A Melbourne property developer is offering what might be the best Black Friday deal going around — up to A$100,000 ($106,543) off the price of new apartments.
As the housing market cools, developers and agents have been forced to offer sweeteners sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars, ranging appliance packages and rental guarantees to stamp duty payments.
Caydon Property Group is taking that to the next level by taking part in the global Black Friday shopping event, in what it's describing as an "industry first".
From 6am Australian Eastern Daylight Time on Friday (8am in NZ), buyers will be able to book one of 100 "VIP appointments" on the developer's website to "lock in the savings" on one of eight projects in Cremorne, Moonee Ponds, Ivanhoe, Northcote, Preston and Flemington.
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Caydon international marketing director Steve Williams said there had already been strong interest in the deal with more than 5000 visits to the website, which he said was "fairly robust" and should hold up under the traffic.
"Hopefully this is a pretty innovative way for developers to get involved in what is now becoming a fairly massive global event," he said. "Traditionally the property sector doesn't get involved in seasonal events such as Father's Day or Boxing Day. We're quietly confident it will be successful."
Williams said across the portfolio there were five apartments or townhouses that had a A$100,000 price reduction. "Every apartment has a discount of at least 5 per cent, then some are up to 10-11 per cent," he said.
"The majority are off-the-plan but there are some completed apartments. The furthest away would be 2020 in terms of completion but with varying deliverables and milestones along the way."
Asked if the developer was simply jacking up the price and chopping off a discount, he said, "At midnight on Monday the prices go back to what they were."
With the housing market falling and debate raging about how far prices have to go, particularly if Labor wins the next election and cracks down on tax breaks for property investors, cynics might view the move as desperate.
But with the opposition vowing to "grandfather" negative gearing arrangements, some investors may see an opportunity to snap up a few more properties for their portfolio before the likely change of government.
National dwelling values have fallen 3.5 per cent since the market turned, with Sydney and Melbourne now down 8.2 per cent and 4.9 per cent from their respective peaks in August and November 2017.
