Centex Extends "Special One-Time" Sale; Pulte "Adjusts" Prices

Did you miss last week's Centex 12-hour sale? Well this is your lucky day. Centex has extended their "one and only opportunity." This is from their latest ad:

After more than 100 buyers took advantage of a special 12-hour savings event Feb. 11, Centex Homes has decided to continue the savings opportunity through Sunday. Some buyers in the first event saved as much as $150,000 on a new-home purchase, and similar savings are possible this weekend, said Patrick D'Arcangelo, vice president of sales and marketing for Centex. "Our 12-hour savings event was a huge success," D'Arcangelo said. "Because the response was so great, and we were unable to spend quality time with everyone in the 12-hour period, we are extending the special incentives through Sunday. We still have a good selection of homes available, and we want interested homebuyers to be able to take advantage of the savings."Centex Homes' special-event incentives can be found at participating communities throughout the Sacramento region. Buyers can save as much as $150,000 on specially selected homes, including some new construction and some that are ready for move-in.

Wow, you better hurry, deals like this are so "special" they never are repeated! Centex set up this domain name for their "one-time" event: http://www.centexsacramento12hours.com/
Oh, and did I mention all those cancellations?

Meanwhile, in a sign of the times, Pulte bites the bullet and decides to just cut prices:

To reduce their inventory of homes, many area builders are offering a variety of incentives, such as completely landscaped backyards, kitchen upgrades and free utilities. They are avoiding cutting prices by offering the additional features or upgrades at no extra cost. Pulte Homes has introduced a different pricing strategy that many new-home buyers are finding attractive. Pulte has simply adjusted its prices at many of its new-home communities in the area...

"Pulte decided to focus on a simple pricing structure that appeals to the new-home buyer by adjusting pricing to what is currently appropriate for the market," said Chris Cady, president of Pulte Homes' Sacramento South division. Cady thinks the number of incentives offered by builders is confusing to buyers. "Builders are constantly chasing each other with offers," he said. "Incentives are changing weekly and customers are just getting confused. Our new pricing strategy is an uncomplicated way of giving our new-home buyers the best value for their money."

A recent survey of Pulte buyers showed they did not consider builder incentives to be as important as quality, amenities and price when purchasing a home. Buyers listed "value for their money" as the most important reason for selecting a new home...

In response to its new-home prices, Glover said, "Pulte sees a price adjustment as a reaction to the 'normalizing' of the housing climate in the area and the adjustment is the appropriate response to current market conditions..." "We are no longer in a market that is producing record high sales, but 2006 will still be a strong year for new-home sales in the Sacramento area," Cady said.

Finally, is ABC News reading the blogosphere?

Some buyers are walking away with $10,000 gift cards for furniture and electronics stores when they get the keys to their new homes..."Getting a gift certificate from Best Buy isn't a reason to go out and buy a house," Markstein said.

Centex -- one of the nation's largest home builders -- has been running full-page ads in papers from Virginia to the California coast touting limited-time offers of $150,000 off a new house. The company is hoping the steep discounts will lure hesitant buyers into their model homes and sales centers at a time when mortgage rates are rising and the growth in home values is petering out. "Our 12-hour sale is their one and only opportunity to save up to $150,000 on that new home they have been dreaming about," boasts one of Centex's ads in Sacramento, Calif. "Our sales offices will be open until 10 tonight so that everyone has a greater opportunity to tour our models and select their favorite home."