Price reduced? So what? Big deal

During the heady days of the real estate bubble, brokers were shy about advertising properties as "reduced". But now that the market has tanked and everyone is looking for a bargain, it's different.

Agents proudly hang "reduced" signs on properties and MLS listings regularly contain phrases like "Price slashed!" and "REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE!"

BusinessWeek and Trulia report that the markets that have shown the most life in recent months are the ones that have had the most aggressive discounting. In Scottsdale, Arizona, 37% of listings have been reduced at least once and are currently being marketed at an average of 12.9% below the original asking price.