Seeking Alpha
About this author:

Homebuilder Incentives

Lake Club Home Sells For $3.29 Million.  Florida: “There are only a few days left to receive up to $5,000 of interior upgrades with the purchase of a new Ryland (RYL) home. The builder's Tampa division kicked off the offer last week, and the sale goes through the end of the month. Buyers can select upgrades in flooring, counters or kitchen cabinets, or the $5,000 can be used toward financing. Ryland is building in Copperstone in Parrish and Oakleaf Hammock in Ellenton.”  (Bradenton Herald, June 22nd) 

Meritage Offers Up To $13,000 In Incentives At Crawford Farms, Parks Of Deer Creek.  Texas: “Meritage Homes (MTH) is offering special closeout savings this weekend in two exciting master-planned communities. Buyers will receive up to $13,000 in closeout incentives when they contract by June 30 to build a new Meritage home in Crawford Farms in Keller or Parks of Deer Creek in Fort Worth and finance with MTH Funding. Crawford Farms features homes priced from the $180Ks-$260Ks. This weekend, buyers who take advantage of the closeout incentives can purchase a new home at Parks of Deer Creek priced from the $120Ks.”  (Star Telegram, June 22nd) 

Lennar Event Gets America Moving.  Nevada: “Lennar Homes (LEN) homebuilder launches its "Let's Get America Moving" program. The new home sales event is part of a summer sales drive that starts today at Lennar neighborhoods across the Las Vegas Valley. The event… offers buyers a choice between two value-specific programs for home buyers looking for a low fixed rate of 3.5% for the first year, 4.5% fixed for the second year, and 5.5% (5.99% APR) fixed for life. The second program offers nine months of no mortgage principal and interest payments.”  (Las Vegas Review Journal, June 21st)

Seeking Alpha's Housing Tracker is a collection of housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.

Get Seeking Alpha's housing market coverage by email -- it's free and takes only seconds to sign up.

Print this article with comments

This article has 6 comments:

  •  
    My god. Unreal.
    2008 Jun 23 07:00 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    So?
    2008 Jun 23 08:42 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    A couple of thoughts.

    First, do you suppose that the appraisers are adjusting value to account for the concessions and subsidized financing? I doubt it.

    Second, have we really come very far from the subprime days. Here are my thoughts on that-blog.metro-real-estate....

    2008 Jun 23 11:55 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I'd like to know what the minimum credit score is for that Las Vegas program. Probably 700+. Also, what other qualifications are required (reserves, debt ratios etc.).

    As far as appraisers adjusting values, I agree with Tom Lindmark that the base price of the property plus upgrades is more than likely what appraisers are using, and whatever concessions are being offered are excluded from the appraised valuation.
    2008 Jun 23 12:16 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    billddrummer asked what the qualification criteria for the Las Vegas Lennar deal.

    Actually there is no FICO requirement as they are using FHA for their loans. Reserves are not an issue as they use down payment assistance programs to achieve 100% financing. I have even seen two instances in Phoenix in which they used this program and the builder chipped in an extra 5 grand so the borrowers could pay off some collections in order to qualify for the home.

    As I said earlier, we haven't learned anything.
    2008 Jun 23 12:38 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Tom,

    Thanks for the info. I see trouble a'comin...
    2008 Jun 23 01:46 PM | Link | Reply
More by SA Editor Judy Weil
Other articles by SA Editor Judy Weil »