To sell the final condo units, brokers and developers are offering ridiculous incentives

Why settle for just a high-end condo when you could get a high-end condo with a butler?

Brokers are getting creative with incentives to attract buyers to new luxury condo units, as the mountain of supply coming onto the market has made the units themselves not stand out as much anymore, according to the New York Times. These moves can become particularly important when brokers are trying to unload the last few units, as they often determine whether or not a developer makes a profit on the project.

So at the Upper West Side’s One West End, buyers will get $25,000 to spend accessorizing their closets, and at Lower Manhattan’s Beekman Residences, buyers of its remaining condos will get a $10,000 card to use at the adjacent Beekman Hotel, whether for booking rooms for visitors or ordering room service from Temple Court. At Taconic Investment Partners’ Sterling Mason in Tribeca, a $15.5 million penthouse comes with a free parking space, reportedly valued at $1 million.

Silvercup Properties will pay the city and state transfer taxes for units at the Harrison in Long Island City, and Compass broker Leonard Steinberg offered two years of butler services at a penthouse in Chelsea.

However, this incentive proved to be unnecessary, according to the Times: the family that bought the unit already had a full-time housekeeper. [NYT] – Eddie Small