The city is launching a campaign to lure skittish home buyers off the sidelines to purchase $150,000 to $450,000 homes in which the city has an investment.

“Everything is slowing down,” Mayor Richard Daley said at a press conference Thursday announcing the Find Your Place in Chicago program. “You don’t want [city-assisted development] to stall.” The program will use a combination of price reductions, down-payment assistance and financial aid provided by the non-profit Partnership for New Communities, Harris Bank and private developers. Many developers are offering sales incentives that they will continue rather than finance new ones.