Did condominium developers cause the housing bubble?
Some historical background, if you’ll indulge me. Things changed considerably in the early 1970s when the strata condominium was introduced to the market.
This new concept provided buyers, including tenants, the opportunity to purchase and own their own suite rather than pay rent. Prices paid for condominiums were soon much higher than rental apartments.
As a result, land quickly increased in value to reflect the fact that building condominiums was significantly more profitable than building rental apartments.
Accordingly, except for very few special situations, the construction of purpose-built rental properties ceased.
Without reasonable rental options, owning a property became the demand.