Incentives Attract Buyers, But Do They Close Deals?

Real estate professionals say incentives to sweeten a real estate deal are certainly good ways to generate buzz about a property, but the asking price is the real key to getting a home sold. Incentives to get home buyers’ attention have gotten lavish. Recent examples include a new BMW, season tickets to football games, a boat for waterfront properties, $3,000 gift cards at interior design studios, and even the home owners’ pet. "We're in a price war and a beauty contest," Tony Vehon, broker and owner of Weichert Realtors Lake Realty in Gold Canyon, Ariz., told Fox Business News. "Every home has to be priced right and look perfect. After that, a special incentive might drive traffic, especially if you offer something that grabs attention, something a little beyond the norm." Martha Thorn, a real estate pro with The Thorn Collection at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Tampa, Fla., told Fox Business News that one of her sellers for a home priced less than $200,000 tried to lure home buyers by offering up season tickets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ football games. "The buyers were thrilled with the tickets, but that certainly wasn't the reason they bought the house," Thorn told Fox. "The most important thing is always the price." Price is still key, agrees Linda O'Koniewski, broker-owner of RE/MAX Heritage in Melrose, Mass. "An offer to pay condo fees for a year or so will definitely create some buzz, and at least get a buyer to take a second look at a property," O'Koniewski says. But she says sellers must realize that "no amount of marketing will make a dent if the price is not right. If you are not competitive on the price, you cannot sell your house." Source: “Do Home Sale Incentives Work?” Fox Business News (Sept. 30, 2011)