PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The once-thriving condo market in Portland has taken a nosedive amid the worldwide financial crisis.

The young professionals and empty-nesters who once powered the downtown condo construction boom have gone missing.

Prices are falling, but potential buyers face more trouble securing mortgages for new purchases or selling their old homes to cash out their equity.

Portland's condo market remains far better than places such as Miami and Las Vegas. But Portland condo brokers now publicly acknowledge the first significant downturn since the condo market took off in the late 1990s.

To cope, developers have restructured their loans to buy more time or converted their towers into luxury apartments.

But even with 1,400 condos pulled from the supply for rent as apartments, the downtown market remains flooded.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)