Fewer Homes for Sales in Major Markets

The number of homes listed for sale in 18 major metropolitan areas at the end of November was down 4 percent from a month earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Tuesday.

The newspaper was citing data compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a national real-estate brokerage firm in Emeryville, California.

The ZipRealty data cover listings of single-family homes, condominiums and town houses on local multiple-listing services, the paper said.