Local inventory plummets 45 percent as sellers hold back

Inventory levels of for-sale homes at the end of 2012 were down 17.3 percent from year-ago levels, reaching the lowest level in more than five years, Realtor.com reported.

In the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett region, inventories were down 45 percent.

For-sale inventories dropped the most year-over-year in December 2012 in the following metros:

• Sacramento, Calif.: -68%
• Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: -65%
• Oakland, Calif.: -64%
• San Jose, Calif.: -52%
• Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.: -45%
• San Francisco: -43%
• Ventura, Calif.: -43%
• Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.: -41%
• Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.: -40%
• Orange County, Calif.: -39%