In the September issue of New Homes Magazine, columnist Gail Lissner, of housing analyst Appraisal Research Counselors, weighs in on the state of the downtown new-construction market. The current slowdown hasn’t created a glut of unsold inventory, since builders are holding back:
The combination of huge project announcements in 2006 along with a less robust sales pace resulted in a sharp increase in the inventory of unsold condos on the downtown market in 2006. This number has stabilized in 2007. We have seen only a modest increase in unsold inventory because the pace of new development has moderated in all segments of the market.
In another healthy sign, projects already under construction achieved solid sales before breaking ground. In fact, nearly 90 percent of the units to be delivered in 2007 are under contract, with 80 percent of the 2008 deliveries also under contract.
Read more at New Homes Magazine online. The print edition hits newsstands later this week.