>> I was also curious as this spring it has been really tough negotiating with
>> the builders. Last summer it seemed like they were much more
>> negotiable
I think the builders in 4S have been aggressively lowering prices in the last 12 months. And to be fair, 18% in 12 months is aggressive! They probably think that they’ve done enough to bring in buyers. From the builders’ point of view, keep lowering prices will send the “wrong message”. So, they want to be “firm on prices” and hope that the coming “spring bounce” will help.
Since the lenders are tightening credit standards, sales for this Spring & Summer will probably be weak.
I suspect that the next round of price reductions will come during late summer/early fall. Because, builders won’t want to wait another 6 months until Spring 2008.
