We’re all waiting for Miami’s housing inventory situation to improve…and that could finally be happening.

The inventory situation in Miami has been a dire one for some time, but 2014 closed out with some encouraging news, according to new numbers from realtor.com.

Per realtor.com’s analysis, inventory in Miami rose 0.4 percent from November to December, and is up 3.8 percent from Dec. 2013; though those numbers seem small, consider that Miami was the only major metro area to inventory rise by both monthly and yearly measurements in December, and it’s yearly increase was the largest in the group.

Inventory and Home Sales – A Cyclical Relationship

Indeed, the inventory question is an important one, as it’s the ongoing issue in housing: sales activity is low because inventory is low; until more quality inventory hits the marketplace, sales activity will remain low; but in order for more quality inventory to hit the market, a number of market developments – which we’ve detailed in past coverage – must occur; and thus far, none of those developments have occurred for the majority of potential sellers.

See our graph below for a fuller understanding of how our inventory woes compare with the rest of the nation.