Home Inventories are rising sharply

By Ruth Simon and James R. Hagerty, The Wall Street Journal

With the key spring selling season about to get under way, the inventory of homes on the market is climbing sharply in a number of major cities.

It is the latest sign that the balance of power between buyers and sellers is shifting as the once red-hot housing market continues to cool. The slowdown is affecting both existing homes and new homes. Tuesday, the nation's largest builder of luxury homes, Toll Brothers Inc., reported a 29 percent decline in new orders in its first quarter, which ended Jan. 31. That was below many analysts' expectations and prompted a sharp selloff in Toll Brothers stock. And Ryland Group Inc., a Calabasas, Calif., builder that sells homes in a wide range of prices, recently announced that new orders declined 4.7 percent for its quarter ended Dec. 31.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06039/652164.stm