Study finds home sellers cutting asking prices nationwide

Houston properties were not among those listed in ZipRealty's latest report on home prices, but several other well-populated areas were unlucky enough to receive special mention from that company for seeing the biggest drops in home asking prices.

San Francisco took the cake for biggest whole-dollar average price reduction, as the average reduced-price sale in that city had $32,500 chopped from its value, ZipRealty said.

The company's director of marketing, John Oldham, said the general price downturn was widespread and that many of the cuts were significant.

"In more than half of the surveyed markets, sellers are averaging at least two reductions in price. Inventory has grown throughout much of the year; as sellers face the pressure of more buying options, they seem to be discounting to attract buyers resulting in list prices being cut for over 46 percent of the homes," he said.

Cutting the price on a home one is trying to sell is a big step, experts say, adding that a consultation with real estate professionals before doing this is probably a good idea.