ZipRealty Price Reduction Index

To get an informal gauge of the real estate market, we have taken a snapshot of home price reductions for a number of cities across the US. The "Reduced" column represents the number of total MLS listings for the city that have had price reductions, as reported by the MLS. The "Market" column represents the total number of MLS listings on the market for the city. The "% Reduced" column is the simple calculation of "Reduced" divided by "Market". The numbers below are accurate as of 5/11/06 and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Area	Reduced	Market	% Reduced
Newton, MA	286	653	43.8%
Chandler, AZ	930	2,264	41.1%
Hanover, MA	47	116	40.5%
Simi Valley, CA	307	785	39.1%
Huntington Beach, CA	312	808	38.6%
Mesa, AZ	1,232	3,207	38.4%
Brookline, MA	240	625	38.4%
Framingham, MA	184	483	38.1%
Folsom, CA	163	431	37.8%
Laguna Nigel, CA	186	498	37.3%
Carlsbad, CA	313	857	36.5%
Natomas, CA	192	543	35.4%
Roseville, CA	308	880	35.0%
Henderson, NV	1,192	3,417	34.9%
Green Valley, NV	301	867	34.7%
Miami, FL	18,770	54,074	34.7%
Fredericksburg, VA	168	508	33.1%
Rancho Cucamonga, CA	221	686	32.2%
Poway, CA	105	328	32.0%
Citrus Heights, CA	150	476	31.5%
Plainfield, IL	339	1,101	30.8%
Bethesda, MD	121	399	30.3%
Corona, CA	232	818	28.4%
Plano, TX	400	1,411	28.3%
Oceanside, CA	382	1,375	27.8%
Paradise Valley, AZ	76	283	26.9%
Spring, TX	539	2,031	26.5%
Aurora, IL	182	691	26.3%
Tampa, FL	1,573	6,033	26.1%
San Bernadino, CA	343	1,318	26.0%
Columbia, MD	94	364	25.8%
Las Vegas (Downtown), NV	123	483	25.5%
Katy, TX	380	1,529	24.9%
Seattle, WA	435	1,994	21.8%
Olympia, WA	148	695	21.3%
Palo Alto, CA	37	180	20.6%
Gilroy, CA	50	259	19.3%
Tacoma, WA	43	255	16.9%
Walnut Creek, CA	43	255	16.9%
Hayward, CA	85	540	15.7%
San Mateo, CA	33	232	14.2%
Lamorinda, CA	17	189	9.0%

Comments

[GetStucco]

Those percent reduction numbers look big for many parts of the country. Are these normally this large, or is the percent reduced increasing as of late? And if a large number of homes show price reductions, would it be smart to wait for a while before buying, rather than purchasing now and running the risk that other seller's price reductions will reduce the value of the home you bought?

[liz]

Please add Seattle to your list. I watch Seattle vey closely (daily) and it definitely belongs on this list. Thanks!

You're a great RE company BTW. Love the price reduction and DOM info.

[Casa$Loco]

They will be reducing them even more as inventory continues to increase. This is going to get really ugly, novice RE investors are going to paying for their folly for years to come.

[David Cee]

The end of the "spring buying season" occurs on July 4, when buyers would rather spend their vaualble free time vacationing. Look for a Major price reduction on all remaining listings over 60 days old, cause these sellers are are ready to vacation also, and are tired of open houses and realator spin. The party is over

[ziprealty]

We'll add Seattle to our next report. If there are any other cities out there, just let us know.
As for when to buy and when to sell - that is something that we can't predict. Each market is different, as evidenced by the numbers above.