Does bait and switch advertising still work?
By surveying the local print ads I realized that most advertisers say what they mean, at least when it comes to revealing the true price of items sold. Why do REALTORS insist on continuing to attempt to lure buyers with lower prices on signs than actual sales prices? I am talking about New Home Communities that advertise “From the 200s”, but have only 1 house at $299,900 and the rest of the homes are at $325,000+.
By doing a drive through the local market you will see this bait and switch marketing used on almost every single new home community, regardless of price point. I think it is really absurd when you see “Homes from the $700s” and many homes in the neighborhood are priced over $1 Million. Are $700,000 home buyers easily tricked into spending an extra $300,000?
It would be refreshing to me as a REALTOR and as a buyer to drive by a new home community and read the sign “New Homes from $325,00 – $375,000″ and that be the actual price range once I picked up the price sheet at the sales center.
