Far fewer buyers backing out, Q1 data show

After a tidal wave of complaints from buyers trying to renege on contracts in 2009, data from the state attorney general’s office show that the number of deposit refund requests has shriveled in the first quarter of the year, according to Crain’s. Just 43 complaints for condo deposit refunds were filed in the first three months of 2010, a figure that pales in comparison to 2009’s total of 475 such filings. While this might be interpreted as a positive sign for the market, real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey said it might have more to do with the relative dearth of buyers in 2009. “The era of wanting a deposit back is ending,” Bailey said. “That’s because hardly anybody has signed new contracts in the last year.”