Downtown Los Angeles has seen a much-heralded revival in the last few years, with thousands of people moving in and a flock of new restaurants and upscale stores opening to serve them, the Los Angeles Times rerpots.

Attractions such as Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre are helping support premium eateries and a lively club scene.

But there are signs that downtown’s residential boom is slowing, if not stalling out altogether.

Prices of condominiums, which dominate the downtown market, have fallen more sharply here than in Los Angeles and Orange counties overall, according to DataQuick Information Systems. More than one-third of the residential projects approved by city officials have been sidelined.

Downtown’s defenders say the area simply is suffering from the same housing slump that has slowed sales to a crawl and depressed prices across the country.

But some real estate analysts believe downtown’s housing troubles run deeper. They say developers and planners miscalculated its appeal as a residential community, leading them to build far too many projects for the demand.

As a result, the housing market downtown could fall more sharply and take longer to recover than it might in established residential areas.

Read the full L.A. Times story

.(registration required)