PRICE TRUMPS CREATIVITY

Sellers nationwide want something that makes their home stand out from the sea of listings, but those who try some creative marketing generally find that only one thing counts in today's market - price. Two essay contests in Colorado and Oregon failed to attract enough contestants, and the homes are once again listed in a traditional way. Many sellers include traditional perks, such as the furniture or a car, but some have gone much further. A 42-year-old single mother in South Florida offered herself in marriage to some lucky homebuyer; and a couple in Pennsylvania offered to will the house's selling price back, upon their death, to a buyer. However, Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors Inc. in Miami, says all the unusual incentives are crazy. He says the motivation to buyers is the same: price. "Of course you want to draw attention to your property any way you can," Shuffield says. "But free trips or cars, that's costing somebody somewhere, and a buyer would rather have a reduced price and decide what to do with their money."

Source: 2008 The Associated Press
© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®