The Real-Time National Housing Market Report is a new contender in the race to provide the most accurate housing data out there.

Using analyticals from 20 U.S. metros, the founders of Altos Research, plan to go head-to-head with the S&P's Case/Shiller Index, and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), each of which tracks same-home sales over time.

"When you're making investment decisions or trading derivatives, these lag times are simply killers," says Michael Simonsen, CEO and co-founder.

Where the Real-Time report differs from competitors is that it tracks listing prices, not closed sales prices, on over one million homes.

By that metric, prices in 18 of 20 markets tracked fell for the month of November.

• San Diego prices fell nearly six percent.

• Miami homes tooke the prize for longest days on market -- 137, with Minneapolis a close second at 125.

• Listings increased in Las Vegas by 6.6 percent over the past three months.

Gee, and I already had trouble sleeping at night.

Luckily, not all markets are doing so badly. New York, Denver and Dallas are holding their own, even while demand is weaker. Inventory fell more than 10 percent in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. And, days on market grew substantially in Seattle, Tampa, Chicago and Cleveland, but homes for sale reduced by nearly 15 percent in Phoenix.

Tracking market conditions is a clever idea, but guess what, Altos? You weren't the first to think of it.

Realty Times has published daily market conditions for nearly 10 years. Click on Market Conditions, and go to any city of your choice on RealtyTimes.com

Like the NAR's Pending Sales Index, The Real-Time Report will be fun to read, but put it in perspective - it's forward-looking only, until the sales numbers come out.

Published: December 17, 2007

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.