Why condos caught on in America
The tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021, made millions of Americans focus for the first time on the risks of high-rise construction and oceanfront living. Many also became more aware of condominiums and other forms of co-ownership in which each unit in a multifamily building or other kind of housing complex is individually owned, while the structure itself is owned, and managed, collectively.
As I explain in my book “High Life,” however, there are many benefits to co-ownership. People who buy condos can more easily afford choice locations, have less maintenance to deal with and get the freedom to remodel. Those advantages have made this kind of lifestyle popular for more than a century.
Location, location, location