In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the number of condos for sale in North Texas has jumped by about 26 percent this year and while pre-owned home prices are flat, condo prices are up 6 percent.

The median price of condos in Massachusetts hit a record $269,000 in July this year, up 14.7 percent from July 2003 levels -- and sales are slow.

And in Hawaii, depending on which island you hop to, condo prices are up from 18 percent to 50 percent.

East, West, North and South, condo prices are booming.

Once considered affordable housing for first-time home buyers, some condos are so expensive their prices have skewed their cost relative to single-family homes.

And, to meet the demand, a growing number of cities are rushing to convert apartments into condos.

But that doesn't mean condos are for every home buyer.

The median existing condo/co-op price during the second quarter this year was $189,400, 12.1 percent higher than the same quarter in 2003. By comparison, the median price of an existing single-family home was $183,800 in the second quarter, up 9.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A higher concentration of condos in more expensive housing markets skews the comparison, but condos still do typically cost less than single-family homes, NAR says.

The median condo price in the West was highest at $226,200, up 8.6 percent from a year ago. But the South with a median price of $163,300 saw the greatest price jump -- up 24.6 percent from a year ago. The Midwest's median $178,300 represents a 6.4 increase and in the Northeast, prices rose 10.1 percent to $211,100, according to NAR.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, says prices are fueled by demand from both first-time buyers looking for affordability and baby-boomers who are both down-sizing and buying second homes more and more often in urban areas where redeveloping city cores seek to heighten housing density and attract more retail businesses. Low-interest rates and high rents -- in some areas -- also have made condos more appealing in terms of affordability.

"While affordability is a factor for entry level buyers, changing lifestyles are a major reason that condos are a bigger market share today than in years past," said Lereah.

In 1993, condo and co-op sales accounted for 9.6 percent of the total of all existing-home sales. Last year, condos commanded a 12.8 percent market share -- a 33.3 percent rise in the portion of sales over the last decade.

Demand is so strong in Dallas, Minneapolis, and some Western states, property investors are converting apartments to condos.

"A huge block of the apartment sales transactions nationwide are to condo converters," said Greg Willett of M/PF Research Inc. "I think we are looking at somewhere close to 1,000 units converted in the past year" in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

William Ktsanes, director of research and analysis at Novota, CA-based RealFacts, which monitors the apartment industry in the West, says condo conversions are eight times what they were a year ago.

"Condos are a lifestyle choice that provides an opportunity to live in a prime, urban location. For example, upscale condos line the waterfront of vibrant cities like Miami, Chicago and New York. On the supply side, the combination of flat apartment rents and rising home prices encourages owners and developers to transform rental units into condos. For investors discouraged by weak apartment fundamentals, converting to condos provides an opportunity to cash out near the top of a housing boom," said Ktsanes.

Condos, however, are not for everyone. Buying a condo is like buying a share in a closely held, publicly-traded real estate holding company (the homeowner association) that is governed by an ever-changing regulatory system, all of which are managed by an inexperienced board of directors -- your neighbors who volunteer for the job.

There's less maintenance than with a single-family home, but also less privacy from the higher density, close-in living that all may not enjoy.

Buyers also need to have the savvy, or to have a savvy real estate agent or other professional who can conduct an inspection that doesn't come with a single-family home purchase.

Potential condo owners must examine, or have examined, the homeowner association's funding and budget. That's to make sure there are both adequate dues being collected and adequate funds on hand to keep the development in tip-top shape so it is attractive to prospective buyers and so that it holds value and appreciates well.

A host of other differences between condo and single-family detached home living warrants close scrutiny before signing on the dotted line.

Published: September 2, 2004

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.