Continuing on our theme of those once smug sellers who’ve now been slapped into humility, it appears that some sellers are doing more than slashing prices. The L.A. Times ran a story yesterday about some of the buyer incentives that desperate sellers are offering to unload their houses. What can the finicky buyer pick up as an extra for buying a home? A Toyota pickup truck, a Prius, plane tickets to Europe, a plasma TV, a fur coat, solar panels, a $10,000 gift card, a decorating gift certificate, a time share, a trip to Vegas. In one case, the buyer’s agent will get a Maserati. (Though, we ask, does the buyer’s agent really need any more of a windfall?) And builders are in on the bonus gift game too: they’re offering swimming pools and lower interest rates.
Over at Franklin Avenue, they found a Los Feliz seller willing to pay six months of the buyer’s mortgage or buy them a car.
We can’t help but wonder why sellers don’t just drop their prices. But that’s just us.
· A Maserati- As Bait [L.A. Times]
· Desperate Home Sellers [Franklin Avenue]