Weekly Special | November 2, 2015

Year Over Year Inventory Declines Are Helping

The number of listings in the Tallahassee MLS is declining, and it is not merely the result of normal seasonal trends.

While it is common to see the number of listings decline at this time of year, the reduction is occurring at a faster rate than in the previous two years.

The graph above measures fresh new listings entering the market (fresh means that have not been listed for sale in the past three years), and October makes the ninth month of the year where year over year fresh listings declined.

The orange shaded area measures the number of fresh distressed listings (foreclosures, bank owned properties, short sales, etc.), while the blue shaded area measures the number of fresh arms-length listings (arms length means the seller is not attempting a distressed sale). Overall, the fresh listings are seeing a continued reduction of distressed properties, where roughly one of every six fresh new listings is distressed.

Why This Is Good News The reduction in inventory has helped homeowners begin to recapture the equity lost during the collapse of the real estate market.

As more homeowners regain equity, we will see more people find themselves in a position where they can sell their homes and buy a new one. Currently, we are seeing this result in the growing pace of home sales, which in turn results in helping our local economy recover and expand.

The original one-page Weekly Special PDF is still available.