U.S. home sale listings fell again in Aug: ZipRealty

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of U.S. homes listed for sale fell nearly 3 percent in August compared to July, according to inventory data released this week by national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

The number of homes listed for sale by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) fell for the 14th consecutive month in August, the Emeryville, California-based ZipRealty reported.

Stabilization of the hard-hit U.S. housing market is seen as key to an economic recovery in the United States.

The combined total number of single-family homes and condos listed for sale decreased in August from July by 2.74 percent, bringing the total number of active listings in 25 major U.S. markets to 606,187, the company said.

ZipRealty also tracked a year-over-year decrease in housing inventories of 23.5 percent.

ZipRealty's Housing Inventory Index for August, compiled from local MLS data, showed that housing inventory in the San Francisco Bay Area declined 7.6 percent in August, compared to July, and was down 48.9 percent year-over-year -- the largest month-over-month drop across the 25 markets surveyed.

ZipRealty said other markets with significant month-over-month declines include Orlando, Florida, down 5.1 percent; Washington, D.C., down 4.7 percent, and Boston, Massachusetts, down 3.9 percent.

In Las Vegas, home listings declined 3.4 percent in August, but the median list price was unchanged for the fifth consecutive month and inventory was at the lowest level in the four years that ZipRealty has tracked this information, the company said.