Buyers Scarce, Many Condos Are for Rent

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/realestate/16rentals.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print ^

[overtaxed_canadian]

And it all came tumbling down...the housing mania, like all manias, will end badly.

[redstates4ever]

Good. I'll be looking to buy next year.

[2banana]

Remember when condos were for people who couldn't afford a house?

[lilylangtree]

Even the rent in DC is too high.

[HitmanLV]

This is so true in Las Vegas. My old apt complex suddenly went condo and they ushered everybody out within 6 months (I had about 6 weeks to get out, including TG, Christmas, and New Years Weeks. Not good.

I drive by there now and then - many, many units are unsold. Several had 'for rent' signs on them. I didn't see much sign of life. Strange and creepy.

My new community is very nice - a gated community of townhouses. I rent, but keep my eyes open. Many units 'for sale by owner,' and many units 'for rent.' I see these signs on the same units for long, long spells. Lots of folks I think figured they could cash in on the LV RE boom and start in the landlording business. Now they run into problems.

My landlord is a good guy, but he had this unit (a nice 2br 2nd floor) for rent for about 4+ months. He had to lower the rent several times before I came along. It isn't as easy as it looks on tv.

[D-Chivas]

And it all came tumbling down...the housing mania, like all manias, will end badly.

And then it will go back up, like it always has.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It's a good thing I don't plan to sell any time soon. ;)

[HitmanLV]

There you go! ;-)

[Ciexyz]

Glad to hear you found a decent place to live after being forced out of your last place. It must give you some satisfaction to know that the jerks who treated you so badly are now suffering economically. Think how stressful it must be for them, hehehe.

[No Truce With Kings]

Reminds me of the late 1970's joke:

Q. What is the difference between true love and a condominium?

A. The condominium stays yours forever.

[HitmanLV]

They did treat me badly and treated almost everybody badly. They are sweating it out now - those units are moving slow, now over a year later. I confess, it does make me smile!

PLUS I have a wonderful, bigger new place for just $40 bucks more a month. ;-)

[Moonman62]

The slowdown started in the summer of 2005, and so far it's beeen very mild.

[Liberty Valance]

No. They just built them in the wrong place.

[Ciexyz]

My sympathies to the developers who were shaken down by local government for contributions to develop low-income housing.

[Rutles4Ever]

The pain seems to be extremely localized. Things have slowed a bit in the Chicago suburbs, but I've seen a few "SOLD" signs go up in the last few weeks after not much time on the market. Los Angeles is a mess. They just broke up a mortgage fraud ring that is going to result in roughly 5000 houses getting foreclosed on. It's getting to the point where subcontractors are getting stiffed by developers who run out of money, and the contractors end up placing a lien on the houses they've built but were not paid for.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

So far the downturns have only been in the biggest bubble markets like San Diego, Pheonix, Las Vegas, Boston, Naples-FL and DC.

Median home price in Seattle shot up over 60K last year and have flat lined starting in Fall. Prices haven't come down yet and inventory continues to suck. I hoping for the market here to return to something resembling reality, but I'm not seeing it yet.

[Calpernia]

ping

[Proud_USA_Republican]

I just saw a news flash on CNBC.

Centrex and KB homes just annouced they are having to write off $793 million in land.

Ouch.

[pgkdan]

The median home price in DC is outrageous. 1-2 bedroom condos are probably going for $500,000-$600,000 and for that you get to pay a monthly condo fee forever and live in one of the most violent and disfunctional cities in America.

[TomGuy]

The condo craze hit Tulsa in the early 80s. Many apartment complexes decided to join it. They gave the tenants the option of 'buy it or move out'. The 1 bdr apt I lived in rented for $275.00 per month. They wanted $47,000 when they converted it to condo. I moved out.

About 3 years later, the economy is Tulsa crashed. You couldn't even buy a job at McDonald's. The official unemployment rate was 8.5% and the unofficial unemployment rate (people who had no further UE benefits so were no longer in the system) was 13.5%. Many homes were abandoned as occupants had to move elsewhere to find jobs. The condo craze ended too.

The complex I moved out of had 116 total units. When they went back to being apartments-for-rent, they had only sold about 30 units. [Their brilliant idea cost them 3 years of tenant rents on about 75% of their units.]