Making an Offer on New Construction? (house, neighborhoods, closing)

[3muskateers]

Would love some in-put on what an acceptable offer (% off the list price) on new construction.

I will mention that some of the homes are in neighborhoods that are not selling much? Wondering why the builders do not just lower the price, but instead keep these homes vacant (for months)? Some are track builders and a couple are semi-custom.

Any advise would be appreciated.

[fester600]

This post may help:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/ralei...ml#post6251891

[JimmyO]

We're building a house right now. We found it a lot easier to make negotiating points out of the options rather than the cost of the house itself.

We didn't deviate too much from the asking price (which had been dropped already anyway), but then asked for $XX in options, and we actually didn't end up getting much less than we asked for. We had a lot of options we were prepared to negotiate on, though. (Flooring, fenced back yard, soundproof walls to turn one of the bedrooms into a music room.)

We were the first to build in this subdivision in a while, after some spec homes, so the builder was very willing to work with us. We seemed to jar something loose, as two homes have begun construction soon after ours.

EDIT: Also use closing costs as a negotiating point. We asked for them to pay the whole shebang, they agreed on half.

[mdp_az]

We purchased an inventory home from a custom builder for approximately 93% of current list price, or 88% of the original list price of the home. This contract was negotiated in July, so I'd think an equal or better deal could be had depending on comps.

[sneezecake]

Originally Posted by 3muskateers

Would love some in-put on what an acceptable offer (% off the list price) on new construction.

I will mention that some of the homes are in neighborhoods that are not selling much? Wondering why the builders do not just lower the price, but instead keep these homes vacant (for months)? Some are track builders and a couple are semi-custom.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Which neighborhood and builder? Some builders have more of a reputation for negotiation while others stand a little firmer.

You will almost always have better luck negotiating on an inventory home than on a to-be built home.

JimmyO is right, though - seems more often than not your best traction in negotiating a price on a to-be-built home is by asking for additional upgrades, not asking for a discount in base price.

[3muskateers]

Hello Fester600,
I am not sure how I missed that post...thank you, helped very much!

[Exit MA Now]

Originally Posted by 3muskateers

Would love some in-put on what an acceptable offer (% off the list price) on new construction.

I will mention that some of the homes are in neighborhoods that are not selling much? Wondering why the builders do not just lower the price, but instead keep these homes vacant (for months)? Some are track builders and a couple are semi-custom.

Any advise would be appreciated.

It varies, but now I would say that 100% of the upgrades should be included at NO cost and then an extra 3% to 10% off the price would be about right on a builder inventory home. But it is completely different from one town and one neighborhood to the next.

[sneezecake]

Originally Posted by Exit MA Now

It varies, but now I would say that 100% of the upgrades should be included at NO cost and then an extra 3% to 10% off the price would be about right on a builder inventory home. But it is completely different from one town and one neighborhood to the next.

On what grounds would you substantiate this suspicion?

[Exit MA Now]

Originally Posted by sneezecake

On what grounds would you substantiate this suspicion?

State what "suspicion" you are asking about and I can answer.

[sneezecake]

Originally Posted by Exit MA Now

State what "suspicion" you are asking about and I can answer.

Perhaps not suspicion...belief....the belief that 100% of upgrades "should" be included plus an additional discount?

If a community is offering that kind of deal, then the community has grossly overpriced itself.