HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, CONDOMINIUM COMMUNITIES, AND HOUSING COOPERATIVES TO CONTINUE UPWARD TREND IN 2020

National -

January 10, 2020

Community Associations Institute (CAI) releases housing predictions for the new year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – RealEstateRama – An estimated 66% of all new home construction in 2020 will be built in one of the three types of community associations — primarily in a planned community (also called a Homeowners Association or HOAs), in a condominium community, or in a housing cooperative, according to the Community Associations Institute (CAI), the leading national authority on community association education, governance, and management. CAI also anticipates similar growth in Australia, Canada, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and other international markets with a main emphasis on growth in condominium communities.

CAI estimates that 2,500–3,000 community associations will be created in the U.S. this new year. As a result, by the end of 2020, the total number of U.S. community associations will range between 352,000—354,000.

Today, more than 25% of the U.S. population lives in a community association, according to the 2018-2019 National and State Statistical Review for Community Association Data, published by the Foundation for Community Association Research. Florida continues to lead the nation with 48,250 associations, which are home to 9.5 million residents. California is the country’s second-largest state with 48,150 associations, followed by Texas (20,050), Illinois (18,700), North Carolina (14,000), and New York (13,875).

Each year, the Foundation publishes the National and State Statistical Review for Community Association Data several related state-by-state data reports as part of the Community Association Fact Book. The reports use data gathered in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and American Housing Survey (AHS) to better align with the Foundation’s own state-level community association research.

Newly released highlights from the Fact Book include the following:
? Individual state economic contributions and value-added benefits, which estimate that community associations contribute $265.5 billion dollars to local and state economies.

? The introduction of a new Part Eight in the report demonstrates how public tax parcel data and GIS mapping software can be used to present a spatial view of community associations together with estimates of aging-in-place in homeowners associations, using Dakota County, Minn., as a case study.

? The individual State Summaries (Table 6.2) now include updated research—including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) condominium data.

? Additional results show the value of homes in community associations is nearly $6.28 trillion, and roughly $96 billion in assessments is collected annually from homeowners to fund essential maintenance and provide for Reserve Funds.
The report details top reasons for the growth of community associations:
? The value of collective management. Americans largely have accepted the collective management structure of community association living, where association boards are composed of democratically elected homeowners who voluntarily serve their communities. The research shows there are 2.5 million community association board and committee members in the U.S.

? Privatizing public functions. With many local municipalities facing fiscal challenges, communities often are developed with the stipulation that the builder create an association that will assume many responsibilities that traditionally belonged to local and state government (e.g., road maintenance, snow and trash removal, and stormwater management). According to the study, homeowners contributed $27.3 billion to association reserve funds for the repair, replacement, and enhancement of common property (e.g., swimming pools, elevators, and resurfacing streets).

? Expanding affordable housing. There has been a consistent effort to increase the percentage of homeowners in the U.S., and since the 1960s, condominiums have had the tendency to serve as lower-cost entry housing, especially for first-time homebuyers that need access to conventional mortgage markets. Condominium communities account for 38–42% of the reported total of community associations.

To view the full report, visit foundation.caionline.org.

About Community Associations Institute
Since 1973, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been the leading provider of resources and information for homeowners, volunteer board leaders, professional managers, and business professionals in the nearly 350,000 homeowners associations, condominiums, and housing cooperatives in the United States and millions of communities worldwide. With nearly 45,000 members, CAI works in partnership with 36 legislative action committees and 64 affiliated chapters within the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates as well as with housing leaders in several other countries, including Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. A global nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, CAI is the foremost authority in community association management, governance, education, and advocacy. Our mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership, and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in community associations that are preferred places to call home. Visit us at www.caionline.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @caisocial.

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