Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Shhh...Stealth Price Cuts?


Are area builders going into stealth mode? When I last looked at Riva in West Sacramento, the condo complex had just added up to $50,000 discounts. Recently, they announced the end of that discount:

Incentives of as much as $50,000 will be discontinued before month's end at the attached-home communities of Riva in West Sacramento and Jasmine in Elk Grove. So now is a good time to buy, said Scott Bolli, director of sales for the developer, Pacific West Cos. "We plan to scale back our incentive program after May 21," Bolli said. "If you haven't visited Riva yet or if you've been waiting for just the right time, this is a great opportunity."
So waiting would be a bad idea if you wanted to buy one of these condos, right? Well maybe not. I looked a little closer at the starting prices and noticed a trend:

February 4, 2006: "Pricing starts in the mid-to upper-$200,000s"
April 22, 2006: "Riva pricing starts in the mid-to high $200,000s"
April 29, 2006: "Pricing starts in the mid-$200,000s"
May 6, 2006: "Riva pricing starts in the mid-$200,000s"
May 20, 2006: "Riva pricing starts in the low $200,000s"
May 27, 2006: "Riva pricing starts in the low $200,000s"

And at Jasmine:
May 13, 2006: "Prices start in the high $200,000s"
May 20, 2006: "Home prices start in the mid-$200,000s"
May 27, 2006: "Prices start in the mid-$200,000s"

Do you see what I see? Is the Sacramento housing market entering a new phase where builders move beyond incentives & discounts and actually lower prices?

Lowball Centex?

Meanwhile, an ad appeared in my inbox which I thought was interesting. It appears Centex has shifted tactics and is offering a "private" sale:
As a SacBee.com subscriber, you're invited to a special Private Sale that will take place for one week only from May 27th through June 4th, 2006. You'll be privileged to the best quality homes along with special Private Sale discounts you have to see to believe!! This is the ideal opportunity to get the very best quality home at the very best price. No reasonable offer will be refused!
Learn more about this sale here. Any ideas about what a "reasonable offer" would be?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

175k for their best home seems about right to me.has this site also been attacked?

Lander said...

"has this site also been attacked?"

No, not that I know of.

Anonymous said...

I just got an e-mail form Beazer Homes with the following price reductions:

Natomas:
$426,340 reduced to $409,990
$368,650 reduced to $344,990
$311,347 reduced to $294,990.

Folsom:
$586,771 reduced to $529,990

Lincoln:
$326,940 reduced to $299,990

Anonymous said...

a number of bubble sites have been attacked and taken down,overvalued blogspot among them,marin re bubbles has a list of three they were all still down at 3pm today.whoever did this should move to the usa if they don't like free speech.

Lander said...

Thanks for the info anon.

If anyone else has seen price reductions on new homes in Sacramento please add a comment below or email me.

Anonymous said...

I want to see Sacramento and especially Folsom to get back to 1999 prices. I believe this will take 1-2 years but we will see them when the house market overshoot in the downward slide.