Bubble Wrap

Balm for Nervous Buyers

This week’s New York Times describes the new trend of developers offering special protection to buyers against falling prices and other concessions designed to reassure worried buyers.

Sign now, say Mr. Berger and other developers across the city, and if the economy forces future price cuts, at the closing you will be guaranteed the lowest price available to other buyers. The promise is being written into individual sales contracts, and some developers, like Steelwork Lofts, are filing amendments to their offering plans so that they can extend it to all buyers and include it in their advertising.