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What
do
you
think
of
when
you
hear
the
word
"condominium?"
If
you're
like
most
people,
you'll
visualize
either
a
high-rise
apartment
or a
row
of
low-slung,
garden-style
walk-ups.
And
you'll
be
wrong.
Of
the
nation's
nearly
6
million
condominiums,
only
28
percent
are
in
buildings
with
five
or
more
units,
according
to a
profile
of
the
nation's
nearly
6
million
condominiums
by
the
Mortgage
Bankers
Association.
The
profile
is
based
on
data
from
the
Census
Bureau's
2005
American
Housing
Survey.
Truth
be
told,
the
condo
market
is
as
varied
as
it
is
large,
the
study
found.
And
because
the
term
condominium
refers
to a
type
of
ownership
rather
than
a
type
of
dwelling
unit,
a
condo
can
have
any
number
of
characteristics,
including
tenure,
type
of
structure
and
location.
Surprise:
Most
condos
are
not
in
multi-family
buildings.
In
fact,
49
percent
are
in
buildings
of
four
or
fewer
units,
and
36
percent
--
more
than
a
third
--
are
actually
single-family
houses.
"How's
that?"
you
ask.
Because
a
condo,
as a
type
of
ownership,
allows
someone
to
own
a
dwelling
in a
property
of
similarly
owned
units,
be
they
detached
or
attached.
The
owner's
name
is
on
the
deed,
and
the
owner
may
or
may
not
have
a
mortgage.
In
addition,
the
owner
may
hold
an
interest
with
all
other
owners
in
the
project's
common
elements,
including
the
grounds,
hallways,
entryways,
elevators
and
amenities.
Because
they
combine
individual
ownership
of
the
dwelling
with
shared
ownership
of
the
common
facilities,
condos
tend
to
fill
the
market
niche
between
renting
and
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owning
a
detached
home
and
the
lot
on
which
it
sits,
the
MBA
profile
points
out.
But
many
condo
boards
--
the
government-like
groups
which
run
the
properties
on
behalf
of
all
owners
--
set
restrictions
on
the
number
of
units
which
can
be
owned
by
investors
who
don't
occupy
the
dwellings
but
rather
than
rent
them
to
others.
Lenders
also
limit
the
share
of
units
that
can
be
investor-owned.
And
as a
result,
nearly
two-thirds
of
all
condos
are
owner-occupied
and
only
21
are
occupied
by
renters.
The
remaining
16
percent
are
vacant.
As
you
might
expect,
single-family
condos
are
the
least
likely
to
be
renter-occupied.
Only
14
percent
of
the
occupied
detached
houses
and
13
percent
of
the
attached
houses,
or
townhouses,
are
occupied
by
renters,
By
contrast,
according
to
the
MBA,
32
percent
of
the
apartments
in
buildings
with
50
or
more
units
are
rented,
and
31
percent
of
the
units
in
building
with
20-49
apartments
are
rented.
In
terms
of
sheer
volume,
though,
MBA
researchers
found
that
35
percent
of
the
condos
that
are
renter-occupied
are
in
properties
with
four
or
fewer
units,
and
48
percent
are
in
properties
with
between
five
and
49
units.
The
rest
are
in
buildings
with
50
or
more
units.
Actually,
townhouses,
not
apartments,
make
up
the
largest
single
block
of
condominiums.
And
as a
result,
59
percent
of
all
condos
are
in
the
suburbs.
Just
32
percent
are
considered
city
dwellings
and
9
percent
are
outside
metro
areas.
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