Rent-to-own buzz, but no sales sizzle

Northside Piers

From the December issue: With the market creeping back, developers now can start to figure out
what saved some of them from ruin. Rent-to-own programs likely won’t be
on that list.
The buzzworthy idea of 2008 seems to have produced little sales for
struggling condos during the depths of the recession. A few leases,
sure, but not the kind that turned into sales contracts.
Rent-to-own, which allows renters to put their monthly payments
toward the cost of buying their home, seemed like a way for developers
to turn renters into buyers.
Toll Brothers’ Adam Gottlieb, the project manager at the Northside
Piers condo in Williamsburg, said that while the strategy did bring in
foot traffic, a lot of the potential deals never materialized. [more]