Almost every week it seems another rental property in the county announces it is going condo, the nationwide condo-conversion trend has reached a crescendo in Manatee County, that is about few months back.
others are put in a predicament and don't know where to go, while those interested in owning their own home now have more affordable opportunities in the form of conversions.
"Manatee lost approximately 2,000 of its 9,000 rental units in 2005. Sarasota County has lost upward of 40 percent of its rental inventory in the past 24 months" according to Triad Research & Consulting President Michael Slater, a Tampa-based company that tracks losses in rental inventory.
Like apartment hunters, these changes have affected not only potential renters but those who often helped them find properties to fit their needs.
A company that specializes in providing free assistance to those looking for rental properties, have found it increasingly difficult to match prospective tenants with available properties that suit their needs in all areas of the Tampa Bay market, they are called Employees of Apartment Hunters.
Mark Berry, manager at Apartment Hunters, said "People come in saying, 'Please find a place that won't be converting. We don't want to move anymore,' "
"They are losing inventory to conversions and the losses have changed the dynamic of Apartment Hunters' business." Berry said, he added "we are working with the individual investor when, in the past, we never did. We worked with large communities."
There are 132 rental communities in Manatee County with more than 10 units, According to the Manatee County Property Appraisers Office.
The area's available rental inventory is quickly depleted, leaving some wondering where to go next, When large communities like the 352-unit Hampton Bay apartment complex and the 252-unit Mainstreet are converted to condominiums.
Dale Friedley of the Manatee County Property Appraisers Office, "I predict we'll see 3,000 new condo units this year and at least 1,200 of those will be conversions."
Living paycheck to paycheck wasn't always a way of life for the family of four - five if Lucinda, the black labrador who thinks she's human, is included, As signs went up proclaiming the new name and new intentions for the development formerly known as Hampton Bay, the Lewandoski family waited for the other shoe to drop.
Gone are the days of making $150,000 annually and feeling secure, their 4,000-plus-square-foot home outside Chicago seems a lifetime away, though it has been less than a year since they lived there.
Some think more competitive and realistic house prices may turn the tide,Just how long the condo conversion phase will continue is uncertain. When the conversion trend first took off, it was when there was a shortage of properties on the market and an influx of buyers willing to pay prices considerably higher than the appraised value of the home or condo. With interest rates climbing, more available inventory on the market and the acceleration of home prices showing little sign of slowing down, conversions seem to be gaining momentum, not losing it.
By: Dijon Wainwright
http://www.realestateportal.org/article.php?story=20060219114940353