Short Term Inventory Trends Show Growth February 25, 2010

By closely monitoring the short term inventory trends in the Tallahassee housing market, we see evidence that we are poised to see the number of homes for sale in Tallahassee start to grow again, as home sellers begin to enter the spring selling season.

Last month, I was pleasantly surprised to see that our short term inventory trends (30 day rolling average) still showed inventory reduction, but we have finally succumbed to the normal seasonal growth that usually runs from February through May.

What this means is that over the past 30 days, more homes have entered the market than have departed. Real estate inventory levels have risen. The short term inventory trends help identify current seasonal changes, if any.

The graph above shows new inventory in red, departing (homes that sold, expired, canceled, etc.) in green, and the difference is shown in yellow. When the red is higher than the green, we see short term inventory trends grow, while when all we see is green, housing levels fall. Right now, the pattern is showing seasonal growth.

Normally, this occurs in the spring months, as many home sellers enter the market to time their home sales with school schedules. The past two years we saw this occur at the end of January.

Look for seasonal growth to continue and put more pressure on home prices. While this short term inventory trend increase is normal, we really need the reduction to return so that we can continue whittling away at the glut.

Great Tallahassee Real Estate Resources

Do you want to know more about the Tallahassee real estate market? The following are some of the best resources that you can find on Tallahassee real estate:

• Daily Real Estate Blog (A Technorati Top 100): Tallahassee Real Estate Blog
• Current Housing Reports: Housing Market Reports
• Map Based Property Search Tool: MLS Property Search
• Foreclosure Reports: Lis Pendens and Foreclosures
• List of Distressed Properties in the MLS: Distressed Properties
• REALTOR® news and updates: Successful REALTORS®