Where does the downtown San Antonio condo market stand? Perhaps the best answer to this question was found at the recent Downtown Alliance’s State of Downtown Luncheon at the West Riverwalk Hotel. This is where the downtown San Antonio condo market, along with the revitalization of the downtown area, was discussed by a number of city and business leaders. The main focus of the Downtown Alliance’s annual downtown luncheon was to discuss ways in which downtown San Antonio can become a more livable and workable community. And, as always, there are challenges that must be met head-on in this quest.
Condo Financing Problems still Exist
One of the current problems discussed at the annual luncheon includes obtaining financing for downtown condos. The downtown San Antonio market has long been plagued by the fact that financing is hard to come by and the office market in the city’s center is outdated. However, the meeting also noted that apartment rentals in the downtown area are up, and the entertainment sector has been helped along, thanks to upgrades in various facilities around the area.
Office Market Struggling
The city and business leaders agree that more downtown residents and a boost in the downtown San Antonio condo market are essential to boost the outdated office market and the city center. However, in order to accomplish this, individuals need to be able to obtain financing from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which, at the present, just isn’t happening. And that means a longer turnaround for the near-obsolete office space market which, at this time, is classified as a C, making as much as 40 percent of it functionally obsolete. Because of these problems, there is still a large portion of the downtown office market that just isn’t being leased. The challenges with downtown San Antonio’s condo market may be best summed up by David Adelman, a partner at Cross & Company who, at the annual luncheon said, “Housing will lead then everything else will follow.” There are currently about 3,000 residential units in the downtown San Antonio condo market; Adelman notes that a goal of 10,000 units should be set.
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