A condo report from the Washington Post. "With tens of thousands of new condos entering the market, some developers are moving beyond luxury cars, plasma televisions and other inducements to lure buyers. Instead, they're starting to negotiate the base price of homes, a tactic unimaginable during the condo-selling frenzy of recent years."

"'There's now an offer/counteroffer mentality, a back and forth,' said David Mayhood, president of a McLean firm that has marketed condos since 1983. 'That would have been unheard of as recently as six months ago.'"

"Newly engaged Bryan O'Keefe (and) his girlfriend spotted a two-bedroom condominium they liked at the Four Winds at Oakton for $345,000, about $30,000 less than the original asking price. The deal got even sweeter when the developer offered to give back 6 percent of the sales price, or about $20,700."

"And the concessions kept coming, even after they signed a contract in October. 'That's when they called to say they lowered the price on our unit and they gave us a $5,000 price reduction, just like that,' said O'Keefe."

"The price of new condos fell 4.6 percent in the District and 2.6 percent in Northern Virginia in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period a year ago, according to Delta Associates."

"But many condo units remain to be sold. At this point, if no other condos were added to the market, it would take another three years to sell them all, and builders are eager to find buyers for the units already available. There are also thousands of units available for resale by their owners."

"Bush Construction has slashed prices twice since it began marketing the Arlington condos in June 2005, said VP Andrew Viola. Condos originally marketed for $380,000 to $660,000 now sell for $317,000 to $565,000. Even with price reductions, some potential buyers stayed on the fence, waiting for prices to drop further, Viola said."

"Developers usually hate reducing the base prices of condos because it hurts profit and often angers previous buyers who forked out more money for similar units. 'For them, it comes down to taking less profit or not paying off a bank loan,' said Michael Larson, an analyst in Florida. 'Lower prices are the third stage after they've tried incentives and then more aggressive incentives.'"

"Most developers are courting the real estate agent community they once shunned. 'They're offering us bonuses, paying us commissions and serving us lunch,' Charlene Lois Schaper, an agent in Old Town Alexandria."

"The marketing spree aimed at consumers and agents is more a sign of the changing market, PN Hoffman VP DeSantis said."

"'If you had come in two years ago and tried to offer less than the asking price for one of our condos, we would have been polite about it, but we would have said: 'Sorry, there is somebody right behind you willing to offer full price,' DeSantis said. 'Now, it's no secret we're willing to entertain offers.'"

The Virginia Pilot. "Associate broker Charlie Laurens, said the pressure on prices was greatest for homes selling for $500,000 or more. That's because buyers in Hampton Roads have many more choices, including a large inventory of new homes, he said."

"'Gone are the days when you could throw up a sign in your yard, and someone would pay you more than you were asking,' Laurens said."

"Prices in Hampton Roads have come under pressure because of weak demand, said Steve Rockefeller, VP of SunTrust Mortgage in Virginia Beach. 'I'm seeing a ton of concessions being made by the sellers,' said Rockefeller."