Mass. sellers find sweetener needed

Survey says more homeowners are cutting prices

Last year, about 63 percent of home sellers in Massachusetts reduced the asking price on their properties, according to a report issued by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press)

Massachusetts home sellers are working harder to close real estate deals by offering more incentives to attract buyers and dropping prices in greater numbers, according to a report released yesterday by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

About 63 percent of sellers reduced the asking price on their homes last year, up from 58 percent the year before, according to the 2008 Massachusetts Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers. One-third of sellers offered incentives to sweeten the deal, including assistance with closing costs and home warranty policies.

"Buyers are asking for a little extra help as they negotiate," said Gary Rogers, a broker at Re/Max First Realty in Waltham and president of the Massachusetts association. The profile is an annual survey of buyers and sellers conducted by the National Association of Realtors.

Falling home prices also are attracting buyers, the report said. About 30 percent of buyers attributed their purchases to improved affordability or availability of homes, a question new to 2008. Only 4 percent said they wished they had waited to buy.

Despite the flood of foreclosed homes hitting the market last year, only 3 percent of buyers said they bought a bank-owned property, the report said. More than one-third of the buyers who were surveyed had considered buying a foreclosed property, but couldn't find the right place or were put off by the process.

"The home buying and selling process can be difficult to navigate in even a 'simple' transaction, and that difficulty level can go up by a factor of 100 or more when it comes to foreclosures and short sales," Rogers said.

The Internet also continues to play a big part in real estate, the report said. More than 90 percent of buyers and sellers use the Web as part of the real estate process. Yet the same percentage of people also work with real estate professionals as well. In terms of usefulness, the Internet won out: 85 percent of Massachusetts buyers said the Internet was "very useful," and 75 percent said the same thing about their real estate agent.

Younger buyers also are turning to social networking websites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster as part of their property search, the report said. About 87 percent of home buyers ages 18 to 24 reported using social networking sites, up from 50 percent last year.

The number of foreign-born buyers in Massachusetts dropped this year: 10 percent of home buyers reported they were born outside of the United States compared with 13 percent in 2007. First-time buyers accounted for 41 percent of recent home purchases in the United States, but 48 percent in Massachusetts last year.

As for satisfied customers, the report said 60 percent of sellers in Massachusetts, and 65 percent nationwide, would recommend using their real estate agent again.

Jenifer McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com.