The Real Deal New York

From the March issue: You’re a developer. What do you do when you can’t sell apartments in a new development? Offer price breaks? No. Waive fees? Nope. Provide upgrades? Nah. Forget the buyers. Instead, offer brokers sexy gifts like iPods, AMEX gift cards and a package of goodies including airline vouchers and laptops. That way, you can move units without resorting to lowering prices. “[The] trend currently is developer[s] offering more incentives to the buyer’s broker to get them to show the project,” said Diane Levine, brokerage manager of the Downtown Manhattan office of Sotheby’s International Realty. In a slowing residential market, offering incentives seems like an easy solution.