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State PR E S ENTS ofAffairs TOP NEWS Low inventory is adding to home prices and slashing days-on-market, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin's analysis of 19 major U.S. markets. The number of homes available for sale throughout the study's target area fell 28.1 percent from July 2011 to July 2012 and dropped 5 percent between June and July of this year. While home prices remained flat from June to July (-0.1 percent), Redfin found prices rose 3.2 percent when comparing July 2011 to July 2012. Among the 19 markets tracked by Redfin, 16 saw yearly price gains, with Phoenix posting the biggest annual increase at 28.7 percent. San Jose and Denver also had noteworthy gains at 11.9 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. With inventories low, the company's study revealed a high percentage of newly listed homes are being taken off the market within a matter of weeks—27.8 percent of the properties listed in July were under contract within 3.5 weeks of their debut dates. Redfin says a lack of selection challenges housing markets, which leads to a slowdown in home sales—and the company warns the problem will persist until the end of the year. Note: The state-by-state trends are based on a compilation of June 2012 real estate public records data and proprietary mortgage loan performance transactions provided by Lender Processing Services, Inc. as well as a preliminary unemployment rate for June 2012 based upon public information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) is a provider of mortgage and consumer loan processing services, mortgage settlement services, default solutions, and loan performance analytics, as well as solutions for the real estate industry, capital markets investors, and government offices. Formed from a 2008 spin-off, LPS' predecessor companies date back nearly half a century to the early beginnings of computing and statistical services. LPS' high-performance technology, robust data, innovative services, and award-winning customer support are why most of the nation's top 50 banks have chosen LPS to provide the solutions they need in today's competitive marketplace. To learn more about LPS visit lpsvcs.com.