by Calculated Risk on 2/17/2012 05:56:00 PM

Note: Cardiff Garcia at FT Alphaville has some comments on inventory from several analysts: The decline of US housing inventory

Here is another report on inventory ... from Realtor.com: Real Estate Trends for January 2012

According to real estate data released today by Realtor.com, the national inventory of for-sale single family homes, condominiums, townhouses and co-ops (SFH/CTHCOPS) declined -6.59% from December to January, and is now down -23.20% compared to a year ago. The median age of the inventory also declined on both an annual and monthly basis, and is now -4.80% below the levels observed in January 2011.
...
For-sale inventories of SFH/CTHCOPS in January 2012 declined in all but one of the 146 MSAs monitored by Realtor.com compared to a year ago when for-sale inventories in more than half of all markets (85) dropped by 20% or more. ... Springfield, IL, was the only market to register a year-over-year increase in for-sale inventory. However, areas that showed the least signs of improvement tended to be concentrated in the Northeast corridor.
...
The median age of the inventory exceeded 120 days in 46 markets in January, down from 60 markets in December. While many of the markets with the oldest inventories are resort communities, particularly in Florida and the Carolinas, others are in industrialized areas that are experiencing the brunt of the economic downturn.

The NAR report doesn't always match up with other inventory reports - and there is some variability in how inventory is reported (some report include contingent short sales, some don't) - but it does appear inventory is down sharply in most areas. (Contingent short sale inventory is also down sharply).