Report: High-rise condos saw biggest drop in value last year

By Buck Wargo

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 | 1:50 a.m.

High-rise condominiums depreciated at the fastest rate in 2009, at 44 percent, while the average price decline for residential real estate fell 23 percent, according to a report from SalesTraq.

The 23 percent decline in homes, condos and townhomes is less steep than 2008, when residential values fell 33 percent on average based on closing prices, SalesTraq reported.

The average sales price fell 10 percent in 2007 after remaining flat in 2006. Prices rose as much as 44 percent in 2004 before slowing to a 14 percent gain in 2005, according to SalesTraq.

In 2009, high-rise condo prices fell 44 percent from $351,750 at the start of the year to $196,000 by the end of the year, said SalesTraq President Larry Murphy.

Mid-rise condominiums had their prices decline 28 percent from $152,450 to $110,000.

Single-family homes ranked third with prices declining 19 percent from $158,950 to $128,871, Murphy said.

Townhome prices fell 18 percent from $85,500 to $69,990.

Condo conversions fell the least, from $62,000 to $57,111, Murphy said. That equates to 8 percent.

The smaller drop doesn’t mean condo conversions have been a good investment, Murphy said. Those units dropped by a large amount in 2008, he said.

The median closing price of short sales in 2009 was $150,000 compared to $116,900 for foreclosure homes, according to SalesTraq. The median prices for other homes was $195,000.