Inventory down slightly

The housing inventory in 29 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. was down 1.6 percent in September from the previous month, according to California brokerage ZipRealty Inc. This compares to an average dip of 3 percent between August and September over the 25 years the firm has tracked this data. The report — which misses New York City and many foreclosed-on listings nationwide because it only tracks multiple listing service data — showed a 7 percent decline in inventory from September 2007. Appraisal firm Miller Samuel reports that Manhattan had 7,003 co-ops and condos for sale at the end of August, up 2 percent from June.