Report: Baltimore Metro Housing Supply Tightens

People looking to buy a home are finding a smaller pool of choices on the market, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun. 

The residential real estate market in the Baltimore area may be tightening up, with the supply of housing for sale in May reaching the lowest level since 2006, the paper reported.

Although the number of foreclosures is rising in Baltimore--up 20 percent over the previous year, according to Baltimore Business Journal--low prices have kept many would-be sellers from putting their properties on the market, sources report.

In May, about 12,700 homes were listed for sale in the Baltimore metro area, compared with more than 13,700 homes that were for sale in May of 2006, the Sun reported.

The inventory of homes on the market peaked in 2008, with nearly 20,000 available, according to the paper.

The shrinking housing market may nudge prices upward, which may have hit bottom, the Sun reported.