Condo construction nationwide in the 1st quarter comprised only 5.5% of multifamily housing — the lowest ratio since the Commerce Department began tracking this data in 1974. Historically, condo construction averages around 24%. In the metro Phoenix area in 2014, the condo share of the marketplace stood at 5.16% of overall new housing activity. The factors hampering the condo market’s recovery is that young adults (condos typically cater to entry-level buyers) have chosen rentals instead. In addition, developers say the unavailability of construction loans that are more than 50% loan to value are limiting the supply of condos they can build.
