Condo Living – New York Times is a great article about condo living in various cities in the U.S. It talks about the various reasons why people buy condos, and what they like about urban living.
The vibrancy of city living — culture, shopping and the finest restaurants — appeals to a broad spectrum of second-home buyers, including aging boomers looking for a getaway and globetrotting jet setters beefing up their portfolios.
Midtown Atlanta
Many of those buying in metropolitan areas may already have a second home or even a third, but their collections are simply not complete without a pied-à-terre in an energetic urban locale. According to the National Association of Realtors, 40 percent of all home sales in 2005 were second homes. And a third of those were in urban areas.
While many American cities offer that type of living and urban amenities, the hottest (and some would argue most prestigious) markets are found in Manhattan, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
The typical buyer in these cities may be a wealthy executive who counts a city condo as one of many secondary homes that he cycles through over the course of the year, or a baby boomer in her 40’s or 50’s.
