Inventories are declining, and prices are rising, according to a ""recent report"":http://www.movoto.com/blog/market-trends/state-of-the-real-estate-market-july-2013-inventory-up-for-second-straight-month/ from ""Movoto Real Estate,"":http://www.movoto.com/about.aspx a brokerage with a presence in 30 U.S. states.
[IMAGE]Examining data from Multiple Listing Services in 34 cities across the nation, Movoto found year-over-year declines in June's inventory in 32 of the 38 cities it tracks. The most drastic declines took place in Sacramento (-54.5 percent), Detroit (-47.1 percent), and Boston (-46.7 percent).
Over the same time period, price per square foot increased in all but two of the cities Movoto observes. The exceptions were New Orleans (-2.2 percent) and Chicago (-3.2 percent). Sacramento topped the list with a 68.1 percent price-per-square-foot increase.
Highlighting just the ""West Coast,"":http://www.movoto.com/blog/market-trends/west-coast-real-estate-market-prices-and-inventory-rising/ Movoto found a year-over-year decrease in inventory but a month-over-month increase.
A composite of 14 major metros on the West Coast reveals
[COLUMN_BREAK]an 11.9 percent yearly decline in inventory in June, according to Movoto.
In contrast, listings rose month-over-month from 12,218 to 13,698.
West Coast cities with the steepest inventory decreases year-over-year in June were Salem, Oregon (-25.4 percent), Bellevue, Washington (-24.5 percent), and Los Angeles (-24.5 percent).
San Jose, California (19.2 percent), and San Diego, California (3.6 percent) were the only two of the 14 cities in the index to experience rising inventories over the 12-month period.
As inventory declines, price per square foot is on the rise. However, the two cities with growing inventories are not left out of this trend. San Diego and San Jose take the second and third places, respectively, in the ranking of cities by price increase over the year.
Price per square foot increased 20.8 percent in San Diego and 18.4 percent in San Jose.
The only city to beat these two was Los Angeles with a 28.6 percent increase. As of last month, the price per square foot for a home in Los Angeles is $432. This is the second-highest price per square foot on Movoto's June index for the West Coast.
However, San Francisco outpaced all other cities with a price per square foot of $655.
Prices were also generally up over the month, according to Movoto, rising from $251 per square foot to $253 per square foot.