RCA in the commercial property press:

Rise in leasing of condos worries local governments, residents

Columbus Dispatch reports: The housing market's mood and long-term city planning don't always agree with each other. High-end condominiums have become a desirable feature for suburbs, but with the weakening of the economy, some developers are trying to adjust to a sluggish condo market by converting units into rentals temporarily or permanently.

Developers say they're thinking about market demand, but government officials are trying to shape what their cities will look like in ten years and ensure that a variety of housing options will be available.

The challenges are that each community has different housing needs and a distinct image, said Kyle Ezell, a city-planning lecturer at Ohio State University. The market change has been so fast that it's hard for communities to judge how to respond.

"Just five years ago, apartments were switching to condos like crazy, and it's amazing to see that reversed in such a short time," Ezell said. "Converting to apartments is a natural market reaction, and it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's touchy."

About four percent of housing complexes that were sold in the U.S. this year for more than $5 million have been converted into apartments, up from less than 1 percent for most of the decade, and no apartments have been resold as condos this year, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York consulting firm.