Pay my closing costs.

With the real estate slowdown coming into full effect and unsold homes amassing into glutted inventories across the nation, a new survey asked homebuyers what sort of incentives would make the sale. A free vacation? Free appliances? The answer came back loud and clear: pay my closing costs.Given a number of choices between various incentives commonly being offered these days, 77% of respondents chose “closing costs paid.”At a very distant second was “free upgrades,” with 9% of the vote, followed by “free property inspection” with 6% of responses. The results of the national survey, conducted by HouseHunt, Inc., may not be entirely surprising. Other surveys found that the closing process is a predominant source of anxiety for many consumers, who are often afraid of new fees springing up suddenly.Michael Bearden, president and CEO of HouseHunt, Inc., sees a more practical reason why the responses were so one-sided.“Not surprising, this would represent a bottom-line savings of several thousand dollars in normal closing cost fees and services,” noted Bearden. “As a result, today’s consumer buyer can afford to be more patient and more selective in the home buying process,” Bearden said. “Successful buyer incentives are more bottom line, like free closing costs and free upgrades…The frantic seller market activity we saw in the past few years is gone and is not expected to return anytime soon.” Survey Question: What Is Your Number One Incentive In Buying a Home Closing costs paid 77% Free upgrades 9% Free property inspection 6% Free appliances 3% Flooring credits 2% Paid trip/vacation 2% Landscaping credits 1%