Home Sellers Continue To Reduce Prices

San Francisco, CA, Oct. 8, 2009--Home sellers in the U.S. reduced their asking prices by a total of $28.4 billion to attract buyers, Trulia Inc. said.

The average discount was 10 percent as of Oct. 1, the real estate data provider said. Homes listed for more than $2 million were cut the most, with owners taking an average of 14 percent off the original price. Luxury homes accounted for 25 percent of all of the reductions.

Sales of existing U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in August for the first time since March, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median price dropped 12.5 percent from August 2008.

“You’re still going to see further price declines before the market stabilizes in 2010,” said Pete Flint, chief executive officer of Trulia.

Trulia collects data from brokers and agents, third-party providers and multiple-listing services.

According to a separate survey by real estate data service Zillow.com, U.S. buyers paid a median $6,525, or 3 percent, less than the final listing amounts on properties bought in August.