The Change Mariner

Condos More Popular As Boomers Seek City Living

Yahoo Business:

Until last September, Umberto and Maria Falcone lived in what many would consider the height of San Diego living - a 3,000 square foot, four car-garage house with ocean views and enough marble counter tops to handle cookie-making by the dozen.

"It was our dream home," said Maria.

But last year they traded the Pacific Beach residence they designed and raised two of their five children in for a three-bedroom condo near downtown San Diego's Little Italy district.

What changed? Age and the desire for easier living. Maria's mother, Domenica, now 99, was having a hard time climbing the stairs. Umberto, 64, finally agreed to retire and sell their La Jolla restaurant, Falcone's. Looking for something smaller and easier to maintain, they moved into one of the new multifamily complexes that have sparked a mini-Renaissance in the formerly desolated downtown.

No Condo Lawns To Mow

The Falcones are one reason that condo sales and prices are skyrocketing. As more Americans retire or see their last kids move out, they are trading in the family home for condominiums that often make up for their smaller size with conveniences such as clubhouses and Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The life they lead in these typically more urban areas has changed, too.