I recently attended a turkey giveaway promotional event put on by Cam West Development. The purpose of the event was to attract active agents to their sites in the hopes of selling more homes before the end of the year. The fact is, all builders are feeling the pain of the market slowdown. In all fairness to my friends at Cam West, the turkey giveaway is an annual tradition. The good news for buyers however? They really are giving away the farm!

If you have ever dreamed of owning a brand new home but thought you just couldn't afford it........you were probably right.............until now. All builders are wheeling and dealing; big time. Here are some examples: Quadrant Homes is offering up to $45,000 in buyer bonuses in select communities; D.R. Horton is offering up to $30,000 in buyer bonuses in at least one community; Other builders are offering huge financing incentives and contests for agents who bring buyers.

We are in a rare position in this marketplace where the buyer has the upper hand. "Builders are in a position where they have paid too much for land" according to Todd Britsch of New Home Trends. Builders need to liquidate their existing inventory, even if it's at a loss in order to have capitol to reinvest. In the end the bigger builders will be fine. The people who get hurt the most in this situation are the land speculators. According to Britsch we currently have a 12 month supply of recorded lots in King County. This will cause prices for raw land and finished lots to completely "reset." Practically speaking they already have. Land that may have sold for $225K per finished lot a few months ago isn't even being considered currently @ $150K per lot.......but I digress.

What all of this means for today's new home buyer is that, right now - today - is the absolute best new construction home buying opportunity in decades! Here's an example - going back to our friends at Cam West. I have a buyer who is marginally interested in a Cam West home that is almost complete. This home is absolutely gorgeous and reflects Cam Wests' commitment to quality, style & detail. The backyard is enormous, fully fenced and fully landscaped. And as if that's not enough it backs up to a 33 acre greenbelt. The site agents were highly motivated to put a deal together. My buyers wanted a complete appliance package, including, refrigerator and washer and dryer AND they wanted the entire main floor to be hardwoods. Builders response? Let's write it up, as in - no additional price increase, no lot premium, no charge for the fence or rear yard landscaping, etc. Are you kidding me?! This is unheard of! I don't know why my clients didn't buy this home. What I do know is that whoever does will be very thankful they did in about 4 or 5 years.