CLEVELAND, OH REAL ESTATE NEWS

Northeast Ohio community & neighborhood news and home information

Obama says bailout must help homeowners, too

by Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press

Wednesday December 03, 2008, 3:37 PM

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama signaled a clear desire Wednesday to use a significant portion of $700 billion in financial bailout funds to stanch foreclosures by helping struggling homeowners with their mortgages.

"The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes," he said.

Obama's stance represents a policy clash with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has resisted proposals to use the rescue fund to help guarantee reworked mortgages.

In a sharper confrontation with the Bush administration, House Republicans on Wednesday warned Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that without greater accountability Congress will be in no mood to release to the Treasury the second half of the $700 billion.

"The government has burned through nearly $350 billion of (bailout) funds and is pledging trillions of dollars more through other programs, yet little is understood about how these investments are contributing to the nation's economic recovery," 12 House Republicans, led by Minority Leader John Boehner, wrote to Paulson and Bernanke.

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Huntington Bank backs private auction of failed Ashbury Towers development sites

by Michelle Jarboe/Plain Dealer Reporter

Monday December 01, 2008, 6:47 PM

Huntington Bank has taken an unusual step to recoup its investment in a stalled Cleveland development.

The Ashbury Towers property, at West 53rd Street and Walworth Avenue, will be available for auction later this month. The unfinished residential development has failed to attract bidders at sheriff's sales. And Huntington, the project's primary lender, has not stepped in to buy the property from defunct developer Ameri-Con Homes.

Instead, the bank is involving local courts in a private auction. Bambeck Auctioneers Inc., of Dover, plans to take bids on the property at 11 a.m. Dec. 18.

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Howard Hanna/Real Living Realty One merger questioned

by Shaheen Samavati/Plain Dealer Reporter

Monday December 01, 2008, 6:46 PM

Some local real estate companies think Howard Hanna Real Estate Services was a little too slick in last month's acquisition of Real Living Realty One.

A letter submitted to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Real Estate questioned some of the company's practices related to the merger, including the seemingly hasty transfer of real estate licenses. The letter was sent by Lakewood lawyer S. Robert Lazzaro on behalf of the unnamed competitors last month.

"Apparent irregularities are taking place ... which is causing our clients to sustain a competitive disadvantage, to say the least," Lazzaro wrote.

But Howard "Hoby" Hanna, president of Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna's Ohio operations, said the company has followed Ohio laws.

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Beachwood Place owner receives loan extensions

by Michelle Jarboe/Plain Dealer Reporter

Monday December 01, 2008, 12:41 PM

General Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust that owns Beachwood Place mall, has been given more time to deal with $900 million in debt that was due Friday.

The mall owner and operator announced late Sunday that it has reached an agreement with its lenders for a two-week extension of repayment of mortgages on two Las Vegas malls, Fashion Show and The Shoppes at the Palazzo. General Growth is discussing possible longer-term extensions with its lenders.

General Growth's inability to repay its loans raised the specter of bankruptcy for the struggling company, which owns or manages more than 200 malls in 44 states. Beachwood Place, in Cleveland's eastern suburbs, is one of the company's higher-end properties, with major retailers including Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard's. General Growth also owns Kenwood Towne Centre in suburban Cincinnati, the Shops at Fallen Timbers in Maumee and Colony Square Mall in Zainesville.

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Bridgeview Crossing development on hold in Garfield Heights after Lowe's pulls out

by Tom Breckenridge/Plain Dealer Reporter

Wednesday November 26, 2008, 5:12 PM

A major tenant has pulled back at the last minute from a shopping center under development in Garfield Heights, delaying the sprawling project.

Developers were counting on Lowe's as one of three anchors at Bridgeview Crossing, a 70-acre project northwest of Interstate 480 and Transportation Boulevard.

But Lowe's "has backed away from closing" at the site, a bond-finance official told the Cleveland port authority last week.

The port was ready to issue up to $40 million in tax-exempt bonds for the project, which is slated to include a Target, a JC Penney and smaller retail stores.

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Cleveland-area home prices slide slightly; other areas worse off, according to Case-Shiller index

by Shaheen Samavati/Plain Dealer Reporter

Tuesday November 25, 2008, 10:27 AM

Entering a slower fall housing market, Cleveland-area home values slid slightly in September after an increase in August.

Still, the Cleveland market continues to look relatively stable compared with cities in the nation's sun belt, which dragged the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index down to another record-breaking low in September.

The index, released Tuesday, looks at existing single-family homes sold in 20 major U.S. markets. It plunged 17.4 percent from September 2007, the largest drop the index has seen since its inception in 2000.

The rate of decline picked up in September, with prices nationally dropping 1.8 percent from August. All 20 metro areas saw home value decline from August, but the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor market area dropped the least -- 0.6 percent. That came after prices here increased 1.1 percent from July to August.

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Northeast Ohio home sales drop in October after September gain

by Shaheen Samavati/Plain Dealer Reporter

Monday November 24, 2008, 12:18 PM

Updated 7:56 p.m.

After an increase in September, home sales in Northeast Ohio dropped 9.1 percent in October, pulled down by plummeting condominium sales.

Sales of new and existing single-family home actually increased 0.4 percent compared with the same month of last year, according to a report Monday from the Ohio Association of Realtors. But condo sales dropped by 20.4 percent in the Cleveland region covered by the Northern Ohio Multiple Listing Service. That mainly includes Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.

Northeast Ohio home sales had shot up 11.2 percent in September and national sales had increased 1.4 percent, driven largely by first-time buyers and investors buying up discounted, post-foreclosure properties. Despite those encouraging results, real estate experts were not surprised by the October numbers given worsening economic conditions.

"I think we're still on track," said Carl DeMusz, executive director of NORMLS. "It's not going to be a quick recovery. Overall, the longer term trends look good."

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City fears downtown office vacancies will rise as financial industry falls

by Michelle Jarboe/Plain Dealer Reporter

Friday November 21, 2008, 11:52 PM

Trouble on Wall Street could lead to vacancies on Cleveland's main streets, gutting floors of downtown office buildings as banks and financial-services companies merge, cut back or crumble.

Public officials and local real estate professionals are nervously watching for shifts beneath the city skyline. As they pinpoint potential holes, they're discussing ways to market downtown, lure companies from the suburbs and fill gaps with new businesses and, possibly, government offices.

The most obvious trouble source is National City Corp., which owns or leases roughly 740,000 square feet downtown. As PNC Financial Services Group takes over, the Pittsburgh-based bank is sure to shed some of National City's 2,000 downtown employees and cut office space in Cleveland's central business district.

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