RealEstateEconomyWatch.com

Sales in November were 8.1 percent higher than a year ago but year over year sales have slipped from increase of 18 percent increase in August and 13.1 percent in July.

November home prices were 1.4 percent higher than they were in October. However, prices remained 4.2 percent lower than they were in November last year, the November RE/MAX National Housing Report, a survey of housing data from 53 metropolitan areas,

The RE/MAX survey found that the number of homes for sale, or inventory, fell for the seventeenth^h straight month. The average inventory of homes-for-sale in the 53 metro areas surveyed dropped 8.3 percent from October and 23.7 percent from November last year. Given the current rate of sales, and the active inventory, the resulting months supply is 7.8, just slightly higher than the 7.7 reported last month, but significantly lower than the 10 month supply seen in November 2010. months supply is the number of months it would take to clear a market’s active inventory at the current rate of sales. A six-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

“This market is trying hard to stabilize itself with home sales significantly stronger than one year ago, even though we are entering the holiday season when sales traditionally decline,” said Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX, LLC. “With sales trending higher and inventory falling, we would expect the result to be rebounding prices when we enter the stronger selling season next spring and summer.”

In this month’s survey of 53 metro areas, 33 showed price increases from October, while 9 reported increases over November last year, including: Orlando, FL +8.5 percent, Miami, FL +6.1 percent, Detroit, MI +5.9 percent, Houston, TX +2.6 percent, and Denver, CO +2.3 percent.