The time for gimmicks is over.
Over the last few months, some real estate agents and homebuilders have offered unorthodox incentives to spur business in a slumping real estate market. But with sales in recent months down more than 30 percent from last year, many agents say they?re left with two basic strategies: Cutthe price, or, for new homes, throw in more house.
“It?s all about the money,” said Bill Cassidy, sales manager with Long and Foster Fells Point. “For quite some time now I have not seen gimmicks ? just sellers contributing to the deal, or price reductions.”
Incentives were most prevalent about six months ago, according to Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors President Cathy Werner. But as the market?s slump has deepened, she said free flat-screen TVs or even new cars in the garage aren?t as enticing to buyers as a home at the right price.
“So much of our market is driven off the price that?s listed on the [Multiple-Listing Service] card,” said Marc Witman, a broker with Yerman, Witman, Gaines and Garceau. “The most important thing is putting a house on the market at the right price. Putting a house on the market at $650,000 and saying, ?I?ll give you $50,000 at closing? is nowhere near as appealing as listing it at $599,000.”
Witman said one builder has begun offering a professional stager to buyers to make suggestions about sprucing up their still-unsold home, and offering 1 percent of that home?s sale price to be offered as a bonus to the selling agent.
Some builders have begun matching up buyers with sales agents to unload their existing home, said John Kortecamp, executive vice president and CEO of the Home Builders Association of Maryland.
Other builders have offered “buy one, get one free” deals for home options ? purchase one add-on and get a little more house for free. But those deals don?t help cut into the area?s 10-month inventory of standing new homes, Kortecamp said, and those kinds of incentives have fallen by the wayside in favor of simple price cuts and tougher negotiation.
“In general, builders are just getting much more aggressive with unloading product,” he said. “There?s some aggressive financial contributions being made, on top of the stuff that they?ve been doing like free basements and granite countertops.”
