[This week, our graph guy Jonathan Miller takes the long view on inventory. Click on the image to expand.]
While it is good news to some that the current level of inventory of 6,000 units is down 5.8% below the same period last year and 1.6% below the 2003 level, it is still 13.2% above the median level of 5,211 units for the past 6 years. Inventory is down 28.7% from the October 2006 peak but is up 13.2% from the June 2001 trough.
Inventory levels have remained fairly constant for the past 2.5 months, but I would suspect that the levels will increase over the next few months as sellers anticipate the spring market, despite the increase in demand from buyers. With the exception of 2003, inventory generally increased from this point on through the middle of the year.
· Manhattan Monthly Listing Inventory Survey [Miller Samuel]