Real estate price cuts grow for 3 months in a row

As of Sept. 1, 26 percent of home sellers had lowered their asking price — a share that has increased for three straight months, to bring it level with the last year’s level — according to a monthly report by property search site Trulia.

That 26 percent share was up from 25 percent in August, 24 percent in July, and 22 percent in May and June. It’s also the highest price-reduction level measured so far this year in Trulia’s stats. In aggregate, sellers discounted more than $29 billion nationwide.

The data include Trulia’s active, nonforeclosure listings. Listing information on the site comes from brokers, agents, third-party aggregators and multiple listing services.

Despite the rising rate of discounted listings, there were some "modest signs of recovery," the company said. Almost half (24) of the 50 largest cities nationwide reported that their discount rates remained the same or improved compared to the previous month — a 50 percent increase from August.

Also, the percentage amount of the average discount remained the same as last month: 10 percent, with an average reduction of $33,892.

"On the surface, the latest price reduction data carries with it conflicting messages. Nationwide, sellers continue to slash prices and this is a worrisome trend. However, we’re seeing gradual improvement in many U.S. cities — several for consecutive months," said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO of Trulia, in a statement.

"What this shows us is that while we’re in for a long climb to bring stability back to the housing market and while it’s going to take time, that climb appears to at least be under way in some parts of the country."

Five California cities, which rank among the nation’s 50 largest cities by population, have lower price-reduction rates when compared with the national average: Oakland (19 percent); San Jose (20 percent); Los Angeles (22 percent); San Diego (23 percent); and, San Francisco (24 percent). Of those cities, only San Diego had a higher percentage of discounted listings when compared to September 2009.

Major Midwestern cities had a significantly higher proportion of listings with price cuts than other major cities, with the exception of Detroit, with a share of 16 percent of listings with price cuts as of Sept. 1. The national average was 26 percent.

About 43 percent of active listings in Minneapolis and 40 percent of active listings in Milwaukee had price reductions as of Sept. 1, according to Trulia data. In Cleveland, 31 percent of active listings had price cuts as of Sept. 1.

Trulia’s city data applies to listings within city boundaries, not to metro areas.

Trulia’s property search allows consumers to filter their searches by listings that have experienced at least one price reduction. The company began tracking home-price reductions in April 2009.

September 2010 Price Reductions (50 most populous U.S. cities)