NEW HOME BUILDERS, FINDING INCENTIVES LESS EFFECTIVE, TRY HAVING A PARTY!
BIG-SCREEN TV'S, TRIPS TO HAWAII NO LONGER DRIVE BUYERS, SO BUILDERS HOST ELABORATE CATERED PARTIES, HOMEOWNER SEMINARS - MORE!
It's tough selling new homes these days, in the Chicago area, and elsewhere across the country.
Last year, as the market continued its transition to one favoring sellers and builders, to today's market, favoring the buyers, many new home builders offered incentives rarely seen previously. These included expensive HDTV's, paid college tuition accounts, free assessments or mortgage payments for up to a year, and the like.
In early 2008, builders simply offered substantial price reductions - at first, not advertised, then, heavily promoted - to move their existing unsold home inventory. At one such development in Chicago Suburban Bartlett IL, Regency Oaks, developer Kimball Hill Homes offered upgrade and price discounts in excess of $100,000 on a $649,000 new-construction model home - one of two left in this exclusive subdivision, which would not move at the original price.
Today, big social gatherings seem to be En Vogue!
In May, Toll Brothers Builders hosted a deluxe, catered open house touting its new clubhouse in its Regency at the Woods community in South Barrington IL - 30 miles northwest of Chicago. They offered guided tours of the community, a Poker Tournament, an elaborate lunch, cooking demonstrations by premium kitchen appliance manufacturer Viking, children's activities, and specialized instruction from resident tennis and personal fitness trainers.
After the Open House, Regency's sales staff found that 80% of the attendees were current homeowners in the subdivision. That didn't matter, in their eyes. Builders consider currently-satisfied homeowners the best source of word of mouth advertising for their new developments, and their hard-to-sell houses.
At the new Meier Park Subdivision at West Point Gardens in the Chicago suburb of Elgin IL, developer West Point Builders partnered with area residents to serve high-end food in model homes. They hired barbershop quartets to entertain visitors from the model home balconies, and had City Departments man booths with useful information about the City of Elgin.
Says Pat Curran, President of West Point Builders & Developers, "We want to sell houses. Our goal is not to beat people over the head. People first want to see if it's a community where they see themselves living."
The developers at West Point expected 200 attendees to their dedication party. Instead, they got more than 300 attending! They're hoping all the good will, the fun, the food, and the entertainment, will turn into sales contracts signed within the next few weeks.
Stay tuned - to see if this all works for new home builders here!
Read Mary Ellen Podmolik's article in last Friday's Chicago Tribune for more info.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
