September Brings Seasonal Declines in Sales, Prices, Inventory

The frenzy that has characterized the 2013 housing market has officially come to a close, ""Redfin"":http://www.redfin.com/ says in its latest Real-Time Price Tracker.

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The tech-powered brokerage reported a seasonal decline in home sales, prices, and inventory in September, though the recovery's strength is still evident in year-over-year gains.

According to Redfin, home sales totaled 73,781 across the company's 19 tracked markets, a decline of 18.8 percent from August--""in step with normal seasonal trends,"" said analyst Tommy Unger. Compared to September 2012, though, sales were up 8.1 percent.

Based on current pending sales data, Redfin anticipates another 6 percent monthly decline in October compared to the 8 percent gain recorded last year.

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Home prices experienced their third straight month-over-drop drop, falling 2.2 percent from August but still coming up 15.9 percent ahead of last year. The median sales price across all markets was $330,470.

Eleven of the cities covered posted weaker prices compared to August, just more than 10 cities in the same period last year.

""Colder climates, as usual, showed larger seasonal declines in prices,"" Unger said. ""For example, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Long Island posted 8.2 percent, 6.1 percent, and 5.7 percent month-over-month declines while Riverside, CA, San Diego and Austin kept things hot a bit longer with 2.4 percent, 1.5 percent, and one percent month-over-month increases.""

Finally, low inventory continues to be ""the thorn in the market's side,"" as Unger describes it. The total number of homes for sale in Redfin's markets in September was 234,670, a decrease of 3.4 percent month-over-month and 17.5 percent year-over-year.

""Homes continue to sell quickly, but they are not being replaced by new listings,"" Unger said. ""There are two big reasons why people are not listing their homes: they are underwater on their current mortgage, or their mortgage interest rate is so low that a new loan would be much more expensive.

""Not surprisingly, we do not expect the inventory situation to improve as the holidays approach,"" he finished.