Coldwell Banker's having a sale!

Macy's does it. So do the airlines. So why not real estate companies?

Hoping to jump-start sales in a comatose market, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is running a 10-day "national sales event" from Friday through Oct. 19.

The participating sellers, who already have been selected, will reduce their listing prices by about 8% to 10%. In the Greater L.A. region -- Santa Barbara, Ventura, the South Bay, the Westside of L.A., Hancock Park and the San Fernando Valley -- where about 200 sellers are involved, reductions may be greater, a Coldwell Banker spokeswoman said.

To find these reduced listings, buyers can visit two websites that will go live beginning Friday:

    www.coldwellbanker.com/event
    www.camoves.com, then click on the "10-Day Sales" link.

Now, if buyers can just get mortgages.

-- Diane Wedner
   
Your thoughts? Comments?

Photo: Geraldine Wilkins / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[TrojanDLA]

LOL, how absurd. As if 10% off is going to make a difference when:
1. buyers are willing to pay full price - as long as they got a loan.
2. competing REO properties are at least 15% cheaper
3. buyers are waiting for a "bottom" and with the steady collapse of the global economy, it's not even close

Clearly, Coldwell Banker doesn't have a clue why housing prices are down.

[Brad]

Yawn.

[latesummer2009]

How desperate. All that does is effectively lower all their listing prices by 10%. What's next, Thanksgiving Sale? The real estate industry is on life support. nothing is going to help it until prices drop considerably.

Looking at price/income ratios, price/rent ratios, the state of frozen credit markets, and the stock markets in frefall, I believe a Starter SFR on the Westside will dip into the 300s before we are done.

The bubble is deflating faster now.

http://www.westsideremeltdown.blogspot.com

[E]

I know homes in Hancock Park that are still 35% (or more) overpriced based on comparable sales.

10% off of 35% overpriced is not a deal.

[smrr]

10% off

25% off

50% off

Going out of business! Everything must go!

Cash is king. Save the pennies. Real Estate will be the weakest of ALL assets in the near future. People will scorn the idea of property ownership. Better to sell your McManse now and buy baseball cards. I hear they're big in the Dominican Republic.

[Crash and Burn]

OH BOY . . . they're on sale, I'll take two . . . maybe they should get an ad agency on this . . Got House? Will they give me 0 down and 0% financing for the first three years?

[Qwerty]

But isn't that the difference between listing and selling anyway?

[Rational Renter]

A gimmick. Why take 10% off today when you can take 30% off next year? Who knows, maybe 40, 50, 60%. All bets are off in this economy.

[Nick]

It seems like a promotion like this might have unintended consequences (although that's all the vogue these days with trillion dollar payoff programs and all). If something can be discounted 10% or more, it's clearly overvalued to begin with. What are the chances this "sale" actually propagates the impression that CB homes are commonly overvalued by at least 10%, and you shouldn't even look at them unless there's a sale?

Not that almost all RE isn't still grossly overvalued, but actions like this run the risk of driving that point home to even the most dense people (eg: Congress, who apparently think housing prices need to be reflated to "fix" the price inflation problem and resulting mess). Could be interesting...

[B. Real]

Hey Coldwell -

Worse case scenario, you get free pub out of this, right?

This is no-news.

[Comrade Anon]

And how much commission are the agents giving up?

[xtine]

Smoke and mirrors.
Look out for one of them sawing a lady in half during the next debate.

TaDA!

[Tim K.]

Nick brings up an important point - remember the last few years when GM announced the Employee Discount that was offered to everyone on new cars?

Well, they kept declaring this was "for a limited time only" but guess what? They found sales dropped off immediately after the sale ended. They had to keep extending the discounts indefinitely.

If anything, if they get a significant number of homeowners to participate, it will be a brilliant move on the part of the Realtors to kick their sellers into more rapidly lowering prices. Convince them it is only a temporary, 10-day sale, and watch it it turn into a permanent price cut.

[Tim K.]

If they really wanted to juice sales, perhaps they could have a "commission-free" week. 6% off!

Nah, that'd be asking too much? :)

[Waiting to Buy]

If they want to do a sale, how about cutting their commission?

[mike]

why don't the new home builders offer an employee discount???

[Cal]

I think it's a great gimmick. Clearly agents are having a tough time selling price drops to sellers, this gives them a fig leaf to get the price dropped.

People keep wanting price drops, this will give them some.

I see that as a good thing.

[ry]

I'll think wait until they have a buy one, get one free sale.

[Kevin Schmidtchen]

WOW,

This is extremely sad. Hey Seller...I just wanted to let you know that we want to move product to get in the new winter line. Can you please join all of us and put your home on sale...crazy.

I would be embarrassed as an agent to do this. Glad I am with Sotheby's Int'l Realty. Why don't we try and hammer our image a little more as Realtors.

Blog: www.SantaBarbaraRealEstateVoice.com

[Roger C.]

Kevin isn't Sotheby's owned by the same company Coldwell Banker is owned by?... I think so.

I think its a creative idea to get sellers to be more realistic and sell their homes. Everyone here is complaining about high listing prices, yet when there is a planned reduction, you say its stupid?? I don't get it your motives.