Charlotte is in the midst of its second condominium boom, but this one bears little resemblance to the high-flying market of 15 years ago.

Most of the people who bought during the early 1980s building spree - when mortgage rates were topping 16 percent - bought condos because they couldn't afford a house in the suburbs.

Today, the market is much more diverse and widespread, with prices ranging from $100,000 to more than $1 million all the way from Lake Norman on the north end of Mecklenburg County to Ballantyne on the south side.

And unlike the first boom, which peaked in 1986 and then fizzled when interest rates stabilized, local real estate sales people and developers say rising land prices and changing lifestyles mean this one is here to stay.

What's different this time?

"It boils down to one word: convenience," said Jeff Adams of Helen Adams Realty. "People have less and less time, and they don't want to spend it taking care of their home."

Tossing out the lawnmower and paint scraper has its appeal, but that's not the only reason people are willing to trade a house and a fenced yard for a terrace or a courtyard. Affordability, location and family circumstances also come into play.

Margot Dabney Musch and her husband, Ryan, just moved into a two-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot condo at Boulevard Centro's 44-unit Skyline Terrace, under construction in the Garden District of First Ward, a redevelopment hotspot. Units there range from $155,000 to $188,500.

"We stayed within our budget," Margot Musch said. "We spent about the same amount we would have spent on a suburban house, but we wanted to take advantage of the cultural value of living in the center city."

A native of Plano, Texas, she works in disability insurance sales at SouthPark. Her husband is a computer software consultant from Fort Scott, Kan. They moved to Charlotte from New York in April 2000.

"I feel safe here, and I get to meet a lot more people," Musch said. "Every evening when someone is out walking around, others come out to chat. In suburbia, you feel kind of closed off."

The Musches, as a young professional couple, fit one of the three main demographic categories the experts say are fueling demand for condominiums.

"It's about one-third young professionals, one-third empty nesters and one-third people who are reducing the size of their households for some reason," said Emma Littlejohn, who analyzes the market at The Littlejohn Group in Charlotte.

The changing public perception of condominium living also is an important factor.

"It's a different market today because of acceptability," said Jim Patterson, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Charlotte. "There are more forms of higher-density housing and more price ranges."

In fact, two projects under construction, St. Serrant in Myers Park and the Crillon at Fenton Place in Eastover, offer some of the most expensive condos Charlotte has ever seen: $1 million to nearly $2 million with every luxury that buyers expect in a suburban executive house. Home theaters, wine closets, gourmet kitchens, game rooms and fitness studios are included.

"In 1986 there was no expensive attached housing for sale," said Chuck Graham, who analyzes Charlotte-area residential development at Newton Graham Consultants. "Attached housing was strictly an affordable alternative then."

Affordability still is an important consideration today, as Graham's numbers show: 40 percent of the new attached units in Mecklenburg are selling below $115,000 vs. 20 percent of the new single-family detached houses.

"Attached" and "detached" are the terms real estate professionals use to distinguish a for-sale unit that looks like an apartment from a traditional house on a lot. But basically, attached refers to condominiums and townhomes.

Many more attached units are being built today in all price ranges, but, surprisingly, their share of total sales is slightly below the peak year's.

Of the 2,768 total new residential closings in 1986, 900 units, roughly 32 percent, were new townhomes and condos. In the 12 months ending in March, Graham said, about 30 percent, or 2,089 of the 6,925 new residential closings, were new attached-housing units.

In total sales, however, today's market is 2.3 times as large.

Lifestyle Development Co. was so impressed with the strong market - especially the potential for empty-nester sales - that it moved its headquarters here last year from Columbus, Ohio, and put 14.3 acres under contract on Albemarle Road in east Charlotte for its first project - condo units selling for $110,000 to $150,000.

Another big difference between today's boom and the earlier one, the experts say, is the sustainability of this market, which is benefiting from rising land prices and public policies encouraging higher-density housing along mass transit routes.

When land costs rise, builders try to keep expenses down by building more units per acre.

Littlejohn said the condo boom is just starting to spread to outlying towns, where land prices have been considerably lower than in Mecklenburg.

"Belmont is going to see more, and there are new projects in Gastonia and Iredell County," she said. "But there are not a lot of efficiencies in building in counties where you can still buy a house for $110,000 to $120,000."

The most successful suburban projects are linked to an amenity, such as SouthPark mall, the Ballantyne retail/residential/golf course development, and, of course, Lake Norman.

"You have to have those support services around them," said Adams at Helen Adams Realty. "You don't see townhomes going up before single-family houses in the suburbs. Shopping centers and schools follow the houses, and then come apartments and townhomes."

The worse the commute from the suburbs, the higher the premium on living closer to the center city. Outside the Interstate 485 belt road, you can buy a condo for $115,000, Littlejohn said. Between the outerbelt and Fairview Road, you should be able to find something in the $185,000 to low $200,000 range. After that, all bets are off. Prices for new condos quickly rise from $225,000 to more than $1 million.

Littlejohn believes the hottest market probably will continue to be south Charlotte, especially the SouthPark area and close-in neighborhoods such as Eastover and Myers Park.

People who remember Charlotte's first condo boom also remember the bust: Owners were stuck for years with properties that didn't appreciate and wouldn't sell.

Housing experts say today's condo resale market isn't as strong as single-family house resales, but Littlejohn points out that might be due to the cyclical nature of condo building.

When developers are churning out new projects, she said, resales typically weaken. But once the new units are sold, the resale market bounces back.

Says Adams: "Condos and townhomes have become a true market segment, not just a blip on the screen."

New condo owner Margot Musch's experience at Skyline Terrace underscores that.