Seattle in select group bucking inventory trend

While the number of homes for sale rose 4.3 percent in June to 1.9 million, the highest national level in the past year, Seattle and a few other cities are bucking the trend.

According to newly-released housing data from realtor.com, housing inventory is finally reversing course following two years of decline. More homeowners are seeing rising prices and may be more apt to try to sell their homes.

However, inventories of homes for sale remain far below last year’s level in markets such as Seattle (down 23.2 percent), Boston (down 35.1 percent), Denver (down 30.1 percent), Detroit (down 25.7 percent), and San Francisco (down 21.7 percent).

The number of homes for sale has risen the most in the past year in areas that had seen the largest declines, such as Sacramento, Calif. (up 11 percent), Atlanta (up 10.9 percent), Phoenix (up 6.2 percent), and Miami (up 2.2 percent). From May to June, inventories soared by the highest month-over-month amounts in Southern California, with inventories up 51.5 percent in Orange County, 45.7 percent in Los Angeles, and 18.1 percent in San Diego, according to realtor.com.

Realtor.com also reported that the median national asking price climbed 0.5 percent in June from May, reaching $199,900. Median asking prices are up by 5 percent over last year.