Price-chopping specials for prospective homebuyers Deals to be had for potential homebuyers

The cozy, 589-square-foot condominium in Mukilteo listed for $155,000 in May.

But during the past five months, its asking price has been slashed like a clearance sticker on a velvety heart-shaped box of chocolates after Valentine's Day. The condo's price fell to $105,000 then $95,000. When those prices failed to attract a buyer, it was adjusted to $80,000. Finally, it reached a staggering $65,000 — less than half of what the seller bought it for.

"It was very difficult for (the seller) to swallow, that there was so much valuation lost in the condo," said Jeanmarie Trapp, a broker with John L. Scott Real Estate's Mukilteo Office, who listed the condo. "It was very sad. To see it devalued like that was really heartbreaking for her."

The 58.1 percent reduction from the original price landed the one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo in ninth place on ZipRealty's Sales Rack Report, a Top 10 list of properties in the region with the biggest price reductions.

Leading the list is an upscale, one-bedroom, one- bathroom condo in Tacoma's historic Old Town district. The 592-square-foot, newly remodeled property, which features granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances and new wiring and heating systems, listed in September with an asking price of $400,000. Within a month or so, the condo's price took a 65 percent nose-dive to $140,000.

Also on the list: three properties in Port Orchard, including a luxury condo with a Seattle view that entered the market in July 2008 at more than $1.5 million and is now sitting at $609,000.

The Sales Rack Report was created to give consumers a quick look at marked-down properties — a tool for the type of shopper who heads directly to the clearance racks.

"We want people to know that there are a phenomenal amount of great deals out there," said Michael Tenore, an area director and designated broker in ZipRealty in Western Washington. "Sellers are becoming a lot more realistic about what their homes are priced at."

Days on market

And they're also learning how to play the classic waiting game of a buyer's market.

The average number of days on the market for single-family homes and condos in King County sold between Aug. 1 and Oct. 17 ranged between 102 and 175, according to Seattle online brokerage Redfin.

"Not surprisingly, the most expensive homes sit on the market the longest," said product manager Tim Ellis, who compiled the report. "What I did find interesting was that the homes that sold the quickest (both condos and single-family homes) were priced $500,000 to $599,999, but even then the average was over three months."

In most price categories, there wasn't much variation in activity between condos and homes. The main differences were in the $100,000-$200,000 range, where condos sat on the market 30 days longer than single-family homes; they also sat 24 days longer than houses priced above $1 million.

To put the time in perspective, in October 2005, homes sold in King County were on the market an average of 37 days, compared with 52 days the previous September, according to a Seattle Times story at the time.

Instead of discounts, some might call the reductions "corrections" or "adjustments" to reflect the homes' more accurate values.

"The big thing is look at that initial price," Tenore said. "If it came out way too high, the seller brought it down to make it realistic. ... In the business, we say price solves everything, and I think sellers are going to find the right price to sell their homes."

And, of course, drastic price reductions can often send up red flags to buyers.

With any purchase, it's always a good idea to get the home inspected, Tenore said.

Two of the homes featured on the Sale Rack Report are in foreclosure. Six are short sales, which means the sellers owe more than the homes are worth, and they're asking the bank to accept less than what's owed on their homes.

Half are condos or town houses, which can be tricky to finance.

The Mukilteo condo, which has been marketed as "the cheapest listing in all of Mukilteo," is a short sale, and some property management rules and practices have made it more difficult to find financing for it, Trapp said.

"It's going to take a specific buyer to actually buy the unit, but people with cash or conventional financing can snap up a great deal," she said. "There's actually a couple of apartment complexes in Mukilteo that have some really incredible deals."

Even though they're becoming more common, price reductions are still one of the toughest parts of selling a home, Trapp said.

"(Sellers) still want to try and get the maximum amount of dollar," she said. "And I still think nobody wants to admit that we're in a new place in the market."

Research, research

Katie Curnutte, a spokeswoman for Zillow.com, said sellers should do their homework before settling on a list price.

"If a home is priced right, it won't sit on the market as long," Curnutte said. "Research is the most important thing. Home sellers should arm themselves with as much information they can."

She recommends sellers research comparable sales, find out how long they were on the market and whether they went through price reductions.

"Take a realistic look at homes that are similar to yours and see what worked for them," she said.

Try to size up the competition by attending open houses and take a critical look at your home, Curnutte said. If you're competing with foreclosures, take extra effort to make your home stand out: replace old carpets, fix the roof and make other repairs that are needed.

"Make sure that the potential buyers know that somebody has been living there and taking really good care of that house," Curnutte said.

And if you list your home and don't get any activity, experts recommend that you consider a price reduction.

Thirty-one percent of Seattle home sellers took a price reduction during September, collectively slashing nearly $69.6 million off homes that were on the market, according to an analysis by Trulia, an online real-estate tracking site.

The average price reduction was 9 percent, according to the report.

On the flip side, a healthy discount will often put a home into a new online search category, and that can attract new potential buyers.

In February, Meng Yang, 26, bought a 719-square-foot condo in downtown Bellevue.

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom property was originally listed at $267,000.

It went off the market for a few months, re-listed at $240,000.

Yang said she tracked the property as its price dropped several times. "The moment I saw $195,000, I turned in my offer," she said.

The Microsoft worker is now in the process of trying to buy a five-bedroom, four-bathroom investment property in South Bellevue that went from $325,000 to $260,000.

For her, a price reduction shows that the seller is trying to make more of an effort to reach buyers.

"If they have stayed (on the market) for a long time, it usually means they're not priced right," she said. "And I usually won't bother with those that don't have a price reduction."