The number of homes for sale rose 4.3 percent in June to 1.9 million—the highest level in the past year. These gains are also higher than usual for this time of year, according to newly-released housing data from realtor.com®.

Following two years of declines, housing inventory is finally reversing course. More home owners are seeing rising prices and may be more apt to try to sell their homes.

The number of homes for sale has risen the most in the past year in areas that had seen the largest declines, such as Sacramento, Calif. (up 11 percent), Atlanta (up 10.9 percent), Phoenix (up 6.2 percent), and Miami (up 2.2 percent). From May to June, inventories soared by the highest month-over-month amounts in Southern California, with inventories up 51.5 percent in Orange County, 45.7 percent in Los Angeles, and 18.1 percent in San Diego, according to realtor.com®.

However, inventories of homes for sale remain far below last year’s level in markets such as Boston (down 35.1 percent), Denver (down 30.1 percent), Detroit (down 25.7 percent), Seattle (down 23.2 percent), and San Francisco (down 21.7 percent).

Realtor.com® also reports that median asking prices climbed 0.5 percent in June from May, reaching $199,900. Median asking prices are up by 5 percent over last year.

Source: “Housing Listings Multiply in June,” The Wall Street Journal (July 15, 2013)