Seattle-area inventory shrinks 43 percent, No. 5 nationally

The number of homes on the market continues to become a shrinking pool. In the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett regional market, the number has reached 42.65 percent.

The national inventory of for-sale single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops dropped 20 percent in May compared to year-ago levels, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Inventories in May declined in all but two — Philadelphia and Shreveport-Bossier City, La. — of the 146 markets tracked by Realtor.com.

While inventories were on the decline, the median national list price was on the rise, inching up 3.17 percent in May compared to May 2011.

California metro areas are seeing some of the largest drops in inventories of for-sale homes.

From May 2011 to May of this year, the following metro areas have posted the highest drops in the country with their housing inventories, with inventories falling 35 percent or more in the last year. Those metros are:

1. Oakland, Calif.: -56.60%

2. Fresno, Calif.: -48.76%

3. Bakersfield, Calif.: -48.59%

4. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: -44.71%

5. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.: -42.65%

6. San Jose, Calif.: -40.80%

7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.: –39.76%

8. Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: -39.25%

9. Atlanta: -39.19%

10. San Francisco: -38.90%

11. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.: -37.43%

12. Sacramento: -35.92%