Los Angeles Times: Crazy for condos
CONDOMINIUMS, historically considered a purchase of last resort, increasingly are the most popular option on the block, resulting in sharply higher prices and attracting high-income move-up buyers seeking a simpler lifestyle...Condos currently account for nearly a quarter of all home resales in Southern California, up from 17% a decade ago. Part of that increase is attributable to major revitalizations underway in the downtown areas of San Diego and Los Angeles, which are attracting a new group of buyers interested in high-density housing."


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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. It seems to me that the real estate market is on a separate track from the press/public policy track. People buy condos for economic and lifestyle reasons, without thinking much about the challenges involved in living in them.