|
Existing Home Inventory
|
. |
|
|
 |
| MOST RECENT STATISTIC: |
3,289,000 |
|
|
| GRADE: |
C- |
| PERIOD COVERED: |
Dec. 2009 |
| Date Released: |
01/25/10 |
|
|
|
| Next Release: |
02/26/10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12/09 |
11/09 |
10/09 |
12/08 |
|
|
| Inventory (000s) |
3,289 |
3,521 |
3,565 |
3,700 |
|
| % Change |
- |
(6.6%) |
(7.7%) |
(11.1%) |
|
| Months of Supply |
7.2 |
6.5 |
7.0 |
9.4 |
|
| % Change |
- |
10.8% |
2.9% |
(23.4%) |
|
|
| Source:
National Association of Realtors |
Analysis for the Housing Market
By:Ken Lee
Existing home inventory levels posted its fifth consecutive month of declines in December. Inventory of existing homes dropped 6.6% percent to a preliminary 3,289,000 units from 3,521,000 units in November. This is the lowest level of existing home inventory units on the market since March 2006. December's inventory level is 11.1% lower than the 3.700 million units of inventory a year ago. Existing home inventory has recorded year-over-year declines for the past seventeen straight months. Recent increases in sales activity due to lower rates and the extended homebuyer tax credit have helped to improve inventory levels. The tax credit has been extended until the end of April and expanded to include existing primary homeowners which will further help existing home sales and continue to drawdown inventory levels in the coming months.
Months of existing home inventory increased in December due to a sharp pullback in sales activity. At the current sales pace, there are 7.2 months of supply of existing homes on the market compared to 6.5 months in November. This was the first time since April that months of inventory has increased.
Definitions and Importance for the Housing Market
By:Ken Lee
Existing home inventory figures are closely watched by homebuilders and lenders. Housing inventory is a seasonally adjusted number of existing homes available for sale at the end of each month. Months-of-supply is the number of months it would take to sell the housing inventory based on the current annualized sales rate.
The inventory of existing homes is an excellent indicator of housing demand. The direction of change in inventory levels is an early indicator of the health of the housing market.
For more information on existing home sales, go to: http://www.realtor.org/Research.nsf/Pages/EHSdata
For information on new home inventory at the metropolitan level, see the Market Monitor or New Home Executive Summary at
www.hwmarketintelligence.com.
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