the inventory is also declining, and is nearly 5 percent below levels last January.

The median age of for-sale housing inventory is lowest — 69 days or less — in Oakland, Calif.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Denver; Fresno, Calif.; Stockton-Lodi, Calif. and Phoexnis-Mesa, Ariz., according to January data from Realtor.com.

Meanwhile, as inventory is falling, the median list price has been on the rise: up nationally more than 3 percent year-over-year.

“Over the past year, an increasing number of markets have registered year-over-year increases in median list prices while fewer markets have experienced year-over-year list price declines,” a statement by Realtor.com notes.

The metro areas with the highest increases to median list prices year-over-year, from January 2011 to January 2012 are: 

1. Miami, Fla.: 32.75%
Median list price (in January 2012): $265,500

2. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.: 21%
Median list price: $229,900

3. Punta Gorda, Fla.: 19%
Median list price: $179,000

4. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla: 18.6%
Median list price: $224,150

5. Boise City, Idaho: 18.15%
Median list price: $151,228

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine Daily News