On the eve of the spring buying season, the number of homes listed for sale on realtor.com was down 11 percent in February compared to the same time a year ago.
Only 30 out of 200 markets tracked in the realtor.com National Housing Trend Report saw listing inventories increase from a year ago.
Metros experiencing double-digit percentage drops in for-sale listings included Dallas (-31.4 percent), Denver (-26.8 percent), Omaha (-26.6 percent), Houston (-24.5 percent), Washington, D.C. (-23.6 percent), San Francisco (-19.7 percent), Phoenix (-18.9 percent), Seattle (-13.4 percent), San Diego (-13.2 percent), St. Louis (-12 percent), Boston (-11.7 percent), and Salt Lake City (-11.4 percent).
Top 10 markets with the greatest annual decrease in realtor.com inventory, February 2015
| Market | Change from year ago |
Number of listings |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. | -36.7% | 1,694 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla. | -36.0% | 1,960 |
| Manchester-Nashua, N.H. | -34.3% | 1,795 |
| Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. | -32.3% | 9,152 |
| Sherman-Denison, Texas | -31.7% | 596 |
| Springfield, Ill. | -31.6% | 818 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas | -31.4 | 15,873 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y. | -30.3% | 3,134 |
| Port St. Lucie, Fla. | -29.7% | 4,545 |
| Chico, Calif. | -28.7% | 548 |
Source: realtor.com
Realtor.com counted 1.59 million homes on the market across the nation last month, up 1.2 percent from January, with median list price up 8.6 percent from a year ago to $214,000. Median days on market was down 6.9 percent from a year ago, to 102.
Top 10 markets with greatest annual increase in realtor.com inventory, February 2015
| Market | Change from year ago | Number of listings |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill. | 22.4% | 1,990 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif. | 19.8% | 8,857 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. | 11.9% | 13,662 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J. | 10.7% | 4,294 |
| East Stroudsburg, Pa. | 8.9% | 2,442 |
| Prescott, Ariz. | 8.3% | 2,258 |
| York-Hanover, Pa. | 7.6% | 2,593 |
| Urban Honolulu, Hawaii | 7.2% | 3,265 |
| Panama City, Fla. | 7.0% | 3,161 |
| Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio | 7.0% | 1,925 |
Source: realtor.com
According to the latest numbers from CoreLogic, 5.4 million homes were “underwater” at the end of December, and another 10 million homeowners were classified as “under-equitied,” meaning they had less than 20 percent equity in their homes.
“Borrowers who are ‘under-equitied’ may have a more difficult time refinancing their existing homes or obtaining new financing to sell and buy another home due to underwriting constraints,” CoreLogic warned.
Top 10 realtor.com markets by listing count, February 2015
| Market | Change from year ago |
Number of listings |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. | -0.1% | 74,989 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. | -3.1% | 48,734 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. | 0.0% | 41,660 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. | 0.0% | 38,728 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | 0.0% | 29,509 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. | -18.9% | 21,309 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. | 0.0% | 20,142 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. | -11.1% | 19,387 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. | 0.0% | 19,377 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich. | 5.7% | 18,779 |
Source: realtor.com
