Negotiating on new build

aaz01

Any tips/tricks/techniques here I should know about? I've seen people on this forum talk about 30% discounts - but that seems unrealistic.

I've always had good success getting money off used cars - but never bought a house before so I don't know if I should do anything different?

My "technique" would go along the lines of "Oh you want £260k? Well we can give you £195k" - and hopefully they'll be relieved when I go back up to the 200s and we'll settle at around 235.
Is that realistic? Should I be aiming for more?

New houses around here sell quite fast - so I don't see where the incentive is for them to give a big discount?

nidO

Your location is an important factor, and things like how badly they want shot of any particular property (is it close to their year-end with the property built and sitting empty, etc) are also pretty crucial.
10% is a fairly normal discount/list of incentives you should be shooting for, 20% is do-able, 30% seems to me to be a bit of a stretch, that sounds more like a desperate developer rather than something realistic to rely on.

Of course, if you're in an area where the developers are having no trouble selling their houses, you might be pushing it hoping for much more than 5%'s worth of incentives/fixings.

chris.lewis

Its about supply and demand. I was one who managed to get a 30% discount from Crest but that was during the crash in 2009.

You can normally expect there is around 10% of movement for new builds, but if you are taking any incentives from the builder then they will be less likely to move on price.

Saying that unless always be a little cheeky, they can only say no and you can always re offer.

dgtazzman

It's a rising market and around ours property is starting to move faster by the day. With this in mind, you'll have to stay realistic.

10% seems doable, though you're more likely to get it in material incentives than reduction in asking price, or a combination of both.

20% and more, very unlikely, unless they are desperately trying to get rid of a certain property and you are in the right place at the right time. I'd also be asking myself why they are so desperate to get rid of it with such a reduction.

The purchase we are going through with Keepmoat:

We got 10k off normal list price of 210k, this was due to it being one of the first properties, they don't have a show home yet, so they are knocking some off prices to get sales moving and generate interest. We also got full flooring (including tiles wherever we wanted), turfing, full set of integrated kitchen appliances and some small things like an extra socket and water tap in the garden. Couldn't get them to pay the stamp duty, this was the limit. In all, that's probably around 10% worth.

On a Barratt's house we pulled out on before the Keepmoat one:

No money off asking price, carpets and vinyls included (no tiles, not even in the bathrooms), turfing and stamp duty paid. Tried to get more out of them, but it was 'take it or don't let the door hit you on the way out'.

bylromarha

If they're asking £260k, they must not be expecting to sell at £260k with the stamp duty threshold.

If the houses are selling quite fast, you could try a cheeky offer, but I don't see them letting it go for £235k unless you're a cash buyer who can complete before their probable year end on 31 Dec.

Thrugelmir

aaz01 wrote: »

New houses around here sell quite fast - so I don't see where the incentive is for them to give a big discount?

You appear to answered your own question.

bclark

Its all hugely dependent on area and the development.

I bought earlier this year and we got 5% off the list but then quite a few extras like half of our stamp duty paid, carpets, floor tiles etc too.

Since then the development is selling like hot cakes and houses are being reserved as soon as they have released, the house we bought is now marketed at £25k more than it was when we bought it. My Brother is looking to buy on the same development and is literally having to fight them to allow him to get one, there is a long waiting list for when they are released.

As a result there is zero reduction on list price available at all and from his discussions it looks doubtful that they will even throw in carpets.

I am sure this isn't typical of the nationwide picture but we are in the South West and this isn't a small development either so it may be the case that we are certainly not in the climate of 20-30% reductions at the moment.

Prothet_of_Doom

How many different developers have houses you would happily buy if the price were right ? I'd go with a simple incentive:

I've found 3 houses I'm interested in, I am going to make a decision on Thursday, please give me your best written