U.S. housing inventory remains tight in July

The U.S. housing inventory was at just 2.9% in July. Coupled with strong sales, the low supply is causing competition in the market to heat up

The supply of homes on the U.S. market remained extremely tight in July, according to new data from Redfin.

Inventory at the end of July was just 2.9 months, Redfin reported. Home sales continued strong, posting an increase of 13.4% over July of 2014, while price growth jumped 5.8% annually. The median sales price in July was $278,700, according to Redfin.

The low inventory has led to increasing competition among prospective U.S. home buyers, with more buyers willing to make concessions in order to win their bid on a home. last month, 2.7% of Redfin offers waived inspection contingencies, up from 8.6% last July. Meanwhile, 15.3% waived financing contingencies, up from 11.5% a year ago, and 15.2% submitted offers with price escalation clauses.

Competition in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Seattle and Denver continues to be among the most heated in the country. in July, the typical San Francisco home sold for 8.7% above list price, according to Redfin. Unsurprisingly, supply in those markets is extremely tight; San Francisco and Denver each had a 1.5-month supply in July, while Oakland had a supply of just over a month.

San Francisco and San Jose led the nation in price growth. July’s median sale price in San Francisco was $1.05 million, an 18.6% jump from last year. In San Jose, the median price was up $855,000, a 14.1% jump. San Francisco was, however, the only metropolitan area to see a year-over-year decline in sales, due mostly to its extremely low inventory. Home sales in San Francisco fell 8.9% annually in July, according to Redfin.