Housing inventory levels are down nationwide while home prices remain relatively staid.
This trend suggests sellers are generally reluctant to put their homes on the market, according to online real estate platform Movoto.com.
Movoto claims in a new blog that prices remain low, despite a general lack of inventory, because investors are grabbing foreclosed properties and banks have slowed down their foreclosure processes.
New inventory is not reaching the market because underwater homeowners simply cannot afford to sell in a buyer’s market.
Movoto conducted research across 50 large cities and found that in Las Vegas – a market racked by the foreclosure crisis – inventory is down 66%, with only 3,278 homes on the market, compared to 9,704 homes a year earlier. Inventory in Las Vegas has dropped steadily since July of 2011. In addition, San Francisco inventory levels fell 65% when compared to a year earlier.
Miami’s inventory levels are down 62% from last year. In 2011, the city had 13,767 homes on the market. Today, it has only 5,274. Fresno’s inventory levels also fell 52% year over year, with the city’s inventory falling from 1,583 homes to just 753.
