By Kris Hudson | The Wall Street Journal
California developer Intracorp Cos. built thousands of condominiums from 2002 to 2008. Since then, it has built none, opting for rental apartments and single-family homes even though they can be less profitable.
“I see demand for condos, because in California people want to live in urban environments,” said Intracorp President Peter Lauener. “But there are constraints on getting off the ground at every turn.”
With the housing market in its fourth year of recovery, construction of single-family homes and multifamily rentals is rebounding.
Not so for condo construction, which has been slammed by tough rules on condo mortgages enacted after the housing bust as well as stronger demand among young people for rentals and tight lending conditions for builders.
