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Letter: House Buyer Incentives Smack of Desperation
Published on: 1 Sep, 2023
Updated on: 1 Sep, 2023
One example of developer enticements to Guildford boroughhouse buyers.
From: Jules Cranwell
I have noticed recently that all developers are offering substantial incentives to attract buyers in Surrey.
These include: payment of stamp duty; up to £1,250 per month towards mortgage payments; £30,000 towards deposits etc.
These incentives smack of desperation on the part of the developers.
Have they realised that their orgy of development has caused supply to outstrip demand for executive homes?
Were they blindsided by the effect of rising interest rates, meaning many cannot obtain mortgages?
Will they be left with partly-occupied or unoccupied estates as white elephants?
Hopefully, this will put a halt to further unwanted housing developments in our countryside, as developers are clearly spooked by the current environment, to be offering such massive incentives.
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Responses to Letter: House Buyer Incentives Smack of Desperation
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"Found any?" - "Nope, it all looks green to me!" (See Opinion: The Future is Congested, the Future is Grey)
Jules Cranwell
September 2, 2023 at 11:28 pm
By offering such generous incentives, are they trying to artificially maintain their epic prices, rather just discount these homes to their true current value. I would hope that the average buyer is capable of calculating the real cost of buying a home, after such incentives.
Olly Azad
September 3, 2023 at 2:55 pm
I have heard of similar incentives in the past from house builders trying to entice customers into buying one of their properties, but to suggest contributing £1,250 towards mortgage payments does sound desperate, I agree. It can sometimes be followed to include soft furnishings and a freshly manicured garden too.
However, why can’t Taylor Wimpey, and other developers, reduce their prices in a robust and meaningful way? If they did I’d imagine a lot more houses would sell in real quick time. And yes, I agree with Jules Cranwell, the prices are way too high and artificially inflated. With an acute shortage of properties nationwide, the demand is only there for affordable and realistically priced homes.
With mortgage rates set to remain high for some time, I can see why incentives like these are being introduced, and although helpful, it won’t necessarily generate activity if buyers feel that properties are still overpriced.
If supermarkets are regularly trying to win back customers with low-cost pricing maybe house builders could learn the fundamentals from them and start to bring down their prices. Activity would soon hot up I am sure as we all like a genuine bargain.