December 2nd #AREFChat Recap

The #AREFChat weekly Twitter forum continued at 9:30 a.m. EST on December 2nd. Considering the holiday season has officially begun, the topic for the discussion was how builders and real estate agents offset the typical holiday trend by use of incentives and promotions.

Michelle Serra (@MLSerra) moderated the discussion and began the conversation with a simple question – What holiday incentives are you doing to get your name out there during the slow month of December?

What we came to find out is that the already low prices of homes on the market have basically prevented the use of any traditional end of the year incentives. Most builders/real estate agents are using good will incentives to encourage home shoppers during the holidays.

For example, Kevin B. Morrow (@KBMRG) discussed how his real estate company, ERA Sunrise, will make a donation in excess of $1,000 to the Cherokee County Humane Society for homes sold in Towne Mill. Also, ERA Sunrise is an official Toys for Tots drop-off location.

Circle 75 townhomes (@Circle75) in Cobb County are offering a similar incentive. For every home sold in the community, Circle 75 will donate blankets to Cobb County animal control, to help keep the homeless pets warm during the cold months.

Happy to broaden the discussion outside of the Atlanta market, we did hear from Highland Homes (@HighlandHomesFL), a central Florida home builder, who is offering a free Bahamas cruise on all homes purchased by the end of the year.

As the conversation continued on past examples of incentives, we began discussing the overall economy and its impact on the housing market during the holiday season. The state of the economy seems to be driving home buyers more than anything. They are hesitant to make a purchase now because they think that they will get a better deal if they hold out one month.

Kevin summed it up pretty well when he said “The economy will be the primary driver of buyer habits, not incentives.” This statement was retweeted numerous times by real estate professionals all over the country.

Feel like you had something to contribute to the conversation but you missed out? Don’t worry, #AREFChat takes place every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. EST, so mark your calendar so that you don’t miss next week’s discussion. While hosted by Atlanta Real Estate Forum, it is not strictly open to Atlanta professionals. We would love to get perspectives from markets all over the country.

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