Developer offers free car with new house

A property developer concerned about a dip in the housing market is being forced to give away free cars to sell houses.

Meadowcraft Developments is offering a car or home fittings worth €20,000 to the first three buyers who snap up houses at a development in Wexford town.

The Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) said incentives from developers are becoming more common, and follow a 2% drop in house prices in the first half of the year.

Meadowcraft director Alan O’Connor said: “It is a reflection of the property market at the minute.

“You would have builders in this county who are having difficulties moving houses.”

The offer was unveiled around three weeks ago and the company said one person has signed up.

The 10 houses, at Whiterock Hill, are being sold for in excess of €500,000 each.

“We have had lots of interest, but people are just waiting to see if (prices) drop,” Mr O’Connor said.

Earlier this year a Permanent TSB/ESRI poll showed property prices had fallen by 2.1% since the beginning of the year, compared with growth of more than 6% during the same period in 2005.

An IAVI spokeswoman said incentives from developers, such as the installation of wooden floors or tiled bathrooms, were becoming more common to attract buyers.

“It’s really just a sweetener for the customers,” she said.