I always find it interesting when new-home buyers get caught in homebuilders' price-dropping extravaganzas:

Bankrate: My Home Value Just Got Whacked

Here's the gist: "I recently bought a new home and moved in less than three months ago," says the reader in the article above. "Since then, the builders have dropped the base purchase price by more than 15 percent on other homes in my subdivision! I am furious. Is there anything I can do about this?"

The answer from Bankrate's expert, as you might surmise, is "Not really. But thanks for writing."

Cynic that I am, I have to laugh inside, just a little, when I read stuff like this. What did you expect, Dear Buyer, when you bought that McMansion? That home prices always and only go up? News Flash: They don't. And when your subdivision's builder finds him- or herself holding a glut of inventory, and that inventory ain't moving, then something's gotta give. Odds are that your home's "value" is going to be hit somehow by that "give."

To get these places sold, builders might start throwing in amenities: Think gold-plated hot tubs, two-story tool sheds, and air-conditioned dog barns. I'm not an expert on builders, of course, but I suspect they'd rather do stuff like that than drop prices. Really — who wouldn't want a conservatory in their brand new abode?

AZ Central: Homebuilders Pile on Incentives

However, at some point, when the offers of Can't Miss Extras aren't working, then the next thing to drop is price.



So just because you paid $350,000 for your home back in January, it doesn't mean that the builder won't unload your home's twin, a block over, for $280,000 next week. Could that create a predicament for you? Sure it could. But them's the breaks.

Home-buying is just like anything else: You rolls the dice, and you takes yer chances.

As a great many folks are now finding out.

Labels: Homeownership