DC Area Gets Second Group Discount Offer Aimed at Home Buyers

• July 12th 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

When a Chicago real estate brokerage launched a Groupon initiative a few months ago that ended up selling 219 deals, it seemed like only a matter of time before companies in other major cities followed suit, and DC did.

In early May, Logan Circle-based brokerage Hounshell Real Estate offered up to $6,000 off their commission for buyers or sellers for $50 through The Capitol Deal, the Washington Post’s homegrown answer to sites like Groupon and LivingSocial. The actual amount refunded depended 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.

For a variety of reasons, Groupon no longer offers real estate deals, but that doesn’t mean other sites haven’t decided to take a stab at them.

UrbanTurf has learned that Van Metre Homes is now offering a group-buying deal for DC-area home buyers via HouseTipper. The deal is similar to the Hounshell offer: Buyers pay $50 and get up to $5,000 at closing when purchasing a Van Metre home.

Homes with a purchase price between $200,000 and $500,000 are eligible for $2,500 in paid closing costs and homes with a purchase price above $500,000 will be eligible for having $5,000 in closing costs covered. Only one voucher can be used per transaction, and it cannot be coupled with other discounts. The offer is valid on new sales contracts written between July 8, 2011 and October 8, 2011.

The deal tips when three are purchased and will run for the next 16 days.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_area_gets_second_group_buying_offer_aimed_at_home_buyers/3789.