I used to work for a production new home builder for a while. What I learned is how they needed realtors as much as realtors needed them. Each week we were required to make constant contact with area realtors and brokerages. It was a way to get the realtors familiar with not only the builder, but the new home community as well.
A lot of builders will spend thousands on realtor bonus programs that include everything from trips to several thousand dollars. The builder I worked for was known for having some of the most agressive realtor bonuses in the industry. Sometimes there was a catch to the bonuses, such as if the current realtor bonus was $10,000 and your buyer needed some closing cost, the builder would usually split the bonus in half in order to make a sale for the week. A lot of realtors that I came in contact with did not so much mind this strategy, especially if it meant that they could still get a pretty hefty bonus.
My builder was also an inventory builder, which meant that they would build inventory homes that were ready to go, just in case someone needed to move within the next 30-days. This was ideal for people who were relocating to the area where my community was. At one point, we had at least 60 inventory homes on the ground.
Keep in mind, this was a couple of years ago and I know that today with the tight budgets and the more stringent demands, a lot of builders are not able to be as generous with their bonuses as they were before. But builders always have a price that they present to the public, a price that they give the Sales Counselor and a very bottom line price that the Sales Manager has. The trick is to try to get your buyer to purchase a home on the weekend, preferably Sunday afternoon, when the weekly sales goals really start to matter. The managers are willing to make some pretty great deals at 5pm on Sunday evening, because they want to be the STAR not the Loser at the Monday Morning Sales Meeting.
Anyway, there is a website called www.homeusa.com and they keep up with all the area builders and the current promotions that are offered to both the customers and their realtors. Take a peek and see what you find.
Let me know about your experience with working with new home builders.
Comments(9)