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The supply of homes for sale in the Coachella Valley has steadily dropped this year — particularly lower-priced houses that bargain hunters are buying up.

“The inventory levels are some of the lowest we’ve seen in quite some time,” said Patrick Jordan, broker associate with Patrick Stewart Properties, Windermere Real Estate in Palm Springs.

Although inventory levels vary based on various databases, a TrendVision snapshot from the Desert Area MLS shows there were 2,888 single-family homes and 1,295 condos for sale as of Oct. 20.

When a new listing popped up this week on the Desert Area Multiple Listing Service for $503,000 in the Deepwell neighborhood of Palm Springs, real estate agents flocked to the house, in part, because of its attractive price compared to other homes in the area.

“It will sell, probably over asking price,” and there will likely be multiple offers, Jordan said.

The residential active inventory has dropped by more than 1,000 listings in four months, excluding mobile homes, Jordan calculated.

An MLS report showed the valley’s inventory of homes fell 22 percent to 4,418 in September from 5,681 in September 2010. That compares to the peak months of 2007 and 2008, when home sales were booming and monthly inventories regularly topped 9,200, according to the California Desert Association of Realtors.

In September 2008 there were 8,117 homes listed, for instance, and 9,742 in March 2008, according to the MLS.

Realtors, brokers and analysts say several reasons exist for the inventory decline.

Some sellers pull homes off the market in the hottest months, often waiting for cooler temperatures and snowbirds to return, said Patti Rollins, branch manager for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Palm Desert office.

Other sellers have pulled their homes off the market rather than settling for today’s lower prices.

“It’s still a bitter pill to swallow for the sellers,” Rollins said.

Homeowners who are able to hold off selling often are waiting for prices to rise, and dwindling inventories could begin to make that happen, said Jim Franklin, broker associate with Prudential California Realty and president of the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors.