Fresh off the presses!

Marketwatch’s assistant managing editor/personal finance, Steve Kerch, reporting that the housing bust has pushed home prices down substantially, taking a heavy toll on real estate commissions in the process, and is also devaluing the role of the real estate agent in buying and selling, a study from J.D. Power and Associates showed this week.

While real estate agents are still the most important cog in the transaction, home buyers and sellers increasingly say extra services provided by real estate companies — such as inspections, appraisals and legal and moving company recommendations — make a big difference in how satisfied they are at the end of the day.

“In a tight market, every aspect of service offered will be scrutinized very closely,” said Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “For this reason, it is critical for real estate companies to promote the value that they bring to buyers and sellers, not only in any additional services they offer, but also in their agents and operations.”

The importance of agents has declined substantially from 2008, while the importance of additional services has increased considerably — by 12 percentage points among buyers and 8 percentage points among sellers, the survey found.

In addition, actual usage of many of these services has decreased from 2008, likely due to cutbacks made by real estate companies in response to a depressed market.

The study, now in its second year, measures and with the largest national real estate companies.In the home-buyer segment, Keller Williams ranks highest for a second consecutive year, with a score of 806 on a 1,000-point scale. Following in the rankings are Coldwell Banker (801) and RE/MAX (798). Among home sellers, Coldwell Banker ranks highest with a score of 815. Keller Williams follows with a score of 801.

Among other findings in the study: The proportion of first-time home buyers has increased considerably — to 56% in 2009 from 44% in 2008. Home sellers report that, on average, 3.2 open houses were conducted for their property in 2009, compared with 4.5 in 2008. Approximately 64% of home sellers used a Web site listing to market their home in 2009, up from 61% in 2008.