Today, more and more home buyers seeking convenience are moving from single-family dwellings towards condominium ownership. Condos offer open spaces, loft style windows, modern design and all the conveniences you’d expect in a new home, but for a price that sits far below that of most single-family homes.

While condo living appeals mostly to young professionals, it is also popular for families looking for a safe place to raise their children, and older persons looking for a secure, uncomplicated lifestyle.  The simple fact of the matter is, owning a condo is a convenient, inexpensive housing option, especially if you want access to such amenities as swimming pools, gymnasiums and the like. While sometimes having strict rules and regulations in terms of how you can redesign the property to suit your tastes, or whether or not you can rent out your condo to a tenant, the advantages of this style of living can be summed up by the simple fact that you are living in a community within a community. The sheer number of your neighbors helps keep costs down and allows such luxuries as outdoor sports facilities, gyms, and security facilities on the building.

The condo market is strong

With a strong job market and rapidly growing real estate market, condo living in Memphis is currently all the rage with 34 developments and over 1,500 units either in planning or under construction. Long-time Memphians and newly transplanted professionals are responding positively to the city’s amazing downtown revitalization and new choices in upscale condo living. Between 2004 and 2006, there were only 4 condos that sold at a price above $500,000 in the Downtown area of Memphis, with most experts opining that it is for lack of supply, not lack of demand.  That lack of product, however, is destined to be a thing of the past as new, multi-residence developments are being planned all over Memphis over the coming year.

In fact, the Memphis Area Association of Realtors lists 32 homes sold for $500,000 or more in January of 2006 alone, an increase of 19 homes over the previous years figures.  Of those 32 homes, 6 were sold for over $1 million, all of which indicates that people are looking to purchase, and are purchasing, more elaborate and expensive homes in the Memphis downtown area.

But that doesn’t mean that prices are out of your reach. In fact, new developments are being announced almost as quickly as they’re filled, which should keep low to mid-level apartments at a price level that is accessible for most potential buyers.

While condo living may not be for everyone, there are those individuals who prefer this type of simple, upscale living to the drudgery of paying for the maintenance and upkeep of a single-family home. And if you’re someone who wants to live in a booming downtown with an eclectic cultural base and something fun to do every night of the week, you really can’t go past Memphis as a place to call home.

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