Not Enough Condos to Go Around in Downtown Cleveland

Michelle Jarboe reports:

Urban condo living exists in Cleveland, but the supply is small. The Downtown Cleveland Alliance, a nonprofit group, says there are just shy of 900 condominiums in and near the central business district. There are more than 6,700 apartments. As developers bring hundreds of units of rental housing online each year, vertical, owner-occupied construction sits on the sidelines.

The article includes discussion of the causes of the lack of inventory on the condo market in Cleveland's center city—competing theories are offered from developers, bankers, and local stakeholders. There's plenty of data to suggest that the condo market in Downtown Cleveland is tighter than the rest of the region's housing market.

The consequence of the lack of supply is exemplified by the story of Jason Lucas, who wanted to buy a condo within walking distance of his office, and finding no available options, settled in the suburb of Shaker heights instead.