The number of price-reduced homes on the market this November increased dramatically compared to the same time last year, rising 24.1 percent according to ZipRealty’s Price Reduction Index, a monthly review of MLS-listed properties in 26 markets surveyed by the real estate brokerage.

San Diego, Calif. shows the most dramatic change in price-reduced inventory, doubling from 2009 (2,613 listings) to 2010 (5,445 listings) with a 108.4 percent change. Three other California districts have also seen a huge year-over-year increase in the amount of reduced inventory, including San Francisco (100 percent), Orange County (91 percent), and Los Angeles (79 percent).

Image Courtesy of CJ Burton/Corbis

For the second straight month, total inventory dropped with November seeing a 3.8 percent decrease as compared to October. The percentage of inventory that has been reduced edged up .1 percent as the number of price-reduced listings fell at a slightly slower rate of 3.7 percent.

“Typically, November is a slower month for sales,” says John Oldham, Director of Marketing for ZipRealty. “Inventory peaked in September and has dropped over the last two months. The increase in price-reduced listings is evidence that sellers are still trying to find the right price point to get the property to sell.”

While some homeowners may wait until after the holidays to sell; those selling now are listing homes for lower prices as the median list price dropped 2.8 percent from October to $234,484.

Highlights of ZipRealty’s November index include:

• Nearly half (48.4 percent) of listed homes in November included at least one price reduction, an increase of 24.1 percent over last year and .1 percent over October
• Compared to November 2009, price-reduced inventory grew by over 75 percent in 5 major markets: San Diego, San Francisco, Orange County, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas
• Inventory dropped 3.8 percent and the number of price-reduced homes on the market fell 3.7 percent compared to October
• The median list price dropped by 2.8 percent from October to $234,484, and the average percentage of price reduction amount to list price rose to 7.6 percent in November, a 1.7 percent change from October
• In 17 of the 26 markets surveyed, listings have experienced an average of two price reductions
• In 11 markets, more than half of homes for sale in November included at least one price reduction: Jacksonville, Phoenix, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Baltimore, Orlando, Seattle, Orange County, Boston, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas.