Some declines were expected because of the absence of the federal tax credits, which expired last summer.

“There’s no way we can do what we did last year during this quarter,” said Stacey Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for Triangle real estate agents. “If we can just get through the first six months, then our comparative figures should get a lot better.”

Sales in April were 3 percent higher than the same period in 2009. The Triangle market needs the pace of sales to increase to burn off the excess inventory.

The Triangle has a nine-month supply of homes on the market at the current pace of sales. While the total number of homes listed for sale has declined 4 percent over the past year, much of that drop can be attributed to the dwindling number of new homes for sale.

Nationwide, new home starts in April were down 24 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

In the Triangle, there were 2,066 new homes listed for sale in April, down 20 percent from a year ago and less than half the number that were on the market three years ago.

The most frustrating aspect for sellers is that the time it takes to sell a home just keeps getting longer. The average days on the market of the homes that sold in April was 127, up from 98 days during the same period a year ago.

Anfindsen said it now takes 100 days or longer, on average, to sell a home in 90 percent of the price segments he tracks in the Triangle.

The deals that are getting done involve sellers who are financially able to discount their homes, said John Wood, a Re/Max United agent inCary.

Wood said he has sold four homes in the past 10 days and has offers on two others.

“Are the sellers thrilled with the prices? No, Not at all,” he said. “But are they thrilled that they got a chance to maybe move on and buy a home at a discount? Yes.”

An increasing number of frustrated sellers are considering renting out their house or entering into a lease-to-own agreement with a prospective buyer. Many are simultaneously listing their homes for rent and for sale.