Welcome Back Readers! Today we're talking about Buyer Incentives. You've seen them, buy this house and seller will pay selling agent bonus, seller will include new Cadillac, enter contest to win a Cruise to Bahamas. Now, not many sellers have been offering these types of incentives in Lancaster, but in new construction we have seen No Mortgage Payments for a Year, $40,000 in Builder Upgrades, buy our home and if yours doesn't sell we buy yours, etc.
On the surface, you might think these are all great ideas, but they aren't. They are actually terrible ideas.
I know, I know, some of you are going to tell me "But, the market is bad, we have to offer these incentives to make our homes stand out!". No, you don't and the market isn't that bad either (but that's another post). These incentives are a terrible idea because buyers are smart. They are educated. They all see the truth and the truth, I am sorry to say, is that we have a seller who is not willing to lower their price.
These incentives aren't free. Sellers build them into the price. It's money out of the sellers pocket. If you're a seller and your are offering an incentive like this you know what I am talking about. You have that number, the amount the incentive is costing you, in the back of your mind. If you are giving them a $50,000 Cadillac, it isn't out of the goodness of your heart, it's to make them buy! If they said forget the Cadillac and give me the home for $50,000 less you, the seller, would agree in a heartbeat. It's all the same to you, you're out $50,000 any way you look at it.
If you want your home to stand out, stop trying to trick buyers into overpaying for it. They probably aren't even going to notice the incentive in the first place. If you want to sell your home in today's market, if you want to attract buyers to your home, price it right. Price it lower than the competition, offer the buyer a great value for their dollar, they will respond. Don't believe me? How do you shop? Whatever you are purchasing, what is the first thing you look at? If you answered anything but price I would be shocked.
You have about 4-8 seconds to catch someones attention when they are looking at houses. If they go to any real estate site, including this one, and do a search, they end up with a list of homes meeting their criteria. This list has one picture of the home (better make that count, but again that's the subject of another post), price, basic features such as square footage, bedrooms and baths and the ability to click through for more info. The buyer then will narrow down the list, only going farther if the home catches their attention. If the price and picture don't catch them in the first 4-8 seconds, they WILL NEVER CLICK through to even see your incentive in the first place!
Buyers, you know you agree. For you, its usually about finding the right home, the home that meets your needs and your budget. If the home doesn't meet those needs or your budget, you aren't buying it and no incentive will change that.
The key to successfully selling a home in today's changing market isn't a secret. It's all about Price and Presentation, price alone won't do it, presentation alone won't do it, but together, in the right combination, with the right efforts and planning, they will bring in the buyer for your home.
If you want to sell your Lancaster County home, I'd be happy to help you with your Pricing and Presentation as well, just give me a call!
Photo courtesy of Cyn74 via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyntharyn74/3262089319/
Comments(0)