Roll Call

It has been a long day and I am too tired to blog so here are some press releases to chew on.

It looks like foreclosure season is in full swing. If you want the full Propertyshark report go to Kelly Kreth Communications.

Foreclosure Auctions soar in Los Angeles in THE FIRST quarter of 2007
Miami and New York City reach near-term highs, while Seattle recovers

New York City, July 17, 2007 – PropertyShark.com, the premier real estate data site, today released its quarterly report covering first-time residential foreclosures in New York City, Miami, Seattle and Los Angeles for the April-June 2007 time period.

Four-City Findings (Request report for details):
· Foreclosure Auctions: PropertyShark.com recorded 3793 first-time trustee sales in Los Angeles, 643 foreclosure auctions in New York City, 1282 in Miami-Dade County, and 334 in Seattle for April-June 2007.
· Major Increases: The number of foreclosures increased significantly in Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami. (See below for numbers)
· Foreclosures per Household: Miami had 136% more properties scheduled for foreclosure per household than Los Angeles, and a 775% higher rate per household than New York City.

Los Angeles County
Trustee Sales: Los Angeles had 3793 trustee sales during the period, an increase of 54.63% from the first quarter of 2007, and a 202% increase compared to the first quarter of 2006. The top 5 zip codes in Los Angeles County for trustee sales were in Lancaster and Palmdale.

Miami-Dade County
· Foreclosure Auctions: There were 1282 new residential foreclosures in Miami-Dade for the quarter, a 29.89% increase from Q1 2007 and a 146% increase from Q1 2006. For a list of the top 20 Miami zip codes for foreclosure auctions, request the report.

New York City:
· New Foreclosure Auctions: There were 643 new residential foreclosures in New York City (5 boroughs), a 16.06% increase from the first quarter of 2007 (554 foreclosures), and a 19.52% increase from the second quarter of 2006.
· Foreclosures by Borough: All New York City boroughs had a quarterly increase in the number of new residential foreclosure auctions, with large percentage increases in the Bronx (76.60%) and Staten Island (58.82%) since last quarter. However, 73% of New York City foreclosures were Queens and Brooklyn properties.

“New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles foreclosures are at all time highs since PropertyShark.com began tracking foreclosures” stated Ryan Slack, chief executive officer, PropertyShark.com. “Typically the second quarter foreclosure numbers are lower than the first quarter due to the ‘holiday effect,’ but this year the numbers keep climbing”.
Seattle (King County)
· Trustee Sales: King County had 334 new residential trustee sales in the first quarter of 2007, a 13.02% decrease from the first quarter of 2007. The top zip codes were in Federal Way and Columbia.

Real estate investors can browse current foreclosure listings for the following areas:

Los Angeles Foreclosures: http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/california/Foreclosures/index.html
Miami Foreclosures: http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/florida/Foreclosures/index.html
New Jersey Foreclosures: http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/nj/Foreclosures/index.html
NYC Foreclosures: http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/Foreclosures
Philadelphia Foreclosures: http://propertyshark.com/mason/pennsylvania/Foreclosures/index.html
San Francisco Foreclosures: http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/san_francisco/Foreclosures/index.html
Seattle Foreclosures: http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/seattle/Foreclosures/index.html

I know Curbed has already done an entry on this but I also got the press release.

BRUCE ROSS ASSOCIATES INC

NEW YORK, NY – Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) is designing a
600,000 square foot, 21-story office tower at 125th Street and Park Avenue in New York City. Developed by Vornado Realty Trust, the project will be the first major office tower built in Harlem in more than 30 years.

Called Harlem Park, the development is adjacent to the first Manhattan stop on the MetroNorth commuter rail line. It will include approximately 82,000 square feet of retail space fronting both Park Avenue and 125th Street, the main retail thoroughfare in Harlem. The building will achieve a Silver level of LEED certification.

Set on an 85-foot podium, the 18-story main shaft of the tower features a unitized aluminum and glass curtainwall system with integrated vertical terra cotta color fins that create a unique enclosure echoing the predominant masonry construction of surrounding buildings.

According to Roger Klein, design principal for SHCA, the new tower, while taller than the surrounding neighborhood, is designed to complement the aesthetics and scale of the neighborhood. “The design is intended to enhance the transparency of the building, and harmonize with the surrounding masonry neighborhood,” he pointed out. “Typically, the design of a tower would express its verticality. In this case, we countered the verticality with a composition of smaller-scale ‘stacked boxes’, which grounds the building in the scale of the neighborhood.

“There is great visibility from the Metro North Station, as one travels over the Triborough Bridge onto the 125th Street, and from Central Park,” he added. “As a result, Harlem Park will be a true icon for Harlem and the city. In particular, the top box in the stack of compositional boxes – designed to be illuminated at night – is defined as a distinct cubic form.”

Swanke Hayden Connell Architects is the continuation of an architectural practice founded in 1906. Staffed with more than 300 professionals located in eight offices worldwide, the firm provides services in five core areas of practice: architecture, interior design, master planning, strategic facilities planning, and historic preservation, working with a variety of corporate and institutional clients.