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SAN FRANCISCO, October 8, 2009 – Trulia, Inc. (www.trulia.com), the best place to start your real estate search, today announced that 25.6 percent of homes currently on the market in the United States as of October 1, 2009 have experienced at least one price cut. More than one in four current listings on Trulia have been reduced in price for the fourth straight month. The total amount slashed from home prices is $28.4 billion, a $967 million increase from June 2009. The average discount for price-reduced homes continues to hold steady at ten percent off of the original listing price. 

Northeast with most homes reduced; West sees biggest cuts

Five of the ten states with the highest percentage of homes with price reductions are in the Northeast— Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and New Jersey.  One in three homes in these states has cut their list price at least once. Seven of the ten states leading the country with the biggest listing price cuts are in the West, where heavy foreclosures have taken their toll.  In Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Hawaii, Utah and California, cuts are an average of 13 percent off the original list price.  Of the $28.4 billion slashed nationally, New York, California and Florida account for 35 percent of the total value of reductions.

Report Findings

For the first time in four months, Jacksonville no longer holds the top spot for highest level of home price reductions: Memphis replaced Jacksonville with 36 percent of current listings experiencing at least one round of discounts. Several cities continue to see high levels of cuts on home prices with Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Portland and Raleigh, all earning a place in the top ten for the third consecutive month.

“Interest in real estate typically wanes at the end of the year, which means that sellers who didn’t aggressively price their homes may find themselves making difficult decisions to reduce their prices or delay the sale until interest piques again in January,” said Pete Flint, Trulia co-founder and CEO.  “We are seeing the beginning of this trend in the Northeast and Western United States with discounting happening at all price points, and expect it to continue.”

Cities experiencing significant increases in percentage of listings with price reductions from June 2009 to October 2009 include: 

·         Kansas City, MO – 50% increase in price reductions

·         Colorado Springs, CO – 32% increase in price reductions

·         Louisville, KY – 27% increase in price reductions

·         Indianapolis, IN – 27% increase in price reductions

·         Portland, OR – 25% increase in price reductions

·         Oklahoma City, OK – 24% increase in price reductions

·         Memphis, TN – 24% increase in price reductions

·         Tulsa, OK – 23% increase in price reductions

·         Milwaukee, WI – 22% increase in price reductions

·         Arlington, VA – 22% increase in price reductions

Cities showing signs the highest percentage of declines for listings with price reductions from June 2009 to October 2009 include:

·         San Antonio, TX – 37% decrease in price reductions

·         Las Vegas, NV – 36% decrease in price reductions

·         Oakland, CA – 17% decrease in price reductions

·         San Jose, CA – 16% decrease in price reductions

·         Los Angeles, CA – 14% decrease in price reductions

·         Honolulu, HI – 11% decrease in price reductions

·         Long Beach, CA – 11% decrease in price reductions

·         Dallas, TX – 11% decrease in price reductions

·         Washington D.C. – 10% decrease in price reductions

·         New York, NY – 9% decrease in price reductions

Luxury Market Not Immune

Luxury homes (those listed at two million dollars and above) continue to bear the brunt of discounts being offered with an average of 14 percent being slashed from the original asking price compared to the national average of ten percent. Additionally, luxury homes represent less than two percent of all current listings on Trulia, but are responsible for 25 percent of the $28.4 billion in home price reductions.

 October Price Reductions – Top 50 U.S. Cities

Customized data for every state, county, city and ZIP across the US is available for the media by contacting pr@trulia.com 

Trulia Price Reductions

Trulia is the first and only national real estate site to provide consumers with the ability to use price reductions as a search filter in their quest to find a deal in today’s market across all 50 states. Trulia’s Price Reduction feature can be accessed from the Trulia homepage and is deeply integrated into the existing search experience on the search results page and via the advanced search tab. Detailed information regarding multiple price reductions and prior sold data is now available on each property listing page.

Providing home buyers with access to price reduction data will help them be better informed as they decide which home to purchase and will help ensure consumers get the most home for their dollar. It will also help home sellers price their homes competitively as more homes come onto the market.

 Methodology:  All price change data is from live listings on Trulia.com, as of October 1, 2009 and tracks all price reductions from October 1, 2008 to October 1, 2009. This data does not include foreclosure properties. Trulia obtains its listing information from brokers, agents, third party aggregators and MLSs.  The percentage of listings with price reductions includes any non-foreclosure property on Trulia.com that has experienced at least one price reduction since it was first posted on the site. The city level data is for listings within the city boundary, and not for metro areas.

About Trulia, Inc.
Trulia, Inc., has revolutionized real estate search by offering a rich, intuitive user experience to help consumers find homes for sale, track local price trends, compare properties and neighborhood data all at the hyper-local level. Trulia Voices, the largest real estate community on the web, allows home buyers, sellers, agents and real estate enthusiasts to ask questions, receive advice and blog on topics such as the buying and selling process, foreclosures, refinancing and more. Trulia’s user-friendly search can also be accessed on more than 170 websites as a result of our media partnerships. Trulia has received a number of awards, including the 2008 People’s Voice Webby Award in the real estate category. For more information, visit http://www.trulia.com/.

 Media Contact:

Paul Loeffler for Trulia, paul@sutherlandgold.com, 510-593-6765