The median home price in Pierce County continued to drop in June but so, too, did the number of homes awaiting buyers.

Statistics released Monday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service put the county’s median price last month at $259,250 – a 6.6 percent decline from the same month a year ago and 9.0 percent below its Aug. 2007 peak of $285,000. The median means half sold for more and half for less.

June’s year-over-year price decrease is the ninth in the last 10 months, though the declines have not been as steep as seen by many other areas around the country. And the price remained essentially flat from May.

Shrinking inventory could indicate a market shift in Pierce County as fewer houses and condos were for sale in June than the same month last year, which, if the listing decline persists, could eventually move the advantage from buyers to sellers. Not only did the overall inventory of listings dip by 5.7 percent, but the number of new listings dropped year-over-year by 20.3 percent.

While fewer houses and condos were also new to the market last month in King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties, Pierce County was the only among them to have fewer homes for sale than in June 2007.

Still, the supply of homes for sale here remains above the region’s. Statistics pulled June 30 showed Pierce County with just below an 11-month supply of homes compared to nearly a seven-month supply for the four Puget Sound counties combined, according to Dick Beeson, an MLS director and a Windermere broker. The industry standard for a market that equally favors buyers and sellers is six month’s supply, meaning it would take six months to sell everything that’s on the market.

Bill Riley, broker-owner of GMAC Real Estate in Puyallup, said Monday that he’s encouraged by the reduction in listings, though he’d like to see supply get down to nine or 10-month territory.

“What it means in Pierce County is folks figured out that they’re not going to get their price, and they don’t need to sell. They’ve decided not to put their homes back on the market,” he said.

Plus, he said, the number of new homes has dropped off as builders either sold or leased empty houses. And they’re not putting up as many as they had because financing is so difficult to attain, said Riley, who’s also vice president of government affairs for the Washington Realtors.

On pricing, neighboring counties also decreased year over year, from 3.6 percent in King County to 9.2 percent in Thurston County, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The June numbers from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service were just released and show another year-over-year drop in the county's median home price -- a decline of 6.6 percent to $259,250.

But, interestingly, the number of homes listed for sale also continued to fall and the number of properties that were new to the market last month dropped by 20.3 percent. Other nearby counties also saw fewer homes added in June but King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties continue to have more homes for sale this year than last.

Any guesses as to why Pierce County's selection is shrinking and what that means to the market? Is the don't-sell-if-you-don't-have-to message from agents getting through? How will already-hesitant buyers react to a drop in inventory?

On pricing, here's a look at Pierce County's year-over-year median price changes for the last 18 months, according to the Northwest MLS:

2008
June: -6.6 percent
May: -7.8 percent
April: -4.3 percent
March: - 6.02 percent
February: -7.8 percent
January: -2.5 percent

2007
December: +.01 percent
November: -4.4 percent
October: -1.4 percent
September: -2.4 percent
August: + 4.4 percent
July: +3.3 percent
June: +0.82 percent
May: +6.9 percent
April: +3.2 percent
March: +5.8 percent
February: +12.5 percent
January: +5.3 percent