Real Estate Never Goes Down

...unless you're forced to take a loss. From a complex just north of me in luxurious New Tampa:

The 396 units in Portofino were put on the market as condos in 2006, but the developer sold just 31 of them. Last July, an apartment management company bought the rest of the units. Now, that company wants to terminate the condominium, buy out the individual unit owners - at today's lower market rate - and convert the whole complex back to apartments.

And, apparently, the condo owners may have little say. A revised Florida statute and provisions in the original condominium declaration make it easier for the developer to force owners out.

Well, this can't possibly go on for much longer, right?

Since 2004, nearly 29,000 apartments were converted to condominium units in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, according to New York-based research firm Real Capital Analytics. That's the third highest of all metro areas in the nation. Only the metro areas of Miami-Palm Beach and Orlando have more. So far, 3,500 units in the Tampa area have reverted to apartments, according to the research firm.

The Florida of 1925 called and wants its swamp back.