Realtor.com: Homeowners Eager to Kick Off Selling Season

Recent data shows that homeowners are getting ahead of the curve earlier and listing their properties earlier in the year than in previous years.

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A report by ""Realtor.com"":http://www.realtor.com/ shows that listing inventories increased by 1.15 percent month-over-month, and houses stayed on the market for an average of 98 days, down 9.26 percent month-over-month. List prices also increased on a monthly basis, rising to $189,900.

""As we enter the busiest time of the year for home buyers and sellers, our latest housing trend data shows just how competitive the market is with a significant national housing recovery well underway,"" Steve Berkowitz, CEO [COLUMN_BREAK]

of ""Move, Inc."":http://www.move.com/?source=web, said in a statement. ""Looking ahead, we can expect the amount of inventory to increase this spring along with higher list prices as sellers become more comfortable with the market conditions.""

This recent spate of news indicates to some that some home sellers are becoming less reluctant about venturing into the market and are taking early advantage of the recent uptick in housing prices. This positive swing coupled with the consistent, gradual downward trend of annual inventory levels--which decreased by 15.97 percent over the last two years--is giving sellers more motivation to strike while the iron is warming.

Nationally, the median list price also rose by 1.55 percent during the month of February and 1.01 percent annually, while the median age of inventory dropped in nearly all of the 146 Realtor.com tracks.

California showed the biggest decreases, with year-over-year declines in their for-sale inventories. Declines averaged 48 percent in Sacramento, Stockton, Oakland, San Jose, Orange County, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Riverside, and Ventura. Cities in coastal areas stayed on the market longer, according to the report, with Seattle and Denver posting record-low inventory median ages.