It’s been just about a year since one of my neighbors put his elegant home on the market.

The 5-bedroom home with more than 4,300 square feet of living space was initially listed for more than $1.8 million. The home’s asking price has been slashed to $1.5 million.

Surely, it’s a bit frustrating to home sellers, like my neighbors, who’ve been hearing about the housing market’s turnaround and all the activity that’s been spurred by the homebuyer tax credits but still haven’t been able move their properties.

Homes sales have been increasing in Massachusetts for nine straight months. Even sales of properties priced $1 million and higher have improved. There were 246 single-family homes sold in that price range in the first quarter, up from 170 during the same period a year ago, according to The Warren Group.

But higher-end homes typically take much longer to sell, and agents typically spend a lot more money marketing the homes.

Which got me to thinking – are brokers of luxury properties doing anything different to draw other brokers and potential buyers to their properties?

Several years ago, I remember getting an invitation in the mail to an open house of a million-dollar-plus property that included cocktails and a recital by some local musician.

Are local agents organizing lunches with special cuisine or raffling off prizes to generate traffic?

Curious to hear what’s happening …