On a recent Nightline episode they ran a piece on the plummeting housing market and the lengths sellers were going to to move their properties.
Ambitious (or is it desperate) sellers are doing things like bonusing the home with a new HDTV or, in one notable case, a two-year lease on a new Maserati.
In the latter case, a house that had been sitting on the market for months before the “promotion” suddenly had three offers.
“Why not just cut the price of the house by that amount?” asked the reporter. After all, it’s cash that people most want and price drives all decisions, right?
“Because an HDTV or a lease on a new car creates a level of excitement that a price discount can’t match,” answered the agent.
That is, even though people will tell you that “cash is King,” the truth is that cash is rarely as exciting as what that cash can buy. And what that cash can buy stands out much more than the cash itself does.
And it’s that attention that can attract buyers.
And listeners.