But This One Is Special

LaZerrick Howard, a concrete contractor who owns about 25 apartment units in several District buildings, converted four of his units on the eastern edge of Capitol Hill and began selling them as the Courtney Condominiums in March. After two months, he dropped the asking price from $290,000 to $275,000. In June, he lowered it to $260,000 and sold two of the four units.

"The market slowed down on me," said Howard, who also offered to pay for a year's worth of condo fees and increased incentives offered to real estate agents. In the beginning, "I thought they would sell themselves. I was thinking, 'Do I even need an agent?' But the market changed so quickly. I had no choice but to regroup and figure out what you need to do to sell."

So is Howard done with condo market?

Not quite. He said that the units are now priced appropriately and that he can afford to wait a while; he bought the building back in 1990 and owes little to the bank.

In fact, Howard is considering a 12-unit condo conversion in Northeast Washington, perhaps in a year.

"I'm a risk taker, but it depends on the market," he said. "If people are still buying condos, I'll try it."

Some in the industry point to developers like Howard as an example of how even smaller, less capitalized developers will be able to weather the slowdown because market fundamentals mean it will not last long.

Christopher Clemente, chief executive of Comstock Homebuilding Cos. in Reston, thinks there will be pent-up demand next year. In the meantime, he is tweaking his own plans.

Two months ago, Comstock launched a rent-to-buy program in two apartment buildings it bought to convert to condos. Under the program, renters can lock in today's prices and use 50 percent of rent paid toward the purchase of a unit in the building if they decide to buy. Because renters do not have to go through with the purchase, the program could be appealing to those who fear values will fall.

The program represents Comstock's first foray into the rental business. Clemente said the program is proving to be a good way to generate revenue while the buildings are being converted. At the Penderbrook Square Condominiums in Fairfax, where half of the 424 units were sold last year, about 150 units have been leased through the program, he said. Aside from the program, Comstock said it is also offering breaks on financing, condo fees and closing costs and even lowering prices on some units. Although buyers are not signing up at the pace they were a year ago, the incentives have helped keep the pace of sales reasonably stable, Clemente said.

"Buyers are out there," he said. "It seems that they're waiting to make sure their buying decision is a wise one."