Sales for new and existing homes in the eight-county region of Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties totaled 33,627 for the year 2007. That was almost 10,000 fewer sales than 2006 and the lowest home sales figure since 1997, when 35,667 homes changed hands, according to real estate research firm DataQuick. The firm reported that 12 percent of the 13,994 homes now for sale in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties are priced below $200,000, with the majority of those being homes repossessed by banks. A year ago only 2 percent of homes for sale in the region were priced below $200,000. Last month's home sales for all of California made for the slowest December in DataQuick's records, which go back to 1988. The Sacramento Bee contributed to this story.