Number of Houston homes for sale falls

Despite being well above numbers from last year, the number of available homes in the Houston real estate market trailed off in December.

According to ZipRealty, there were just over 32,000 available properties in the local area last month, a reduction of 3.9 percent compared to November. However, that number is also more than 23 percent above figures from a year earlier.

The drop in local housing inventory also mirrored the national trend. According to the report, the number of listings available in the 26 cities included in the report slipped by 5.3 percent over the same time period - the fourth straight month of declines. Boston experienced the sharpest listings drop, as available properties slipped by 14.4 percent. Sunny Orlando, Florida, was the only city where listings increased, rising just 0.2 percent.

The inventory of available Houston properties has generally remained below the somewhat bloated figures seen elsewhere. According to the Houston Association of Realtors, the city has just a 7.6-months supply of homes compared to 9.5 months at the national level.