The Connection reports, the 'Condo Craze Fizzles' in Virginia. "The craze began in December 2003 like a shock wave, 492 rental properties would be going condo. By May 2005, the city of Alexandria lost more than 2,000 rental units."

"By the time that Park Center registered with the General Assembly to go condo in September 2005, residents of its 574 rental units faced a stark choice: buy or move. But less than eight months after applying to go condo, Park Center scrapped its condominium project, opting to revert its property to rental apartment units."

"Some officials at City Hall see Park Center’s retreat as a sign of future trends. 'We probably have come to the end of this wave,' Melodie Barron, a division chief in the Office of Housing said. 'This also happened in the late 1980s when several condo projects were shelved.'"

"Urban planners say that housing trends are cyclical, with supply and demand forming peaks and valleys over the decades. To illustrate that point, Ralph Rosenbaum, a demographer in the city’s Department of Planning, turns to a listing of 'residential properties authorized' from the city’s 2005 statistical profile. It shows several prominent peaks in the mid-1960s, the mid-1970s, the late 1980s, the late 1990s and our recent spike."

"The city has 1,518 condominiums that are under construction, 320 condominiums that have been approved and 2,349 potential condominiums that are under review. The future may see some of these projects reconsidering their development strategies."

"As early as last summer, Deputy City Manager Mark Jinks predicted that Alexandria’s market would be experiencing a slowdown. 'I think you’ll see a lot of these condo conversions becoming rental properties,' Jinks told City Council members at last year’s annual retreat."

"Last year, the condominium assessments increased by 23 percent, with the average condo going for $287,765. The Office of Housing estimates that a family would need to have an annual income of $86,627 to afford that kind of a purchase."

"'While individual circumstances vary, for most current residents, the cost of purchasing will entail a substantial increase in monthly housing payments above the cost of renting,' wrote City Manager Jim Hartmann on the subject of condo conversions. "