Inventories of homes for sale nationwide increased 4 percent in April, but remain 13.5 percent lower than last year’s inventory levels, according to realtor.com’s latest report.  .

The number of homes for sale remains particularly tight out West. Inventories have dropped the most -- more than 52 percent compared to a year ago -- in Orange County, Calif. In Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Stockton, Calif., inventories of for-sale homes were down more than 40 percent year-over-year in April, according to the report, which reflects listings from more than 800 multiple listing services nationwide.  .

With tight inventories, asking prices are on the rise across the country. Nationwide median asking prices rose 2.6 percent in April, and were 3.1 percent higher than last year’s levels.  .

California posted some of the largest jumps in asking prices too. Oakland, for example, had the largest median asking price increase in April, climbing 47 percent over a year ago. Other big gainers for asking prices also include: Santa Barbara (+47%), Sacramento (+40%), San Jose (+35%), and Los Angeles (+34%).   Buyer demand remains strong and homes are spending less time on the market..

On average, homes were on the market in April for at least 81 days, down 2.4 percent from March and a drop of 11 percent from a year ago.  .

Source: “Housing Inventories Rose in April,” The Wall Street Journal (May 14, 2013).