ᐅ Is it still possible to work with a large property developer?

What are your experiences with building a new house through a property developer? I have bought many cars before, not only from private sellers but also from dealerships. You never pay the listed price. Even at major dealerships like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, where people always say they are very strict and nothing is possible, discounts or extras (extended warranty, set of winter tires) were still offered.

I understand that property developers don’t just give away 10% discounts. What is realistically possible? Do developers usually include additional services for free, or do they reduce the purchase price?

Hagiman2000 schrieb:
What experiences have you had when building a new house through a developer? I have bought many cars (not only from private sellers but also from dealerships). You never pay the listed price. Even at big dealerships for BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, where people say the dealers are very tight and nothing is possible, discounts or extras (extended warranty, set of winter tires) were available.

I understand that no developer freely gives away 10% discounts. What is realistically possible? Do developers usually include additional features for free, or do they reduce the purchase price?

I bought my first house as a new build directly from a developer.

The developer made it clear from the start that the house price was a fixed price established by the notary and not negotiable.

In fact, the developer did not change the price by a single cent.

At the final sales meeting, I proceeded as follows:
I had previously obtained a price list for optional extras and created a list of the features I definitely wanted.
I took this list to the meeting and explained that the house would only be perfect for me if those items were included.

I gave the list to the developer and asked him to mark which of the items he could include at no extra cost.
He marked 4 out of 7 items. I then negotiated the 5th and 6th, and paid for the 7th myself.

Compared to the purchase price, these extras amounted to nearly 6%.

However, I think this also depends on market demand! At the time for me, demand was not very high. After we signed the contract, many other buyers came along. Later, after moving in, the neighbors shared what “extras” they had received — all of them had significantly fewer than I did.

We also received an additional 6% discount on our house price. It was a promotion aimed at convincing undecided buyers before the end of the year.

Besides the discount offers, you can negotiate heavily. Our sales representative had already quoted us a good price, but when listing the special features, he forgot two important points: that our house should be half a meter wider and that we wanted the baseboards for the tiles included in the tiling package. We kindly reminded him that these should be included… of course without changing the price. He hesitated, but we got our way. This easily saved us several thousand dollars. After all, a larger house also means more underfloor heating, more brickwork, plaster, and so on.

Hello,

I also believe that, especially in the current situation (a large number of people wanting to build), hardly any company has much reason to lower their prices.

The most negotiable items are probably the additional features already mentioned above or a flat-rate upgrade credit.

Regards,

Dirk

Hello,

we also had a promotion, but those happen all the time. We politely asked and received a small discount, I would say just under one percent. Mainly so that there would still be a “1” at the front of the house price.

However, it kept changing with modifications to the house and the offer.

During the selection appointment, we got a small transom window included for free.

Otherwise, the general statement was that their order books are so full they don’t know where to put all the clients—and I’m glad about that. It means it’s not like a market bazaar as with kitchens, which I find unprofessional.

You can always take action, either beforehand, afterward, or in between...