Relocation and Real Estate Resources

Vegas Developers Draw Wild Card: Spiraling Costs
Rising construction costs are prompting some Sin City Strip developers to hedge their bets and scale back.
As the NYSE Builds a Fortress, A Neighbor Calls It Bad Business
Few businesses have installed as many visible security measures since the 2001 terrorist attacks as the New York Stock Exchange. Now, one of its landlords, Vornado, says things have gotten out of hand and is demanding the Big Board fix the situation.
Dublin Docklands Are Doing Dandy And Are a New Cosmopolitan Hub
Ireland’s sizzling economy has fueled a building boom that is transforming the look of the largely low-slung region.
Silverstein Can’t Collect Funds For WTC Redesign, Judge Rules
A bid by the World Trade Center leasee for nearly $700 million in additional insurance payments to cover post-9/11 safety improvements has been rejected.
Houston’s Midtown Vision Falters As Redevelopment Project Lags
A group of locals have touted the urban promise of the city’s Midtown for two decades, but more than half of its 475 blocks are yet to be redeveloped.
Some Builders Feel Heat From Holders, Lenders
Many are suffering declining profits and sluggish sales. But some companies are experiencing more serious hurt — including pressure from activist shareholders, increasingly nervous banks and large layoffs.
Low Office Prices Draw Buyers in Indianapolis
Down-to-earth prices in the sector attract investors weary of sticker shock in bigger cities. A comparatively diversified economy has helped cushion the blow from losses in the city’s manufacturing sector.

Corus Is Bullish on Condo Market; Invests Heavily in the Sector
The bank has become one of the nation’s most aggressive condominium lenders even as others cut back in the face of a slowing housing market.
Clinton Library Has Spurred An Upturn in Little Rock
The Clinton Presidential Center in Arkansas has helped transform an industrial stretch of riverfront in the capital city and has jumpstarted a downtown transformation.
Architects Unveil Designs For Towers at WTC Site
Three new plans were revealed for the remaining office towers to be built at the World Trade Center site. The largest is a 78-story tower with a roof sliced into four diamond shapes.
Bankers and Regulators Clash Over Surge in Real-Estate Loans
Regulatory agencies are trying to hit the brakes on commercial lending, a move that has sparked protests from community bankers. Tougher guidelines could make it harder for small businesses to get loans.
Mills Corp.’s Lenders Approve Sale Of Vaughan, St. Enoch, Xanadu
The shopping mall real-estate investment trust expects net proceeds of about $500 million from the sale, which it intends to use to pay down a portion of its debt.
Film Examines the ‘Gherkin,’ A Controversial Building in London
An unusual movie by Mirjam von Arx shows the evolution from the early stages through construction of a recent high-profile London landmark, the Swiss Re building. Londoners are beginning to accept and even like, the 594-foot-tall, pickle-shaped structure.
China Explains Rules to Temper Foreign Investment in Property
The Chinese government published details of real-estate regulations aimed at overseas investors, even as one of the largest transactions yet in the country was announced.

Government Offices to Be Anchor In the New World Trade Center
The federal government will be the Freedom Tower’s big tenant, reprising the public-sector role that allowed the original project to be built.
WTC Developer Asks Court To Make Insurers Uphold Deal
Larry Silverstein seeks to prevent insurance companies from backing out of billions in payments following a recent reshuffling of the World Trade Center’s rebuilding plan.
Northern Virginia Development Soars as Metro Area Sprawls
A gusher of spending by the Pentagon and other federal agencies is driving a strong and expanding commercial real-estate market in Washington, D.C.’s backyard.
Socially Responsible Investing Makes Headway in Real Estate
A movement to encourage ’socially responsible’ investment in real estate is gaining popularity, focusing in part on how investors can be more environmentally sound in the way they run their building portfolios.
Office-Vacancy Rate Declines, Propelling Rents 2.1% Higher
In the second quarter, the vacancy rate in 72 markets was 13.8%, allowing landlords to raise rents. New York had the greatest effective-rent growth with a 3.9% increase.
Architect Unveils New Design For Freedom Tower at WTC
The latest plans for the skyscraper to replace the World Trade Center includes a 20-story concrete base with thousands of glass prisms, landscaped plazas with museum-size steps and a fountain with a glass base.
Office Prices Hit the Stratosphere In London’s Swanky West End
The area boasts the world’s most expensive commercial real estate offering Victorian buildings that have become coveted addresses for media firms and hedge-fund managers.

Cendant Starts Selling Spinoff As Air Leaks Out of Market
The president of the conglomerate’s real-estate business, newly renamed Realogy is introducing investors to his operation, scheduled to be spun off in late June as part of a planned breakup of the company.
Naples-Fort Myers Area Expansion Fuels Commercial Property Boom
The cooling residential market is curbing condo conversions in this southwest Florida region, but the population explosion is driving strong retail, office and apartment-rental sectors.
New Office Spaces May Produce A Real-Estate Glut in Wilmington
Just 30 miles south of Philadelphia, four commercial buildings are under construction in this Delaware city’s downtown. The question: How quickly can all these spots be filled?
American Financial Realty Prompts Talk of Asset Sale, Dividend Cut
The struggling real-estate investment trust canceled a presentation to a big industry conference, prompting one analyst to speculate it is contemplating a ’significant strategic event’ that could include a major asset sale.
College Housing Attracts Interest from Singapore
The Asian government’s search for profitable real-estate investments has led it to the U.S. GIC Real Estate Pte. Ltd. is pouring $300 million into a small Philadelphia-based developer, Campus Apartments Inc.
Brookfield Agrees to Buy Trizec in $8.9 Billion Deal
The Toronto-based company will purchase the office real-estate investment trust for $8.9 billion. Private-equity firm Blackstone Group is also taking a stake.
Mills Asks Suitors to Step Forward by June 13
The real-estate investment trust has emerged from months of near-silence to tell analysts and investors that its exploration of ’strategic alternatives’ is on track and that the $1.2 billion Xanadu project would be delayed by as much as a year.

Mills Asks Suitors to Step Forward by June 13
The real-estate investment trust has emerged from months of near-silence to tell analysts and investors that its exploration of ’strategic alternatives’ is on track and that the $1.2 billion Xanadu project would be delayed by as much as a year.
Champion REIT Sinks 16% On First Day in Hong Kong
The company’s performance reflects waning interest in real-estate investment trusts for investment purposes. Further interest-rate rises may encourage investors to switch to fixed-income vehicles for investing instead.
Home Builders Predict Lower Profits This Year
Ryland Group cut its 2006 earnings outlook again citing a 35% drop in home sales for the current quarter. Toll Brothers, whose focus is the luxury market, slashed its 2006 fiscal-year forecast.
College Housing Attracts Interest from Singapore
The Asian government’s search for profitable real-estate investments has led it to the U.S. GIC Real Estate Pte. Ltd. is pouring $300 million into a small Philadelphia-based developer, Campus Apartments Inc.
Brookfield Agrees to Buy Trizec in $8.9 Billion Deal
The Toronto-based company will purchase the office real-estate investment trust for $8.9 billion. Private-equity firm Blackstone Group is also taking a stake.
Cendant Starts Selling Spinoff As Air Leaks Out of Market
The president of the conglomerate’s real-estate business, newly renamed Realogy is introducing investors to his operation, scheduled to be spun off in late June as part of a planned breakup of the company.
Naples-Fort Myers Area Expansion Fuels Commercial Property Boom
The cooling residential market is curbing condo conversions in this southwest Florida region, but the population explosion is driving strong retail, office and apartment-rental sectors.

Home Improvements to Avoid When Selling Your House
Watch out for these remodeling mistakes if you want an edge over other sellers in an iffy market. While some fixes can gain you money upon resale, these ’seven deadly sins’ may cost you twice.
Homeowners Love Cul-de-Sacs, Planners Say They’re Perils
A popular feature of suburbia is under attack as hundreds of local governments pass ordinances to limit these dead-end roads or even ban them in the future.
Popular Trusts May Shield Profits Made During Housing Boom
Investors are turning to a complex tax-saving technique to defer capital-gains taxes on highly appreciated properties while also generating a stream of income. However, skeptics say some arrangements might be too aggressive under allowable rules and might not generate all the benefits some promoters claim.
Investing in ‘Hot’ Markets Like Phoenix Without Getting Burned
June Fletcher on whether buying investment condos in cities like these are still a good idea, and how to hedge your risk if you plan to buy.
Open-House Blog: What’s Next For the Real-Estate Market?
This week’s survey of news from across the Web looks at where home prices might rise in the next decade, where sales are sluggish, and one trend that has car enthusiasts buying condos for their vehicles.
Home Prices Up 12.5% in 2005, But Rise Just 2% in First Quarter
Despite double-digit increases in the housing market last year cooling was evident in the first quarter of 2006 as the hottest cities slumped, according to a report from The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
Canine Mutiny: Dog Owners Fight Insurers Over Insurance Practice
Pet lovers are biting back against a growing trend in which homeowners’ policies are refused for people who own certain breeds. At least nine states have bills in the works to protect consumers.

Breaking Ground: West Caicos Reserve and the Snake River Sporting Club
An island that has been uninhabited since the late 19th century is being remade as a resort and residential development.
NICK KAYE
An Appeals Court Setback for Critics of Atlantic Yards
A state appeals court reversed the disqualification of a lawyer who had advised both the developer and a state agency that is reviewing the project.
NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Streetscapes | Fieldston, the Bronx: A Leafy, Scenic Enclave, and Now a Landmark
Some homeowners were opposed to landmarking because the landmark designation restricts what they can do with their property.
CHRISTOPHER GRAY
What You Can Rent for $1,000
Yes, you can find a nice one-bedroom for a reasonably modest amount, although it probably won’t be in Manhattan.
CLAIRE WILSON
National Perspectives: Sprawl Outruns Arizona’s Biosphere
The Biosphere was designed to simulate the Earth’s environment. By succumbing to sprawl, it may have done just that.
FRED A. BERNSTEIN
Mightier Than the Board
When it comes to buying a co-op, thoughtful, truly personal letters of recommendation can get you in, and ill-considered letters may keep you out.
TERI KARUSH ROGERS
Havens | Lewisburg, W. Va.: Kayaking and Martinis: An Alleghenies Getaway
A place where you can start the day kayaking down the Greenbrier River and end it listening to a jazz concert.
AMY GUNDERSON
In the Region | Long Island: Fighting Town Hall on Assessments
Hundreds of residents of the town of Southampton have tax grievances, many because their property value assessments have doubled.
VALERIE COTSALAS
Your Home: Keeping Mosquitoes From Ruining the Fun
Here are some strategies for dealing with one of nature’s most annoying pests.
JAY ROMANO
National Perspectives: How a Park Changed a Chicago Neighborhood
Millennium Park has helped create a mixed-use, round-the-clock neighborhood that includes office, residential, entertainment and open space.
ROBERT SHAROFF
Havens | Joseph, Ore.: Rugged, Western and Still a Bargain
For the growing number of urbanites buying second homes there, Joseph, Ore., is an unbeatable place to hide.
MATTHEW PREUSCH
Big Deal: Mandy Patinkin Makes a Move
After 28 years in the same rented apartment on the Upper West Side, the actor Mandy Patinkin and his wife, the actress Kathryn Grody, are planning a move.
WILLIAM NEUMAN
Streetscapes: When a Garden Sprouted at Park Ave. and 67th St.
The history of the Sulgrave and the fate of the Astoria.
CHRISTOPHER GRAY
Posting: A Home-Court Advantage
On June 8, John Starks, a former star guard for the New York Knicks, will take to the newest court in Brooklyn.
JEFF VANDAM
Living Here: Sand in Our Shoes
Condos on Kiawah Island.
As told to AMY GUNDERSON
Q & A: All for One, One for All
Q I own a condominium in New Jersey. The condo association is assessing owners $1.5 million to rebuild the terraces. Since my apartment does not have a terrace, can I avoid paying the assessment? … Lewis Frank, West Milford, N.J.
Martha Stewart Paid $81,000; Now It’s $9 Million
Turkey Hill was just another road in Westport, Conn., when Martha Stewart moved there in 1972. Now, her old farmhouse is for sale.
AVI SALZMAN
In the Region | Westchester: Melding Victorian and Brutalist Styles
The Hudson River Museum, which features two distinct architectural styles, is being renovated.
ELSA BRENNER
Sketch Pad: Opening Up a Duplex, Letting the Sunshine In
In her design, Wendy Evans Joseph casts away all thoughts of furniture and flowers and digs deep into the space.
TRACIE ROZHON
Square Feet: An Old Textile Center, Refashioned for Luxury
Norwich, Conn., seems to be experiencing a reversal of fortunes as developers convert its old mills and hotels to luxury apartments and open stores.
C. J. HUGHES
In the Region: Today, Homeownership Is Next to Godliness
Churches serving minority communities are helping people who, though financially capable of buying a home, are unsure of how to go about it.
LISA PREVOST
In the Region | New Jersey: Bringing Life to a Factory Graveyard
Extreme Makeover: Citywide Edition. It is not a reality show concept yet, but the city of Orange is certainly running with the idea.
ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Rentals Are Strong, and the Rich Keep Buying
Because of rising mortgage rates, would-be first-time buyers are renting instead.
STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Square Feet: Recycling a Big Urban Navy Yard
A Philadelphia tract offers a suburban campus feel with city advantages and drawbacks.
LISA CHAMBERLAIN
Second Homes That Put Ecology First
A combination of good intentions, guilt and the quest for bragging rights spur owners of second homes to go green.
SARAH TUFF
Breaking Ground: Capella Pedregal and the Cliffs at Mountain Park
New development projects in Mexico and South Carolina.
NICK KAYE
The Hunt: Life Lessons, Welcome or Not
As they hunted for a rental in the East Village, a young couple felt real estate agents were determined to teach them a lesson: he who hesitates is lost.
JOYCE COHEN
Habitats | Upper West Side: Turning Cramped Into Classy on an Even Tighter Budget
A Manhattan couple uses a computer-aided design program to see how they might elegantly and efficiently renovate potential living spaces.
DAN SHAW
Habitats | Tuxedo, N.Y.: A Gift That Changed a Family’s Life
Most gifts don’t change the course of a life. Then again, most gifts don’t consist of a house.
CELIA BARBOUR
LeFraks Envision Even Bigger Skyline Across Hudson
The family that owns more than a third of the high-rise skyline that has grown up along Jersey City’s once dilapidated waterfront is looking to the future.
CHARLES V. BAGLI
The Hunt: It’s No Fun if You Can’t Negotiate
It is important to know when to insist and when to cave.
JOYCE COHEN
Black and Hispanic Home Buyers Pay Higher Interest on Mortgages, Study Finds
Among subprime borrowers with similar credit ratings, blacks and Hispanics were 30 percent more likely than whites to be charged the highest interest, the study says.
ERIK ECKHOLM