IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

September 2008

New Listings Information

The level of the homes-for-sale inventory is one of the key pieces of information to understanding the current real estate market. The significance of the NEW Listing Information contained in this article is subtle, but important. The quantity of new listings for the most recent four months has been almost identical to the corresponding quantity a year ago.

Historical Perspective

NEW Listings have now been above the norm for the last thirty-one months and continue there, even though this count for the last eight months has been slightly lower than the numbers a year ago.

New listings data counts the listings that are new to the market within the past month and does not include the listings that continue on the market past the month in which they were listed in. Please note that the January 2008 data appears directly on top of the January 2007 data because they are so close.

Recent Trends

The rapid climb of new listings started in mid-2005 and continues to exceed any previous numbers for that same calendar month for years prior to 2005.

Commentary

This out-of-the-ordinary growth in NEW Listings has been much of the driver behind the current market situation. The above graph illustrates a change in market behavior more clearly - and earlier - than the total listing count graph in the article titled “August ARMLS Reports”. This graph also allows the reader to more clearly see the impact of the month-by-month calendar cycle.

To keep you up-to-date on listings, see our other related Resale Articles in this issue of the
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS Newsletter.

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