A method for creating, marketing, and selling a contractual instrument for protecting a value characteristic of a homeowner' s residential real estate property is provided according to the invention. The derivative instrument can be created in the form of a simple contract like a "Home Equity Protection Product" sold to the homeowner by a mortgage originator or P&C insurer. It provides a cash-settled payout to the buyer at a predetermined expiration date defined by the contract correlated to, e.g., the home' s market value or home equity value, and a reduction in value of a benchmark real estate index between, e.g., the contract purchase date and the expiration date. The Home Equity Protection Contracts of the present invention may be securitized much like mortgage-backed securities on a secondary and sold to institutional investors to permit them to speculate in the value of residential real estate in order to broaden their investment portfolios.