Down from 44 percent in December, just over 40 percent of available homes for sale had reduced prices in January, according to a monthly survey of home listings in 27 markets conducted by the national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

January marked the fifth consecutive month of fewer price-reduced homes on the market. As a result, many sellers were able to ask for and stick to their original list price.

“Sellers are taking a realistic look at current market conditions before listing their homes,” said Pat Lashinsky, ZipRealty CEO. “We have a lot fewer homes for sale right now than we did last year, and we are seeing more sellers sticking to their original list prices, rather than cutting them to try to attract buyers.”

Last month, sellers in the 27 markets surveyed by ZipRealty reduced list prices by an average of $21,925. The highest dollar amount of price reductions was seen in San Diego, where the average price reduction was $44,901. Houston homeowners reduced prices by the lowest dollar amount, cutting an average of $10,000.

Markets with the lowest percentage of price-reduced MLS-listed homes were Denver (29.5 percent), San Francisco (31.9 percent), and Los Angeles and San Diego (both at 32.6 percent). With slashed prices on nearly one out of every two homes, Jacksonville (49.9 percent) and Phoenix (48.8 percent) has the highest percentage of price-reduced homes.