Foreclosures Hit 37-Year High

Daily Real Estate News June 15, 2007

Foreclosures Hit 37-Year HighMore home owners entered the foreclosure process during the first three months of 2007 than during the record-setting final quarter of 2006, according to a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan predicts that delinquencies would continue to rise, peaking later this year. He also points out that the rate would have fallen if it weren’t for substantial increases in seven states."The percentage of loans in foreclosure would be well below the average of the last 10 years were it not for Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana," Duncan says. "And the rate of foreclosures started nationwide would have fallen were it not for the big jumps in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona.

Those states have special circumstances that do not reflect what is happening in the rest of the country." Seasonally adjusted, 0.58 percent of loans entered the foreclosure process last quarter, compared with 0.54 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 0.41 percent in last year's first quarter. The rates for the past two quarters are the highest in the survey's 37-year history.— REALTOR® Magazine Online and The Wall Street Journal, Damian Paletta and James R. Hagerty (06/15/07

U of Akron cuts deal for Quaker Square

By STAN BULLARD2:57 pm, June 13, 2007

The University of Akron plans to study converting the landmark Quaker Square complex into university-related offices and student housing following a decision today by its board of trustees to acquire the property for $22.7 million.

Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, and the State Controlling Board still must approve the purchase for the university to consummate the deal.The university said it has formed a transition team to deal with issues related to the planned purchase and renovation of the complex into university facilities, including accommodating coming events and working with current office tenants.Luis M. Proenza, University of Akron president, said in a statement the purchase is another investment by the university in downtown and its University Park neighborhood.

Dr. Proenza said the university would look to create “innovative ways to integrate education into the fabric of our community.”Quaker Square has been a beacon for redevelopment of downtown Akron since 1975, when the 19th-century mills and silos that were part of Quaker Oats Co. became a mixed-use complex. A Hilton Hotel with rooms in the onetime silos opened in 1980. It is now a Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The purchase of the complex from Jay Nusbaum and Quaker Square Properties includes the historic buildings and parking lot, a nine-acre parcel. The university said it intends to start moving into the complex after Jan. 1.

U of Akron cuts deal for Quaker Square

By STAN BULLARD2:57 pm, June 13, 2007

The University of Akron plans to study converting the landmark Quaker Square complex into university-related offices and student housing following a decision today by its board of trustees to acquire the property for $22.7 million.

Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, and the State Controlling Board still must approve the purchase for the university to consummate the deal.The university said it has formed a transition team to deal with issues related to the planned purchase and renovation of the complex into university facilities, including accommodating coming events and working with current office tenants.Luis M. Proenza, University of Akron president, said in a statement the purchase is another investment by the university in downtown and its University Park neighborhood.

Dr. Proenza said the university would look to create “innovative ways to integrate education into the fabric of our community.”Quaker Square has been a beacon for redevelopment of downtown Akron since 1975, when the 19th-century mills and silos that were part of Quaker Oats Co. became a mixed-use complex.
A Hilton Hotel with rooms in the one time silos opened in 1980. It is now a Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The purchase of the complex from Jay Nusbaum and Quaker Square Properties includes the historic buildings and parking lot, a nine-acre parcel.

The university said it intends to start moving into the complex after Jan. 1.

American buys slices of South America

By SHANE ROMIG, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 9, 7:25 PM ET

LOS ESTEROS DEL IBERA, Argentina - The American multimillionaire who founded the North Face and Esprit clothing lines says he is trying to save the planet by buying bits of it. First Douglas Tompkins purchased a huge swath of southern Chile, and now he's hoping to save the northeast wetlands of neighboring Argentina.

He has snapped up more than half a million acres of the Esteros del Ibera, a vast Argentine marshland teeming with wildlife.
Tompkins, 64, is a hero to some for his environmental stewardship. Others resent his land purchases as a foreign challenge to their national patrimony.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Tompkins said industrialized agriculture is chewing up big chunks of Argentina's fragile marshland and savanna, and that essential topsoil is disappearing as a result.
"Everywhere I look here in Argentina I see massive abuse of the soil ... just like what happened in the U.S. 20 or 30 years ago," he said.

For full article - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070609/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/buying_argentina

Big apartment owner buys suites near CSU

By STAN BULLARD
6:00 am, June 11, 2007

Niederst Management Inc. has paid $1.3 million for the 35%-vacant, 150-suite InTown Place Apartments, 2901 Euclid Ave.

Calling the building “kind of junky looking,” company president David Niederst said he plans to change the former hotel’s 1960s-vintage exterior and to spruce up 55 empty suites.

A low price per suite drew the apartment company to the building, as did its proximity to downtown and Cleveland State University.

K&D Group to buy Brooklyn apartments

By STAN BULLARD6:00 am, June 4, 2007

K&D Group is hatching another big deal on the heels of last week’s purchase of the 949-unit North Pointe apartment complex in Euclid. K&D plans to buy soon the 680-suite Westbrook Village apartments in suburban Brooklyn, said Doug Price, K&D CEO.

A partnership led by Zaremba Group owns the property; CEO Walter Zaremba did not return a call by deadline. Terms weren’t disclosed. Cuyahoga County values the complex at $14 million.