Alameda Home Inventory at 42 Week Low

The headline is a bit deceptive, because I started tracking inventory 42 weeks ago and this week it reached an all time low since I started writing the blog. The point is a downward trend in Inventory has started and it has been consistently dropping.

Inventory has been a steady decline since July 19 when it reached a high of 179 units. As of today, Alameda Inventory has reached a low of 131 units, a 27 percent drop since the middle of summer. If you look at the red trend line on the graph below, you will see for the first time it has pivoted down.

Link to Larger Chart

The current level of single family residences is just 86 units, and if you are looking for three bedrooms or more with at least two bathrooms you have just 63 homes to choose from in this market. If you are particular to one zip code the 94501 has 48 homes and the 94502 has 15 homes in this category.

The inventory news has a positive side because homes have been selling. In August, 52 homes sold making it the best sales month since July of last year. Although the numbers do not match the sales of years past, it was good to see that the traditional selling season have a positive month.

The downside to the inventory number is there is not a lot of home to choose from. Buyers have to react quickly to new listed homes if they are price well and are desirable. These types of properties are moving fairly well. What is staying on the market is homes in the very high end and properties that are not in good condition.

So if you are shopping for a home your selection is thin.

With the traditional selling season coming to a close it will be interesting to see what the next few weeks and months bring the Alameda housing market.

Inventory for September 7

. . 9/7/2009 . Total 131 . 94501 104 . 94502 27 . SFR 86 . Condo 26 . Multi-Family 17 . Short Sale 12 . Foreclosure 10 . Price Reductions 47 . High List $1,899,000 . Low List $204,900 .