Discount / price reduction in the purchase contract for new construction with a general contractor

Hello everyone,

I have the question of how much one can generally negotiate with their construction company/developer/GC on a new build (solid construction) and how many % discount can be possible.

I would be very happy about your answers/experiences!
Best regards, Uwe

P.S. It's just a question! I know the GCs also have to make a living and have nothing to give away....I ask anyway....because I am about to sign the contract in the next few days.
I don't necessarily want a price reduction, but rather to have one or two additional options included (extension to the garage - value approx. 6000 euros)

Well, it depends on your negotiation skills, from the outset there is rather little room for maneuver, absolute numbers cannot be given, afterwards during the construction you can negotiate better because you can talk directly to the executing trades and mistakes will happen that need to be fixed

Hello Uwe,

I have the question of how much one can generally negotiate with their construction company/developer/general contractor on a new build (solid construction) and how much % discount can be achievable.

P.S. Just a question! I know the GCs also have to make a living and have nothing to give away... I’m asking anyway... because my contract signing is coming up in the next few days.
I don’t necessarily want a price reduction, but rather to include one or two additional options (garage extension - value approx. 6000 euros)

It is a recurring phenomenon that interested parties believe they can negotiate a larger discount when concluding a work contract. Building a house is not comparable to a gold or spice souk.

With reputable providers, you will be able to negotiate at most one additional equipment detail; maybe in the range of 1 up to a maximum of 1.5% of the contract sum. I see your modest wish for a free extension only if the figure at the bottom right clearly exceeds EUR 500,000.

Have you ever thought that - if a larger sum can be given away "at the back" - you were already screwed "at the front"?

Best regards from the Rhineland

You seem to be already willing to sign. If the seller senses that, you will have bad chances. We kept the seller waiting until the very end, and eventually he came to us. We kept mentioning the price again and again, and his concessions kept increasing. Just before signing, we also managed to get him to not charge for the extra planned sockets. That was almost 30 pieces at €40 each. Generally, it is too late to negotiate only at the end.

I just can’t confirm that, during the construction we received many additional items free of charge or only for very small extra charges that were not worth mentioning, and we also negotiated many further things during the defect remediation... That the general contractor demands more from the start than everything actually costs is as clear as daylight, but that’s how it is in every industry

Hello,

I just can't confirm that, during the construction we received many extra items for free or only for very small surcharges that were not worth mentioning, and also negotiated many other things during the defect remediation...

The introduction is the hallmark of a seriously calculating provider; negotiations during defect remediation are a completely different matter.

That the general contractor demands more from the outset than it all really costs is as clear as mud

No, that is anything but "as clear as mud" – first of all it is an economic necessity; after all, the general contractor also bears responsibility for his employees as well as warranty for your construction project. What goes beyond that ultimately leads to disproportionately high "discounts."

Rhenish greetings