Sellers Sing The Blues As Price Drop Sets Record...

Sellers sing the blues as price drop sets record, from the USA TODAY, reports that the median price for a single-family home slipped 2.5% from September last year to $219,800, the sharpest annual drop since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began tracking data in 1969. At the same time, the volume of home sales fell for the sixth straight month, falling 14% in September compared with a year ago. In the softest markets, sellers are waking up to the harsh reality that they can't get anywhere near what their neighbors sold their homes for last year, so they are grudgingly reducing their asking prices and offering incentives, such as paying closing costs. The article states that builders have become one of the biggest threats to individual sellers, with builders reducing prices and offering eye-catching incentives like free vacations, free landscaping and free media rooms. "It was surprising just how quickly the market seemed to turn," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Economy.com. "It was like, boom, boom, bust. It is like,'What happened?' The psychology in the marketplace unraveled very rapidly."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2006-10-25-home-price-usat_x.htm