It's amazing how fast the real estate market can change. Last year, buyers were clamoring over one another to buy a house. This year, the market has slowed down considerably; buyers actually have a chance to think about whether a house is right for them. For buyers that are looking for affordable new home communities, there's no better place than Gilbert ? and there's no better time to buy.

Gilbert has been an active community for new home developments for the last several years. Developers have taken every vacant piece of property and built new home communities: some condos, town homes, and simple affordable family homes; others are elegant high end properties.

As the real estate market slows down, these developers have a far greater inventory of new homes on their hands, far more than they'd ever intended. So buyers are in a unique position, they are finally in the position of being courted by developers ? aggressively campaigning to get buyers to buy the homes in their community.

Developers have a lot of money tied up in these new homes. The longer these homes sit vacant, the more it ends up costing the builders. So it really becomes the builder's responsibility to actively market to buyers ? to try to entice them into buying. Many buyers are finding themselves being courted with lots of extra perks. Some examples include:

* No mortgage payments for the first year.
* Swimming pools and spas included with home free of charge
* Huge reductions in the price of the home, sometimes as much as $50,000
* Upgrades to the materials in the home, like high quality flooring, stone countertops, and high end appliances

These remarkable perks aren't going to last forever, but for right now, buyers are in a Gilbert can find the home of their dreams, at a truly unbelievable deal. Eventually, the marketplace will balance itself out and developers won't have the same pressure to sell.

If you've been waiting for the market to decline, you may have a long wait. In fact, it's not likely that home prices will decrease, just stabilize. But even though prices may be the same in a few months, you won't have the same opportunity to get the deal of a lifetime in perks. There hasn't been a better time to buy a home in Gilbert, and you won't see similar deals ever again ? it's the best time to buy.