But This One Is Special

Erik Bolog, managing partner of Tenacity, said his company has been selling 30 units per month, or 30 percent ahead of its own projections, and is planning to bring 1,500 units to market over the next two years.

"We are only getting busier. We are growing; we're not downsizing," he said. Tenacity is "different from the mainstream developers that are building the more expensive units in the city."

But Jim Abdo, a District-based developer of luxury condos, said his sales remain brisk as well, in part because his projects never attracted many nonresident investors and therefore were less affected as those buyers largely withdrew from the market this year.

"We build units at a significantly higher price point," Abdo said. "It just doesn't lend itself for the investor purchaser . . . who wants to buy it, stick a renter in it and sell it in a year or two."

Five thousand people have signed up to preview 87 units at Abdo's Wooster and Mercer lofts under construction in Arlington, priced at $500,000 to $2.5 million, Abdo said. Only six of the units have been released for sale, and they sold in a few days, he said.

But Abdo, who is also embarking on a $1 billion, 3,000-unit project in Northeast Washington, said he is confident that the Arlington condos would sell once buyers saw their 22-foot ceilings, large windows and other features he described as unique. "Quality sells through any change in the market place. Period," he said.

Simple math on building costs and land supply also makes moving forward with condo projects make sense from a business perspective, some developers said.

Ross Development & Investment, an owner and operator of 13,000 rental apartment units around the region, entered the condo market three years ago.

"Unless you want to commute long distances . . . prices just have to continue to increase because costs continue to go up," said Scott Ross, president of the Bethesda company.

Ross is introducing hundreds of condos in the area, including conversions of some apartment buildings it owns. Its mixed-use project with Bethesda-based Danac Corp., which features 644 condos, is under construction near the Rockville Metro station and being sold in phases. About 400 units remain.

"We're obviously bullish on it, but for all the right reasons," Ross said, citing the high price of homes, appeal of urban living and scarcity of land near inner-suburb train stations. "I actually think it's foolish" for buyers not to participate in the real estate market.

But many developers say they are closely watching the market and adjusting plans.