How do you get consumers disgruntled about high gas prices to spend money on a newly built home in a scary real estate market?

One California builder thinks they’ve found the answer. Build a green home and they will come. Throw in a green car with the deal, however, and they will come in droves.

Trilogy, a central coast development built by Shea Homes, bestows a new Toyota Prius to every buyer who closes escrow on an eco-friendly home between May 17th and June 15th at their Parkway community in Nipomo, CA. The development includes a spa, a golf course and a fitness center where home prices range from $500,000 to just over a million dollars.

Trilogy Central Coast manager, Preston Holden, admits that it’s a challenge to sell homes, but beyond that they’ve had the best three-month stretch of home sales since the inception of the community.

Across the rest of the country, it was reported new home sales were up 3 percent for the first time in six months -- a nice boost, but not enough to make a dent yet, since the market is already at its lowest level in 17 years.

Trilogy is hoping to buck the trend offering this buy-a-house-get-a-car deal, but economists aren’t ready to predict an upswing for now.

Published: June 3, 2008

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