According to Midwest Real Estate Data, the volume of properties for sale in December 2012 was 73 percent less than the inventory recorded for December 2010. That is quite the inventory drop within two years!

Below is a chart of the percentage of inventory for each December from 2010 through 2012. This significant reduction of inventory can be indicative of a few things. The recent real estate market has been very active to incur this reduction in this relatively short period of time. For sellers now in the market, having to compete against fewer homes than they would have previously is an advantage. It also suggests the return of more multiple-offer situations, where several competing offers are made on a home from different potential buyers.

While the number of distressed property sales has remained relatively steady throughout 2012, the percentage of traditional sales compared to the overall market increased – good news for sellers who have been on the fence. In addition, though inventory levels are typically low during the December months, decreasing from 17.8 percent to 4.8 percent is more good news for the housing market.