8 markets where housing inventory is actually growing

Nationally, available housing inventory's latest year-to-year drop of 12.2% is the steepest since 2013, but the supply of homes for sale is actually increasing in a handful of markets.

"Despite strong buyer demand, sales are sputtering due to low inventory," said Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson in a recent report by the online real estate company. "The last time we saw a substantial increase in the number of homes for sale, Donald Trump was a candidate in a Republican field of 11."

But while inventory has contracted for 25 straight months in the United States as a whole, there are exceptions to the rule in parts of the South and Midwest.

In October, inventory grew year-over-year in eight of 74 metropolitan areas Redfin tracked over the last 12 months.

In contrast to hot home-sales markets like San Jose, Calif., where inventory plunged nearly 52% in the year-over-year and the median home price is over $1 million, houses available for sale in these eight regions increased by nearly 3% to 13% and have prices closer the U.S. median of $288,000.

There are anywhere from 3,000 to 14,000 homes for sale in each of these eight markets, and in most cases they tend to have sales that have slowed by 1% to 10% year-over-year. However, prices are up year-to-year by 1% to 10% in these areas.

Half of the eight regions are seeing month-to-month declines in inventory ranging from a fraction of a percent to almost 11%, but the other half are experiencing month-over-month gains in the supply of available homes for sale ranging from 4% to 11%.

Total Inventory: 3,455 (2.50%)
Homes Sold: 711 (-9.80%)
Median Sales Price: $186,000 (9.40%)

Total Inventory: 9,664 (2.70%)
Homes Sold: 3,050 (-6.00%)
Median Sales Price: $268,000 (7.20%)