Today, developers are struggling to keep up with the influx of new residents. Although more than 5,000 apartments are under construction downtown, with another 13,000 proposed, new condo inventory is at record lows, with fewer than 30 new condos currently available for sale in the area, according to real-estate consultant Alan Mark, a drop of 82% compared with a year ago. Prices, meanwhile, are up 8%. And vacancy rates are down to 4.4% from 9.7% five years ago, edging close to New York's 3.1%, according to Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate.
