Orlando's Condo World

Mike Vogel | 7/1/2005

Orlando's booming but has no bubble, says Steve Walsh, partner and founder of Broad Street Partners, developer of the proposed Tradition Towers, a 300-unit condominium project in Orlando with 1,400 people on its waiting list. "In my opinion, the majority of the buyers here are users as opposed to speculators," Walsh says of the Orlando market. The Orlando metro area last year saw 9,219 condo and townhome construction starts (of at least eight units each), up from 2,453 the year before, according to market research by Charles Wayne Consulting in Orlando. Condo and townhome closings last year totaled 3,290, up from 1,748 the year before. The soaring increases might mislead, however. The condo and townhome rise coincides with plummeting apartment construction, which in 1999 peaked at 14,000 rental units under construction, says Jason Canin, vice president of Charles Wayne. Job growth in metro Orlando and the difficulty in developing land for single-family homes has pushed the multifamily market from rentals to ownership. How long before Orlando bubbles though is open to question. More than a few investors in south Florida talk of planned trips to Orlando to grab property there.

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