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ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM RE/MAX: INVENTORY POSES BIGGEST THREAT TO 'YEAR OF RECOVERY' Looks like the dragon will have to step aside: 2012 is now "The Year of the Housing Recovery," ac- cording to RE/ MAX. The real ago, and 26 of those areas posted double-digit increases. The median estate giant released its National Housing Report for August 2012 (covering data through July), showing that both sales and prices have posted year-over-year increases for most of 2012. Home sales appear to have peaked year-to- which the median price outdid itself year- over-year. Forty-two of the 53 metro areas surveyed date in June, with July's sales falling 9.4 percent month-over-month. However, sales were up 10.3 percent from July 2011, marking the 13th con- secutive month for year-over-year sales gains. Of the 53 metro areas surveyed by RE/ MAX, 44 reported higher sales than one year sales price in July was $169,000, a 0.6 percent drop from June, but a 3.7 percent increase over July 2011. The increase marks the sixth straight month in reported price increases during last year, 12 of which showed double-digit gains. "It's reassuring that both sales and prices a turn-around in unemployment and better availability of mortgages, especially for higher priced homes." The average days-on-market for homes sold in July was 82, a two-day drop from June, a six-day drop year-over-year, and the lowest average since July 2010. July is only the second month since September 2011 in which days- on-market came in below 90. The drop in average days-on-market was attributed to low inventory. Inventory levels for July fell 5.4 percent from June and 26.8 percent from July 2011, marking the 25th consecutive month for shrinking month-to- month inventories. Given the current rate of sales, RE/MAX calculated the average months' supply to be about 5.3, two months lower than the average of 7.2 reported in July 2011. "Inventory is now becoming a serious chal- continue to rise higher on a yearly basis, indi- cating that this housing recovery is real," said Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX CEO. "Overall, the picture is getting brighter each month, but what we need for a sustainable recovery is lenge to this recovering market, with available homes-for-sale falling 26.8 percent lower than the same month last year," RE/MAX said in its report. "Home sales could be much greater if more inventory was available, especially in the lower price range, where most sales are now occurring." 37