A Canadian developer is temporarily offering certain homebuyers a refund\u2014that is, if they purchase a preconstruction home that drops in price before the closing date. <\/p>\n
Mattamy Homes is offering this credit to eligible buyers in Ontario and Alberta until March 8 for its condos and low-rise homes across most of its communities. <\/p>\n
The \u201cPrice Protection Program<\/a>\u201d policy promises to reimburse homebuyers the difference in cost of the home they purchased, should the price have dropped from the time of their initial purchase agreement. There are several Mattamy neighbourhoods across the Greater Toronto Area participating in the initiative, including Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville and Markham, as well as a condo building in Toronto\u2019s High Park neighbourhood.<\/p>\n Sepideh Morshedizadeh, vice president of marketing at Mattamy Homes Canada, says if someone paid $800,000 on a home, for example, and there\u2019s a downward change 30 days before closing, then that buyer would be refunded directly. <\/p>\n \u201cWe calculate it 30 days before closing your occupancy,\u201d Morshedizadeh explained, pointing to administrative needs on the back end as the reason for that timeline. <\/p>\n The way they compare costs, Morshedizadeh says, is by looking at the base model of the condo or house the buyer purchased in that same community. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s apples to apples \u2026 you don\u2019t have to worry about, \u2018Oh, well, this lot has a $50,000 premium and mine had a $20,000.\u2019 It\u2019s not based on that, it\u2019s literally just based on, \u2018Hey, what was the base price of that house,\u2019\u201d Morshedizadeh said, underlining that upgrades are not included in the comparison.<\/p>\n This program is meant to provide buyers confidence in entering the market, Sepideh Morshedizadeh, vice president of marketing at Mattamy Homes Canada, explains.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what this is really meant to help with, really, that end user who is looking to move and has good reason to and wants to but is just worried about (entering the market),\u201d Morshedizadeh said. <\/p>\n Ontario saw a record low for new home sales last year, reaching the lowest ever seen in the 45 years<\/a> the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) has collected data for the Greater Toronto Area. <\/p>\n Justin Sherwood, BILD\u2019s Chief Operating Officer, previously told CTV News Toronto that the dwindling home sales are putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk, likening it to the 1940s when there was a collapse in new home construction. <\/p>\n