Builders Are Practically Giving Away Homes!

Well, not really, but I did see an amazing offer last weekend. I have some relatives who are looking to move to Arizona from California and they were out here last weekend to look at houses. They looked at some resales, but also looked at one new build development. The house they liked was the biggest in the development, about 2,300 square feet. It was priced at $395,000, but the builder was offering an $85,000 incentive. With that incentive, the house was actually cheaper than their smallest model. In looking at their community map, it seems pretty clear why they are offering such a big incentive. Very few of this model have been sold. They probably want some diversity in their community, so they are trying to sell this particular model so the neighborhood has some variety. Oh, and another incentive they were offering was free granite countertops.

I also found out an interesting bit of info from the salesperson. This particular model is a two story house and, when discussing the various lots available, she told us that the city of Chandler does not allow two story homes on a corner lot. I've never heard of that and I can't really think of a reason why they would have this restriction. The only thing I can think of would be visibility, but you can instead have required setbacks from the street for the house. Does anyone have any other ideas?