Ckrich,

In my experience, the builders will listen to offers. The first thing to do is to ask the salesperson if they are accepting offers. A 'No' answer means they are not negotiating. This often happens after new releases and recent price adjustments. Another early question to ask is "How many homes do you ahve in escrow now?" If the answer is more than 2 or 3 then, bluntly speaking, your perception of price is the skewed one not the builder.

Now if they are not moving inventory, then the enxt thing you have to do is to do a market analysis and make your offer providing the information you are using as comparables support with the offer. The sales manager will review the data and make a decision based on the market information you present. That doesn't mean they will accept it, as there are other business reasons for the rate at which a builder lets inventory go, but if you have properly supported facts, (all of them, not jsut self serving data) they have to at least listen.

Note on the last point. These buildsers rely on marketing infomation provided by companies who specialize in new home sales data. The builders provide information to these companies and they create reports for the builders. They are very well informed on market conditions and the pricing that new homes command across markets. A good fair analysis will carry weight if your data is in sync with the independent data they receive.

Hi Ckrich, your question is one of the reasons why I wrote the following document, which will touch on a number of key issues may not have even considered:

http://docs.Steven-Anthony.com/BuilderRealtorAgent.pdf

The notion that the Builder will "pass on the savings" of not having a Realtor represent the Buyer is a wide misconception. Rather, it is more likely that the Builder's sales representative will get a bonus check instead.

Best, Steve

Hi Ckrich,
Even though Kim's in Ohio, she has the right answer. Even if you had the recent sale prices for those homes you probably wouldn't know anything about concessions from the builder other than the sale price.

In today's market everything is negotiable UNLESS you ABSOLUTELY MUST have THAT home. If you get so set on one home that you are not willing to walk away, you will probably pay top dollar. Your strategy (for any home) has to be to set your own limit on what you are willing to pay and if the seller's not willing at that price, go on to the next one. Remember, no home is PERFECT, so you're trying to find one that comes pretty CLOSE to your idea of perfect.

So what you need is a seasoned Realtor on your side. Remember two things about that. 1) the seller pays the buyer's agents commission, and 2) that only works for new construction if a Realtor takes you the FIRST time you visit and registers you as their customer. If you go first without a Realtor, the builder will not pay a commission and you are on your own. And no, the builder will not say,"Gee, no buyer's commission to pay, I'll give it to the buyer.".

Please, whether it's me or someone else, get yourself a Realtor before you go any farther.

You can certainly do your own research, via sources such as realtor.com, your local county auditor, zillow.com and so on. However, I highly recommend you team up with an experienced, knowledgeable, and active real estate broker in your area who can perform a thoroughly analysis of value on the properties you are considering, prior to submitting an offer.

Kim

Disclaimer: I am a licensed real estate broker and property/casualty insurance agent in the State of Ohio, providing information and sharing experiences acquired over 15 years in the industries. I do not profess to be qualified to give advice in any other field, though will share opinions and information obtained during my course of work. It is always highly recommended that consumers seek counsel from a specialist in each area in which there is a question or concern.