To be sure, no other force has affected the commercial real estate market in recent years quite like condo converters. They've been a boon to asset sellers and a bane to buyers. They've driven cap rates down significantly and have bid so aggressively for deals that traditional investors have been pushed out of many markets. Now, as interest rates rise and sales velocity in the single-family residential market begins to cool, all eyes are on converters. Will their voracious appetite for properties continue, or will they back off? How will it impact the market? Is there a bubble, and if so, when will it burst?

All of these points have been widely debated in industry circles. While they are valid concerns, most experts believe that the impact from a condo implosion—if one does occur—will be minimal, at best. For better or worse, they maintain, condos are here to stay.

The Converters:
From Nothing to 'Wow'
The growth of the condo sector has benefited some firms immensely and reshaped the business strategies of others. Take, for instance, converter Crescent Heights. The company did its first projects in California in the early 1970s and moved into South Florida in the early '90s. The condo boom, according to Miami-based national marketing director Brian Duchman, has impacted the firm "tremendously. It gave us the opportunity to grow to a point where we're now basically in every major city across the country."