Daily Deal Coupons Hit DC Real Estate

• May 5th 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

A few weeks ago we covered a Groupon in Chicago where a real estate brokerage was offering a $1,000 refund at closing for the mere $25 cost of the coupon. It was the first we were aware of the daily deal phenomenon being applied to home buying. Well today we learned that the concept has arrived in DC — and the offer seems considerably more generous.

For $50, Logan Circle-based brokerage Hounshell Real Estate is offering up to $6,000 off their commission for buyers or sellers. The actual amount refunded depends on the price of the home: $1,500 off for a home price between $200K and $400K; $3,000 off for $400-800K homes; and $6,000 off for $800K homes and above. The deal is being offered through The Capitol Deal, the Washington Post’s homegrown answer to the likes of Groupon and LivingSocial. Here’s the link.

So far, two Hounshell coupons have sold, though UrbanTurf is about to make it three. This deal and the one in Chicago seem like a no-brainer for anyone who thinks there is even the slightest chance they may buy or sell a home in the next year (the expiration period for the coupon). If you buy the coupon and don’t use it, all that’s lost is $50. But if you do use it, you will have saved yourself thousands of dollars.

Making this particular deal even sweeter, the refund policy says that if you don’t actually buy or sell within the allotted year, you get the $50 back.

Of course, the caveat is that you have to use an agent from Hounshell. But there, too, the deal seems generous: Hounshell’s Greg Tindale told UrbanTurf that if you don’t feel the right chemistry with the agent Hounshell assigns you, again you can ask for a refund.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/daily_deal_coupons_hit_dc_real_estate/3446.