By Nick Timiraos

Click chart to see housing inventory data and price cut information for metro areas.

The number of homes listed for sale fell in January, an aberration from previous years that have seen a big jump in listings.

Industry analysts have been expecting an uptick in for-sale signs as banks begin to process the large backlog of foreclosed homes that have piled up over the past year. Meanwhile, more traditional sellers typically list their homes after the holiday lull in home sales. Rising inventory could put more pressure on prices, which have been falling in recent months.

But that buildup in inventory isn’t happening yet, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real estate brokerage based in Emeryville, Calif. The supply of homes available for sale in 26 metro areas at the end of January was down by 2.1% from one month earlier.

The ZipRealty data covers all single-family homes, town houses and condominiums listed in local multiple-listing services in the 26 metro areas where the firm operates.

Some sales may have been held off the market in January due to winter storms across much of the country. One wild card: banks slowed down their foreclosure pipelines last fall amid questions over the integrity of foreclosure filing processes, which could also explain part of the decline.

Inventories typically jump in January after a seasonally slow home shopping period during the December holidays. Zelman Associates, a research firm, says that nationwide listings increased an average of 8.7% from December to January between 1982 and 2008. Last year, inventories increased by 2.9%, according to the ZipRealty data.

Still, compared with January 2010, inventory was up by 5.8% last month—a sign that markets are still supply-heavy.

The markets that saw the largest monthly declines in listing inventory included Baltimore (down 5.6%), Charlotte (down 5.5%), and Orlando (down 5.2%). California markets saw the biggest increases in inventory, led by Orange County (up 3.4%), San Diego (2.7%), and Los Angeles (2.5%).

San Diego continues to lead the country with the largest year-over-year increase in for-sale inventory, with a 60% increase. Inventory in Charlotte is down 10.8% from one year ago.

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