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Appendix E: Relevant News Articles (cont.) Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires Finance & Commerce (Minneapolis, MN) February 24, 2005 Thursday SECTION: NEWS LENGTH: 957 words HEADLINE: Twin Cities homebuilders urged to consider condos -with care BYLINE: Brian Johnson BODY: Builders of single-family homes and townhomes should consider jumping on the condominium bandwagon, according to a local residential construction expert. Betty Hardle, president of Coon Rapids-based Residential Research Services, told a group of homebuilders last week that there are "tons and tons" of condominiums going up throughout the metro area, including outer-ring locations such as Hastings and Stillwater. "If I were you, I would think about getting into the condominium business," said Hardle, who tracks building permits and other residential construction data in the metro area. "There are all different ways you can do this. So it seems to me that it's not a bad niche to look into. "However, if there's a lot of them around you, forget it. You don't want to have that much competition." Speaking at a Builders Association of the Twin Cities event, Hardle said rising prices ofsingle-family homes and townhomes and a desire for redevelopment are fueling the condo construction boom. "The other thing that has happened in the condo market is, there have been so many rental vacancies that it has made rental owners nervous," Hardle said. "If they condominiumize their building, they can sell it off a piece at a time and make some money on it." Overall, 2005 should be a "pretty good year" for homebuilders, as long as they find the right location, Hardle said. "Just because there are lots, it doesn't mean you should go there," she said. St. Croix County is one of the few metro area locations with an abundance of lots, for example, but demand there has been shrinking, she said. The five hottest areas in 2004, as measured by residential building permits, were Woodbury, Blaine, Lakeville, Shakopee and Maple Grove, according to Hardle's data. Woodbury easily led the metro area with 2,034 permits issued. Other areas of note include Coon Rapids, which is in the midst of a major redevelopment, and Elk River, which made the top 10 in permits despite being outside of the Metropolitan Urban Services Area. But permits don't tell the whole story, she warned