Discount possible for new construction in South Forsyth? (sales, real estate)

[ca2dfw]

I am thinking to contract with a builder to build a new home in the South Forsyth area (the house has not been built yet). The sticker price with options is about $500k.

I would like comments on whether it would be possible to get price reductions, and if so how much would be a reasonable number?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[dblackga]

Originally Posted by ca2dfw

I am thinking to contract with a builder to build a new home in the South Forsyth area (the house has not been built yet). The sticker price with options is about $500k.

I would like comments on whether it would be possible to get price reductions, and if so how much would be a reasonable number?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Everything is negotiable, of course, but it has been my experience, in this current market, that builders have no incentive to negotiate for lower pricing. Depends on who owns the lot, how busy the builder is. If it's in a development, have a real estate agent take a look at the sold prices in the neighborhood, to get a feel for selling price vs. list price - that should tell you how much play there is. But with the current lack of inventory, I wouldn't expect much give on the price.

[Go Blue 99]

Will your new name be ca2dfw2atl?

[evannole]

I am not a realtor, but agree with dblackga that you're not likely to be able to negotiate much on the base price of the house, particularly if the builder has other houses in the same neighborhood on or coming to the market. If the selling price of one house drops, it becomes a comparable sale for the other houses that have yet to sell. That can be problematic for the builder's business model.

Where you're more likely to be able to bargain is on the cost of upgrades above and beyond the list price of the house, particularly if the house has not yet gotten past a certain stage of planning and construction. Come up with a list of things that are not included in the base price that you would like added to the house... Window blinds, upgraded granite, minor structural changes like the removal of a non-load bearing wall, an additional window, a different paint color in a certain room, etc. The builder will likely give you a lump sum price for all of these upgrades combined. You can offer less than this price for them to do all of these upgrades, and they might well take it.

We recently built a house, getting in very early, and based on advice of our realtor and discussions with the builder's agent, we knew we would be paying list price four the house itself, because the builder didn't want to screw up their comps. The house was quite well finished even at the standard level, but we identified some upgrades and changes that we wanted to make that came to about $8000 when the builder priced them out. We offered to pay half that amount and they took it. It worked well for both parties... We saved some money versus list price, and the builder actually got a slightly higher comparable for future sales and probably still made money or at least broke even on the upgrades we requested.

[ca2dfw]

Thanks for the comments. I have also heard that I can only negotiate on the upgrades only. And because I am out of state, my negotiation power is probably weaker.

Regarding GoBlue's question: no, DFW didn't work out. So it would only be ca2atl. :-)