Home builders are getting creative to sidestep a lack of confidence.
“I think the biggest thing effecting our industry today is consumer confidence,” said Norm Ross, president of the Calgary region of the Canadian Home Builder’s Association, adding he expects to see home builders turn to new methods to increase sales.
One of them is Forte Homes. In an attempt to shift eleven homes in Garrison Green, they are offering a try-before-you-buy deal. A potential buyer can lease a home for a year, then decide to buy it or move on — the hook being if you decide to buy, all the lease payments are knocked off the purchase price.
“It’s not a whirlwind promotion, but nobody is selling big numbers now, so if you can chip away at the inventory, it’s a program that is proving to be effective.”
Mark Love of Forte Carriage homes experimented with such an arrangement in the early Eighties and is optimistic about the promotion. He has sold three homes in two months under the deal.
