Apr. 21, 2006 12:00 AM

Those condos and condo conversions just keep coming, even though some experts wonder if they will all be needed.

Permits were issued last year to build 4,500 condominium units in Maricopa County, the largest number in 10 years, according to Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center in Mesa. In January and February, an additional 1,300 units were permitted.

And on top of that, at least 10,000 apartment units were converted to condos last year in the county. Numbers aren’t available for this year yet.

Developers see a market for them because they are affordable compared with single-family homes.

Mesa, Chandler and especially Tempe are getting high-rise condos. At least a dozen have been built or will be built in Tempe. And in Mesa, the City Council on Monday approved Fiesta Towers, a four-tower project near Fiesta Mall.

Hundreds of apartments are being converted to condos in Ahwatukee Foothills, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Tempe. Mesa had required conversions to get city approval but recently removed that requirement, opening that city to more.

“Mesa has great potential. But the only problem is that many of the (apartment) projects are very old so you have to hand pick them to get the best project,” said Jacob Bletnitsky, partner and chief executive officer with condo developers and converters Russland Capital Group, of Chicago.

The company purchased the Dobson Bay Club apartments in Mesa because of the spacious two-story apartments and Olympic-size pool. The grand opening will be May 20. Units will start at $168,000. The median price for a Mesa single-family home reached $243,500 in March.

Butler said conversions have been slowing recently, perhaps because there are so many.

“Many are concerned that they might be over-converting. For some projects they are converting things like old office buildings and shopping centers,” he said.

“It is unknown if the market is slowing or if it’s a seasonal thing.”

The condos appeal primarily to young families and winter visitors, he said.

Some of the more successful ones are lower-end condos in east Mesa and Maryvale, where people have been buying the units they had lived in, Butler said.

“They seem to be doing reasonably well. They are small and inexpensive. The high ends do well for a while and then peter out.”

Converted condos reportedly have been selling well but competition is getting stiff. Developers have started to offer incentives to real estate agents to bring in prospective buyers.

SunVest Communities USA recently invited agents to the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix to learn about a special deal it is offering: zero closing costs, zero condominium fees and zero mortgage payments until 2007 for two new communities in Phoenix and the Symphony at Chandler, which will begin sales in June.

Median condo prices for resales have dropped a bit in Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa but risen in Tempe from February to March. But they remain above prices from a year earlier. Converted condos generally sell more cheaply than new ones.

But one thing condos do have going for them is that they are well located. And because of gas prices, these closer-in locations will become popular.

Developers are looking at replacing Tri-City Baptist Church and the Shalimar Country Club Golf Course in Tempe with condos and the site of a former mobile home park near Southern Avenue and Country Club Drive in Mesa.

“I tend to think a strong area of development is coming in infill,” Butler said.