What’s odd is these massive new apartment complexes are flipped left and right by their builders/owners. There must be more to it than simply zoning and banking.
A 50-unit condominium complex has 50 separate property titles and is sold off by the developer over time. The worst-case scenario for a lender in this case is that the developer completes the project but then goes bankrupt after only selling 10 of the units. So the bank may be forced to take possession of the remaining 40 units and try to sell them. Meanwhile, the property taxes must still be paid and the bank will be responsible for paying 80% of the condo fees for units that are vacant. The trash still needs to be picked up, the landscaping must still be done, the parking lots plowed, etc.