‘Dog-eat-dog’ condo days are gone

As the national real estate market descends from record heights, condo developers in some markets are buddying up to home shoppers and real estate agents with promotions and incentives. The "dog-eat-dog" condo market of the not-too-distant past has lost some bite but not its bark, according to Thomas C. Demsker, a Realtor with Prudential Douglas Elliman in New York City. Inventory is up, and some sellers have dropped prices after realizing they were expecting too much, he said. It's not unheard of to see price reductions of $100,000 for properties that are slow to sell. "They're (developers) much more flexible and much more accommodating. What they're doing is sweetening the pot by adding a little perk here or there. It's becoming more prevalent. Some are actually negotiating on price," Demsker said. "They've become very amenable to my calls all of the sudden." One developer was offering a Vespa scooter as an incentive for participating in the sale of a unit, while another offered a m...