When purchasing a home or condo in a new development are the prices quoted firm or can the buyer negotiate the selling price with the broker? Are the costs of “upgrade options” negotiable.
The definitive answer: Maybe.
New home sales is a retail business. The builder has to move current inventory to finance the future inventory, just as Sears has to clear out all the Fall and Winter goods to make way — and pay — for the Spring line.
Sometimes builders have more business than they need — and in consequence nothing is negotiable.
Sometimes — like now — builders need to move inventory, and they are willing to Make Deals, as they say down at the new car lot.
Even then, the deals may be set by higher ups, with the on-site sales staff authorized to smile and say the same things over and over again.
But what is that classic car dealer’s line: “What’s it going to take to get you into a Cadillac today?”
If a salesperson says something like, “If the only thing standing between us were the carpet upgrade, would that make a difference?” — that is a closing question, but it’s also a hint about flexibility. Even then the salesperson may not be able to make concessions, but the hint is that concessions are possible.
If you’re truly interested in the home and if you can be persuaded by a better deal, now is the time to sit down and dicker. Even if you have to leave the deal on the table for referral back to the main office, you may have won.
As with cars, upgrades are where the profit margins are highest. If you can arrange for and pay for your own granite countertops, don’t buy theirs unless it’s free or deeply discounted. Seven-inch stainless steel sinks are crap, buy you can buy a top-quality sink at Lowe’s for much less than that same sink at the builder’s design center.
There can be exceptions, though. For example, right now in Arizona, a great deal of spec home inventory is being sold at huge discounts. People bought new homes contingent on the sale Read more