The number of new condominium and homeowners associations is expected to increase by 4,500 this year, according to projections by the Foundation for Community Association Research, an affiliate organization of Community Associations Institute (CAI).
Representing nearly 25 percent of the housing stock in the U.S., community associations, also known as condominiums, housing cooperatives, and homeowners associations, are home to more than 73 million Americans, according to CAI. The 2021 projections reflect a 1.3 percent increase in new communities.
“Community associations, much like millions of businesses, continue to face difficult financial and operational challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the new research is a positive sign that the housing model remains strong,” says Dawn M. Bauman, CAE, executive director of the Foundation and CAI’s senior vice president of government and public affairs.
Since the 1970s, community associations have been a popular housing choice for people around the world—especially condominium buyers seeking close proximity to city centers, public transportation, and schools. Planned communities provide owners the benefit of shared amenities such as pools, walking trails, and other recreation facilities that may otherwise be unattainable.
According to the National and State Statistical Review for Community Association Data, published by the Foundation, planned communities give local municipalities the ability to transfer the obligation to provide services—trash and recycling removal, snow removal, streetscape beautification, sidewalk and street maintenance and lighting, stormwater management, and more—to homeowners.
In a 2020 Homeowner Satisfaction Survey, a biennial, nationwide report conducted by Zogby Analytics, residents said the following about their community association experience:
• 89 percent of residents rate their overall community association experience as very good or good (70 percent) or neutral (19 percent).
• 89 percent say members of their elected governing board “absolutely” or “for the most part” serve the best interests of their communities.
• 74 percent say their community managers provide value and support to residents and their associations.
• 94 percent say their association’s rules protect and enhance property values (71 percent) or have a neutral effect (23 percent); only 4 percent say the rules harm property values.
“The foundation’s research is essential to the future of the community association housing model, as a trusted source for industry leaders, developers, legislators, and other housing stakeholders,” says Thomas M. Skiba, CAI’s chief executive officer. “We are optimistic that the 2021 housing growth reinforces that comfort, convenience, and community—three attributes of community associations—remain essential to today’s homebuyer.”About Community Associations Institute
Since 1973, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been a provider of resources and information for homeowners, volunteer board leaders, professional managers, and business professionals in the more than 350,000 homeowners associations, condominiums, and housing cooperatives in the U.S. and millions of communities worldwide.
Its website is www.caionline.org.
