Prices reduced on 25 percent of listed homes: #1 Phoenix a 13 Percent Reduction

08-13-2010 • thetruthaboutmortgage.com/

One in four property listings on the market as of August 1 have experienced at least one price reduction, according to real estate search service Trulia. That marks the fourth straight month of increases in price reduction levels, thanks to a lack of qualified (or motivated) buyers, record low mortgage rates and all. The total dollar amount slashed from home prices in America’s 50 largest cities was a staggering $30.1 billion, and the average discount on a price-reduced home was 10 percent off the original list. “If buyers are unqualified to buy, it doesn’t matter how low interest rates are or how discounted a home is,” said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO of Trulia, in a release. “I stated at the beginning of the year that I did not expect to see the housing market stabilize or recover in 2010, and I believe that prediction is being proven true today. We will be bouncing around the bottom for months to come. If you are looking to do a short-term buy, this is the wrong market for you. People buying today need to have a plan to stay in their homes over the long term.” Minneapolis, Minnesota saw the largest percent of listings with price reductions at 42 percent, followed by Milwaukee at 39 percent and Dallas at 36 percent. Las Vegas experienced the largest increase in listings with price reductions from July 1 to August 1, with 18 percent of home prices slashed, up from 12 percent a month earlier. Trulia gives buyers the option to use price reductions as a search filter in their quest to find a home.