My wife sells a product to homebuilders so she frequently visits all builders to promote her product and keep her relationships strong through this terrible market. She visited Maybeck the other day and found that they are releasing lower pricing in the next week or two. So I went with her to walk the models yesterday since we live around the corner (in a rental home 🙂 and the agent confirmed that prices were to be released, she guessed starting at 610-620. There are also incentives in addition to the pricing for using the financing unit of the builder (not always the best rates though).
This isnt breakthrough pricing but a step in the right direction and leads me to think that a Pricing War could happen in 4s between Pienza, Chantaclair (might have jacked the name up) and Maybeck, not to mention resale. The latter two are selling lots and new builds, while Pienza is selling existing inventory and has i think 2 or three vacant lots across from the models. All three are in the 3000 sq ft range so if one drops their entry price point to low 600s, i would think the other two would have to follow suit to stay competitive. Then the extra amenities start to get tacked on.
If the builders start competing on price and we get 3000 sq ft on a new build down to low 6’s, i would think that both resale and reo units will have to drop the price to compete.