Housing Market Show Signs Of Making a Recovery

The number of homes offered for sale in 18 major metro areas declined 1.2% in October from September - a positive signal for the overall housing market.
By Lauren Baier Kim: The Wall Street Journal Online
Plus, prices rise in Los Angeles; Baltimore, Md., sees the weakest housing market in six years, homeowners aren't selling in Nantucket, Mass.; and more in a weekly roundup of real-estate news on the Web.

Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)

Home Inventories Fall in October

U.S. home inventories dipped slightly (1.2%) in October from September, a sign that the housing market is making a positive adjustment, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal Online. However, the number of homes for sale is still significantly higher than year-earlier levels, the article says. Use an interactive tool to track home inventories in 15 U.S. cities. Areas seeing the biggest drops in the number of homes offered for sale include Sacramento, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay region, the article says.

Recovery for Los Angeles Market?

The median home price in California's Los Angeles County rose 4.5% in October from a year ago to $514,000, a sign that the local real-estate market may be stabilizing, according to an article by the Los Angeles Times. That rise in appreciation is greater than the 3% year-over-year increase seen in September, the article says. However, home sales continued to drop, falling 21.8% in October from October 2005's levels, the paper says. However, that decrease was less than the 28% year-over-year decrease seen in September, the Times says.

Albuquerque Is a Buyer's Market

The housing market in Albuquerque, N.M., may be tipped against sellers at the moment - in September, the number of existing homes on the market - 4,695 - was more than double a year earlier, says The Albuquerque Tribune. However, home prices continue to rise, the newspaper says. The median home price in the city rose 34% between 2003 and the second quarter of this year, from $138,400 to $185,400 - a gain much lower that the type of gains seen in places in the Northeast and on the coasts during the same time period, the paper says. These more moderate price increases may be why the area hasn't seen big dips in housing prices, the Tribune says.

Buyers have the edge in Albuquerque, N.M., where home inventories in September were more than double a year-earlier's levels.

Sales Are Down in Nantucket

The number of homes sold in Nantucket, Mass., dropped 42% (from 173 to 102) in the third quarter from third quarter 2005 levels, says an article by The Inquirer and Mirror. However, the median price rose from the same period the year before to $1.6 million, the article says. Current home asking prices on the island range from $495,000 for a townhouse in Madaket to $23 million for the estate of ex-Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski, the paper says. Despite the slowdown, homes are selling within 6% of their listing price, and real-estate agents are advising their clients that if they don't need to sell, they should hold off placing their homes for sale until the market heats up again, the article says.

Homeowners Delay Selling in Twin Cities

After seeing five years of percentage gains in the double digits for housing prices, the Minneapolis-St. Paul, real-estate market is showing signs of slowing, says the Star Tribune. As a result, some homeowners are opting not to put their properties up for sale, which was reflected in October's dip in the number of new listings, the paper says. That month, listings were down 4.4%, closed sales fell 19.6% and the median sales price dropped 1% to $228,000, the paper says. Because many potential sellers are waiting out the market, local real-estate prices shouldn't drop significantly in the next few months, sources quoted by the Star Tribune say.

Baltimore Experiences Weakest Market in Six Years

This autumn, the Baltimore housing market experienced its weakest October since 2000, with the number of homes sold down more than 22% from a year earlier, the Baltimore Sun says. For the fifth month in a row, the area experienced an increase in home prices that was under 10%, the newspaper says, with the average sale price in Baltimore and five surrounding counties rising by just 3.15% to $307,190. Potential buyers are holding off on making a purchase in the hopes of seeing lower home prices and mortgage rates, the paper says. A local economist quoted by the Sun says he doesn't expect a turnaround in the local market until the middle of next year.