Lisa Chow
Lisa Chow is the economics reporter at WNYC. She tries to explore in her stories surprising aspects of New York’s many economies—in plain view or hidden, in neighborhoods or sectors.
City Home Buyers Have More Bargaining Power
Sunday, November 16, 2008
New York, NY –
The tables have turned in the New York housing market. Buyers used to have to compete against several bidders for the same apartment. Now, brokers say buyers have a lot more bargaining power, and developers are offering interesting incentives to get people to buy. WNYC's Lisa Chow reports.
REPORTER: So you think housing prices are going to go down in the next year or two, so you'd rather wait to buy?
Developers have an answer.
Some are offering buyers "price protection" -- that is, if you pay today's price, and six months from now, the developer sells a similar unit for a discounted price, you can get that deal too.
Stephen Kliegerman is with the brokerage firm Halstead Property.
KLIEGERMAN: You have an opportunity right now to go to the developer and say: "Help me. I want to help you, you have to help me."
REPORTER: Kliegerman says in some cases, developers are also willing to pay points on your mortgage, so you can buy your mortgage rate down, maybe from 6 and half percent, to 5 and a half percent, and afford the apartment.
Kleigerman says the thing is, you have to ask, because few developers will offer these kind of deals up front.
For WNYC, I'm Lisa Chow.
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