More Creative Financing: Price Chopper Insurance

Among the tools designed to coax reluctant buyers to the market (including the now defunct Obama escape clause and the increasingly popular rent-to-own strategy) we now have what Curbed is calling “PriceChopper insurance.” “At SteelWorks Lofts in Williamsburg and Clermont Greene in Fort Greene buyers are being offered price protection guarantees that if unit prices are cut after they buy, they will get a discount at closing,” they write. The Real Deal describes it as insurance “guaranteeing buyers a discount at closing if units sell in the building for less than they paid.” The practice is apparently common in shakier markets than ours, so perhaps it’s a sign that we’ve officially hit the skids if developers are reaching for this particular marketing scheme. It’s a gamble for said developers, who risk losing money, but is intended to sway buyers now wary of investing in unfinished projects; not only are they worried about overpaying, they’re worried that the buildings will never get built.
Adventures in Marketing: Introducing PriceChopper Insurance [Curbed]
Developers Implement Price Protection Programs [The Real Deal]