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A cooling housing market and rising interest rates can only mean one thing.

Free pools.

As Tucson's housing market has returned to normalcy over the last few months, home buyers have seen more and more offers of free stuff, otherwise known as incentives.

The median price of a new home, including single-family homes, townhouses and condos, was $253,235 last month, a 26.5 percent increase from the March 2005 median price of $200,235. Homes are more expensive to build and more expensive to finance. That has slowed sales and given buyers more to choose from in the marketplace.

So how do you stand out from the crowd?

For Meritage Homes, it means offering a free pool worth up to $20,000. That offer is not available for every lot, said Rudy Carrillo, vice president of sales and marketing for Meritage Homes.

There is some kind of incentive available in every subdivision, depending on the lot and on the home. Meritage is offering below-market mortgage rates, a fireplace, extended patio coverage, granite countertops and upgraded appliances, to name a few.

The pool promotion has been used by Meritage before, Carrillo said. "It's a promotion to create traffic, to create interest, obviously to sell homes," Carrillo said. "Last year, we weren't running that particular promotion. Let's face it, last year, there really wasn't a need for it."

Other home builders say incentives are intended to be just a little extra something to bring people in the door. A.F. Sterling Homes Vice President Randy Agron said the company tends to rely on the quality of homes and fair pricing to attract customers.

"We hope we offer a fair price and we try not to play with too many incentives and we try to offer a good value," he said. "Typically, we haven't been too big on incentives. If it's a competitive situation, we'll try to match our competition if we're comparing apples to apples."

And those incentives vary. At the company's Santa Rita Ranch subdivision on the Southeast Side, the sales price can be reduced by up to $2,000 if buyers finance through A.F. Sterling's finance company, Vantage Mortgage Group.

At Vistoso Highlands, where homes can cost a half-million, up to $10,000 in upgrades are offered.

Robson Communities is offering up to $20,000 in free upgrades to the first 25 home buyers at two subdivisions, SaddleBrooke and Quail Creek.

Incentives aren't limited to the new home market.

Geneie Adams, with Realty Executives of Southern Arizona, recently listed a 1,569-square-foot home for sale in Vail with an asking price of $224,900. The sale comes with a $2,500 allowance for flooring replacement and new paint, Adams said.

"There are several other houses in the close-by areas with that same floor plan that are placed in the same dollar per square foot, but they are more upgraded and he's got a lot of competition," Adams said.

Maya Cisco, an agent with Long Realty Co., is considering a different strategy. She's appealing to other real estate agents as she tries to sell her client's 3,100-square-foot, 4-bedroom near West Gates Pass Road and North Camino de Oeste listed for sale at $979,000.

"Since the weather's getting warmer, there's been a concern about getting people to come see the house and what we're trying to do is give an incentive to come see the house," Cisco said. So, the home's owners are considering giving a 50-inch plasma screen television to the Realtor who successfully brings in a buyer. Some home builders are offering higher commission rates for agents, too.