C.A.R. Report Says California Condo Market Going Strong.

LOS ANGELES -- The California condominium market -- the market for attached homes -- typically receives less attention than the detached home market, but its performance has been every bit as impressive as that of the detached home market in recent years, according to a recent report published by the California Association of REALTORS(R). Price appreciation has been driven in part by the more affordable nature of this market segment -- the median for condos is generally 75 to 80 percent of the median for detached homes -- and also because inventories of condominiums have been every bit as tight as those of detached homes.

"The condominium market segment appeals more to a slightly different customer base compared with the detached home market, with single-person households accounting for 44 percent of all condominium buyers, compared with 24 percent of all detached homebuyers," said C.A.R. President Jim Hamilton. "According to C.A.R. research, while married households accounted for 64 percent of all detached homebuyers, they accounted for just 42 percent of all condominium purchases."

Condominiums represented 16 percent of sales in 2004, about the same share as in recent years, according to C.A.R. research. As with detached homes, condominium sales have trended upwards in recent years: Annual sales of condominiums were 20 percent higher in 2004 compared to the 2000, not nearly the 32 percent increase in detached home sales over the same period, but nonetheless an impressive gain. Moreover, annual price appreciation of condominiums surpassed that of detached homes in all but one of the past five years.

"With their lower acquisition costs, condominiums appealed more to first-time buyers, who accounted for 37 percent of all condominium buyers in 2004, compared with 26 percent of all detached homebuyers," Hamilton said. "Condominiums also were more appealing as second homes. Nine percent of all condominiums were purchased as vacation or second homes in 2004, compared with just 4 percent of all detached homes."

Leading the Way...(R) in California real estate for 100 years, the California Association of REALTORS(R) (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with more than 165,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.