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It's been headline news this summer that some of the nation's fastest-recovering markets have seen substantial price increases — markets in California, Arizona and Nevada has seen double-digit gains in 2013 as housing shortages mixed with demand from retail buyers coaxed by low mortgage rates, as well as historically strong investor interest in purchases.
Now, that dynamic is changing. The Wall Street Journal has more:
With home prices and mortgage rates rising, competition for homes has eased and supply has ticked up.
Economists say the recent gains in inventory could be proof that some of the hardest-hit markets are stabilizing. A big driver of the sales declines has been sustained drops in the volumes of foreclosed properties being sold, even as sales of nondistressed properties climb. These markets, which had favored sellers in the past year, are swinging back in favor of buyers.
"Certain areas have already become a buyers' market, and the entire market will be there by early next year," said Mike Orr, a housing analyst at Arizona State University in Tempe.
