Sales pitch: Buy a house, get a Hummer
Illinois couple use SUV as incentive
August 6, 2006 Published Detroit Free Press, republish in this blog by Ralph Marcus (Mark), Jr.
BY MARY UMBERGER
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Tom and Sandi Gollinger really, really, really want to sell their Naperville, Ill., home.
They point out to prospective buyers that the century-old house has several goodies, including the original stained glass, a wine cellar and a two-story addition in the back.
And, oh, yes: there's the Hummer
That would be the shiny red 2006 Hummer H3 with 65 miles on the odometer and a list price of $29,700 that's parked in the driveway. All this could be yours, as they say, if the price is right. In this case, that's somewhere around $1.475 million.
"We have to be creative in these times," said Sandi Gollinger. "I said: 'What are we going to do to get people into the house?' "
The answer may come in the form of a 4,700-pound SUV, though it's too soon to tell, as the house-plus-car deal is only a little more than a week old.
Real estate experts say that year-over-year, signed contracts for home sales in Chicago are actually up. But inventories of homes for sale have exploded, and it's increasingly clear that sellers, particularly in the upper brackets that were the first to feel the drag of the slowing market, need to do something to stand out.
"The times, they are a-changin'," said David Hanna, chief executive of Prudential Preferred Properties in Chicago, who says that although houses continue to sell "pretty well," he's seeing many incentives designed to pick up the pace.
In most price ranges, sellers are offering to pay such things as buyers' closing costs or several months' condo assessments, he said. Sometimes they increase the commissions or offer bonuses to agents who bring in buyers, Hanna said.
But now, among the pricier listings, the offerings appear to have crossed some invisible line into the realm of the more exotic, Chicago-area agents said. Car giveaways are still rare, but offers of free travel and home-theater systems are popping up.
"I used to give away televisions, but it's no longer a novel idea," said Re/Max real estate agent Sue Miller, who is Tom Gollinger's sister and who has been trying to sell the couple's house since February.
The car idea came up after Sandi Gollinger searched for "real estate incentives" on the Internet and came up with a report of agents on the East Coast who were giving them away. It helped that her husband owns a Hummer dealership.
The Gollingers' isn't the only automotive incentive in the Chicago real estate market. Although they're offering the car directly to whomever buys the house, a Hinsdale seller is dangling one as a reward to the real estate agent who produces a signed contract.
"I've got the cuter car," said Hinsdale agent Jaime Adams. "It's a Mini Cooper convertible. Pick your color."
Adams began offering the car to agents about a month ago at the behest of her client, car dealer Bill Jacobs, who is trying to sell a house that's listed for $4.9 million.
"We thought this would be fun," she said. "Reaction has been super-duper."
But it hasn't sold the house, she said.
"I thought I would be beating them off with a stick," she said. But there have been no offers, and they're going to extend the car promo. "It's a tough one. The buyers just aren't out there."
Or, rather, there just aren't enough of them.
In Naperville, for example, the Gollingers have plenty of competition, according to appraiser Chip Wagner. He said that in the past 12 months, 28 homes there have sold in their price range, from $1.2 million to $1.6 million. Currently, there are 89 on the market -- a 30-month supply.
"It's frustrating to people," said Hinsdale agent Tina Porterfield, who said that in her experience, incentives aren't particularly effective. They can attract attention, she said, but it's usually the price seals the sale.
On Jan. 23, Glen Ellyn Re/Max agent Beth Gorz listed a home in that western suburb for $797,000. The house is still for sale, down to $739,000. Last week, she sent out a mailing to agents offering a week's stay for four in a beachfront condo in Maui to the one who brought in a buyer by Aug. 10.
"Given the tenor of the times, being creative is worth the try," Gorz said.
Illinois couple use SUV as incentive
August 6, 2006 Published Detroit Free Press, republish in this blog by Ralph Marcus (Mark), Jr.
BY MARY UMBERGER
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Tom and Sandi Gollinger really, really, really want to sell their Naperville, Ill., home.
They point out to prospective buyers that the century-old house has several goodies, including the original stained glass, a wine cellar and a two-story addition in the back.
And, oh, yes: there's the Hummer
That would be the shiny red 2006 Hummer H3 with 65 miles on the odometer and a list price of $29,700 that's parked in the driveway. All this could be yours, as they say, if the price is right. In this case, that's somewhere around $1.475 million.
"We have to be creative in these times," said Sandi Gollinger. "I said: 'What are we going to do to get people into the house?' "
The answer may come in the form of a 4,700-pound SUV, though it's too soon to tell, as the house-plus-car deal is only a little more than a week old.
Real estate experts say that year-over-year, signed contracts for home sales in Chicago are actually up. But inventories of homes for sale have exploded, and it's increasingly clear that sellers, particularly in the upper brackets that were the first to feel the drag of the slowing market, need to do something to stand out.
"The times, they are a-changin'," said David Hanna, chief executive of Prudential Preferred Properties in Chicago, who says that although houses continue to sell "pretty well," he's seeing many incentives designed to pick up the pace.
In most price ranges, sellers are offering to pay such things as buyers' closing costs or several months' condo assessments, he said. Sometimes they increase the commissions or offer bonuses to agents who bring in buyers, Hanna said.
But now, among the pricier listings, the offerings appear to have crossed some invisible line into the realm of the more exotic, Chicago-area agents said. Car giveaways are still rare, but offers of free travel and home-theater systems are popping up.
"I used to give away televisions, but it's no longer a novel idea," said Re/Max real estate agent Sue Miller, who is Tom Gollinger's sister and who has been trying to sell the couple's house since February.
The car idea came up after Sandi Gollinger searched for "real estate incentives" on the Internet and came up with a report of agents on the East Coast who were giving them away. It helped that her husband owns a Hummer dealership.
The Gollingers' isn't the only automotive incentive in the Chicago real estate market. Although they're offering the car directly to whomever buys the house, a Hinsdale seller is dangling one as a reward to the real estate agent who produces a signed contract.
"I've got the cuter car," said Hinsdale agent Jaime Adams. "It's a Mini Cooper convertible. Pick your color."
Adams began offering the car to agents about a month ago at the behest of her client, car dealer Bill Jacobs, who is trying to sell a house that's listed for $4.9 million.
"We thought this would be fun," she said. "Reaction has been super-duper."
But it hasn't sold the house, she said.
"I thought I would be beating them off with a stick," she said. But there have been no offers, and they're going to extend the car promo. "It's a tough one. The buyers just aren't out there."
Or, rather, there just aren't enough of them.
In Naperville, for example, the Gollingers have plenty of competition, according to appraiser Chip Wagner. He said that in the past 12 months, 28 homes there have sold in their price range, from $1.2 million to $1.6 million. Currently, there are 89 on the market -- a 30-month supply.
"It's frustrating to people," said Hinsdale agent Tina Porterfield, who said that in her experience, incentives aren't particularly effective. They can attract attention, she said, but it's usually the price seals the sale.
On Jan. 23, Glen Ellyn Re/Max agent Beth Gorz listed a home in that western suburb for $797,000. The house is still for sale, down to $739,000. Last week, she sent out a mailing to agents offering a week's stay for four in a beachfront condo in Maui to the one who brought in a buyer by Aug. 10.
"Given the tenor of the times, being creative is worth the try," Gorz said.
posted by Ralph Marcus (Mark) Maupin | 6:10 AM
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