Friday, September 28, 2007

Cap on Condo Conversions

San Diego City Council rejected a cap on condo conversions this past Tuesday. The cap would have limited the per-year conversions to 1,000. The only city council members that stepped up to the plate to actually put an end to this matter and place a limit on the number of condo conversions done in a given year were Donna Frye and Toni Atkins. The council with a 6-2 margin decided to work on the issue further in a closed session. San Diego's condo conversion market has been out of control over the last couple years. San Diego is also way behind the times as San Francisco has a cap of only 200 per year and Berkeley limits condo conversions based on vacancy percentages (none of which exceed 500 units per year even at the highest rate).

According to the UT, even though the number of conversions have dropped so far this year to 400 (with over 1,400 applications in as of July), it does not mean that we should not be mindful of years like 2005 where owners tried to convert over 10,000 rental units. As a renter, I find the matter extremely disconcerting; we are allowing the market to completely dictate the system instead of the government doing it's role to serve the people, so that these extremes do not continue to persist. Hopefully the council will come to its senses and help the poor renters. To the shock of many, most of us [renters] cannot afford to purchase a condo in San Diego.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

A lor of the condo conversations are a total scam. I have driven by some places that were recently convenrted and I'm thinking that I wouldn't have even considering renting an apartment there, and now your selling as a condo?

I think the city council allows some many condo conversations as de facto policy for affordable housing.

Lucas said...

Meanwhile existing condos are sitting vacant.