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The world as we once knew it, has changed. And I have changed with it. I trust that you will too. It’s the dawn of incentives in real estate. Just as soon as developers sniffed a change in the market, they immediately upped the incentives merry-go-around. Already last April, when sellers where still expecting multiple offers, but weren’t getting them, they increased their cash incentive from 10K to 15K. Now that we are in full swing of the downturn, they’ve added a 3-5% Selling Agent Commission. With the cash the buyer could go to their Design Center and buy the wood floors they always wanted, or take a 1% rate buy-down as long as you got your loan with their mortgage broker, or, better yet, one could spend it on the closing costs. It was your choice. Eyes peeled to the dollar amount, buyers were so mesmerized by being able to shop to their heart’s content. Never mind that the price for the house has not gone down! The “novelty” has now spread to the re-sale market throughout the USA. I receive daily e-mail flyers offering increased commissions and buyer incentives. The amounts and combination of incentives vary. And of course there are the daily “Price Corrections.” Where will it all end!? By all accounts not anytime soon. Because it works! Because it attracts buyers to your property. With 20-25 properties to view, how is an agent to select, how is a buyer to view them all without forgetting what they all look like? With all of this hoopla it is easy to forget what is most important, namely now pricing your property right for sale from the get go and preserving your equity. Does this mean no incentives? No, but it will mean a timely sale and a very high net you.
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