Are buyer incentives more effective than discounts?

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Oct. 28, 2008 – Real estate agents increasingly are offering attention-getting incentives, such as plasma televisions and gas cards, to lure home buyers.

These perks are more effective than price discounts in getting buyers to look at homes, according to Louisburg, Kan.-based real estate practitioner Doug Busby. He has found particular success offering $2,000 gas cards with home purchases.

“Buyers right now are looking for bargains. Offering incentives like gas cards gives the buyer the perception that the seller has an open mind and is willing to make a deal, but it is always an agreeable price on the home that sells it,” Busby says.

However, such incentives usually are not the reason why buyers go ahead and make the purchase. That’s OK, says Busby, as the primary goal of unique incentives is to drive traffic to the home.

At a time when buyers are hesitant to get of the fence, an incentive gives them the reason they need to take the first step.

In the end, however, it’s low prices and great locations that are still the prime factors that convince a prospective buyer to make an offer, practitioners say.

Source: KCCommunity News, Abram Book (10/24/2008)

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