Just how bad is the condo situation in New York? Right to the City-New York, an alliance of grassroots community organizations, has identified a total of 601 condominium buildings in a half dozen neighborhoods in New York City that have either stopped construction or have a great deal of vacant units. That number is a lot higher than the 454 recorded by the Department of Buildings for the city as a whole.

Members of Right to the City went through six neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn finding buildings that aren't being fully utilized in order to show the city how big the problem is. Over the summer the city began a $20 million pilot program called the Housing Asset Renewal Program in order to turn residential buildings into as many as 400 affordable housing units. Among the buildings that Right to the City identified are Be@Schermerhorn, a 246-unit luxury condo, with a vacancy rate of more than 93 percent, and Forté, a 108-unit luxury condo, with a vacancy rate of more than 60 percent. Both buildings have been on the market for at least a year and Forté was recently taken over by its lender Eurohypo bank.

As Crains New York points out, it's not quite clear how many developers might want to participate in the Housing Asset Renewal Program in order to help finish their stalled projects. Many may prefer to simply wait out the current economic doldrums and begin building again when the market picks up.

Chicago's 82-story Aqua Tower received an interesting award recently. Jeanne Gang, principle and founder of Studio Gang Architects earned a PETA Proggy award for using bird-deflecting elements in the residential building and hotel. The undulating exterior and etched glass help prevent birds from flying directly into windows. It's a pretty neat building for people too, those curves make for some distinctive balconies. The building contains 55,000 square feet of retail and office space as well as hotel rooms, condo units and apartments.

Right now there are about a dozen units available for sale in the building as well as nine luxury Parkhomes available for purchase starting November 1,2009. The Parkhomes are two and three bedroom homes located near the base of Aqua in Lakeshore East, facing the Lakeshore East park. They are 3000 square feet and start at $1.6 to $1.8 million. The most expensive unit in Aqua is the Aqua penthouse, a four-bedroom single-floor residence with views of the city and Lake Michigan. It is priced at $1,988,832. In the building two bedroom units start in the $700,000s and the three bedrooms start at $1 million. Units are also available for rent.

More and more I'm seeing real estate projects that I wrote about several years ago hit the auction block. When we first saw Nouvelle at Natick in Natick, Massachusetts it was part of a trend of condominiums attached to retail space. Nouvelle at Natick is a 215-unit development, attached to the former Natick Mall, now renamed the Natick Collection and packed with stores like Neiman Marcus , Louis Vuitton , Tiffany, BCBG , and will also include Burberry , Juicy Couture and Nordstrom in Massachusetts. Things have shifted dramatically since 2007 and bankrupt mall operator General Growth Properties is seeking to unload the condo units at bargain basement prices. In 2007 prices ranged from $425,000 to $1.6 million for a penthouse. At an auction to be run by Accelerated Marketing Partners on October 4 minimum bids will start at $160,000.

Of the original 215 units only 27 sold or are under contract. The auction will include 42 units auction of 42 units on Oct. 4 as a way to jump-start sales and get some desperately needed cash. The Boston Globe quotes Jon Gollinger, East Coast chief executive and cofounder of AMP, as saying that the auction will determine the value for the remaining residences. Condo amenities include a 1.2-acre rooftop garden, Parc Nouvelle, which is the largest of its kind in New England, Club Nouvelle, a private club with a dining area and a library and the Bosse Fitness Center. Sadly, the main selling feature, easy access to the mall, is no longer the draw it once was as malls have gone from bustling centers of commerce to increasingly empty spaces in today's shopping averse climate.

UPDATE: 55 of Nouvelle at Natick's remaining 178 luxury condos sold at auction for 36 to 64 percent off the original asking prices for the condos. The Boston Globe reports that one penthouse suite sold for $626,000, more than $1 million less than its original price.

The Miami Herald says that all those condo price cuts are finally starting to pay off. According to a recent article Miami, Florida is experiencing a bit of a mini boom now that prices are really low. Desperate developers are willing to make deals just to get the units off their books. Investors and home buyers are swooping in hoping that a bottom has been reached.

But has it? Miami still has a huge oversupply of condos as a result of a building frenzy and there could still be many more condo units facing foreclosure. The good news for buyers its that this means deals will be available for a long time. Some of the Miami Herald commenters to the article didn't seem certain that the prices are as low as they will eventually go and seemed skeptical of any reports of condo sell-offs.In fact they pointed to a Time magazine article about the exodus of people from Florida due to high property taxes.

Does living in a luxury condo tower all by yourself sound like fun? One New Jersey family doesn't see it that way. Victor Vangelakos and his family bought a condo in the Oasis I condo tower in Fort Myers, Florida and are the sole residents. The family paid $430,000 to purchase the condo from The Related Group for $430,000 and closed on it in November. Vangelakos planned to use it as a second home and eventually retire there.

Th real estate market slump in Florida hit this building hard and many who put down deposits opted not to complete the deal. Others who did have swapped their units for ones in the more populated Oasis II next door. But Vangelakos couldn't get his lender to agree to the swap. Vangelakos described life in the condo to the Fort Myers News-Press depicting an existence where an eerie quiet is broken up by occasional night break-ins in the darkened building. Vangelakos wants out of building. He hasn't filed a lawsuit yet but his attorney points out that The Related Group hasn't come through on the marina, pro shop and other promised amenities. As for Related's side, they say that it's up to him to work out a deal with his lender to transfer the mortgage to a unit in Oasis II. His money went to Related's lender, not the company itself so Related would have to pay off the mortgage to get the money back. In this case both the buyer and the seller are in a bit of a tough spot.

The building that houses some of Seattle's most expensive condo units is planning to give potential buyers a little relief. The Seattle Times says that The Four Seasons Private Residences is planning to cut prices in response to the lackluster real estate market. The article says that is has been nearly six months since a sale closed at the Four Seasons. There are 36 condos spread out over 11 stories above the 10-story Four Seasons Hotel downtown. So far 11 condos are still unsold including a two bedroom currently priced at $8.706 million. The amount of the price reductions or when they will take place hasn't been released yet. Bellevue Towers in downtown Bellevue, Washington also recently reduced prices an average of 20 percent because just 45 of the project's 539 condos have sold.

Although Las Vegas condo prices have tumbled, MGM Mirage hasn't gotten the message. The Las Vegas Sun has a piece on the push to sell condos in CityCenter's Veer and Vdara towers. According to their report, buyers of CityCenter condos are looking for discounts but so far MGM Mirage hasn't budged. Some buyers signed purchase contracts more than two years ago when real estate was peaking. Now that the units are headed to completion and escrow buyers don't want pay more than they are worth in the current market.

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman has said the company is going to wait until the end of the year to make any decisions since it is too soon to say how the market could shift. Buyers have signed purchase contracts for CityCenter condos worth an average of $1 million per unit.

One disgruntled buyer Steve Mack, who bought a $3 million condo at the CityCenter Mandarin Oriental project, is calling for at least a 30 percent price reduction and says many buyers may decide to walk away from the deals, surrendering their deposits, if they are expected to pay full price. Some buyers are also finding that getting a bank loan for a luxurious second home is much more challenging than it would have been before the recession and so they may have no choice in the matter.

Feldman trotted out the party line that CityCenter is a premium project and therefore deserving of prices that are higher than those of other complexes in the area. It's not a bad argument, CityCenter does offer a wide range of amenities and even despite its recent financial woes is likely one of the more secure developments in Las Vegas. But there's a difference between premium and exorbitant and MGM Mirage may have to meet buyers halfway in order to close those deals.

Controversial Boston real estate developer Don Chiofaro is running into resistance. His plan to raise what would be two of the city's largest towers has been the subject of ire for local residence who would hate to see their views obstructed and other do-gooders who don't want to sacrifice the character of the waterfront.

In his latest round of battle, Chiofaro heard criticism that the two buildings would simply be too large for Boston. Currently, the city's tallest building is the Hancock Tower, totaling 61 stories. It's followed by the Prudential building and Chiofaro's One International Place (Two International Place is not as high).

In an unusual show of restraint, the developer has not called his opponents "pirates."

Proponents are excited not only by the prospect of 860,000 square feet of office space, a hotel and 100 condo units but also the likely 4,000 construction jobs that would result from the $900 million project.

Even if he makes it past the locals, one problem remains: money. Boston Mayor Tom Menino, who hasn't been terribly sympathetic with Chiofaro in the past, has said that he'll require that the builder prove he has the financing lined up ... if the project gets that far. Five years ago, Chiofaro almost lost his crown jewel, International Place, when Tischman Speyer (the "gang of pirates" from New York) tried to foreclose.

This fight is far from over, but I wouldn't make plans to move into those new units yet. This could take a while.

Can a $30 million condominium sell in Philadelphia? If so, Two Liberty Place is probably the place to try it. Back in March, a buyer spent $7.678 million for a unit on the 46th floor of the Residences at Two Liberty Place and the purchase set a record as the highest price ever paid for a Philadelphia condominium. At that time the top unit for sale was the $15 million penthouse for sale on the 57th floor and there was a rumor that a businessman might buy both and create a duplex. It looks like that deal didn't happen but someone must have thought that it was a good idea because there is now a listing for the 56th and 57th floor duplex. The $30 million listing indicates that the new owner can customize the 16,000 square-foot space with the architects and designers of his or her choice. Other residents at Two Liberty include millionaire and former Philadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox, Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora and Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. The building offers luxurious amentities including concierge service and the owner's club.

Two Liberty has fared far better than other projects in Philadephia. Many luxury projects in the area have been put on hold or canceled altogether. But $30 million still seems a bit of a stretch in this economy for a city that hasn't even cracked the $10 millioon mark on condo prices yet.

A year ago the Calgary condo market was booming but now one of the major residential condominium projects has been put on hold as the developer seeks bankruptcy protection. Calgary developer John Torode told the Calgary Herald that work has stopped on the second tower of the Arriva condo project. A limited partnership which is the owner of that site has been put into the CCAA (Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act) which is a federal act that allows financially troubled corporations to restructure their affairs. The project is seeking new financing.

The first Arriva tower is 34 stories and is close to sold out. The second tower is 42 stories and about 60 percent sold. The third tower, which was going to be more condos will now be a hotel.

This isn't the first condo project to be stopped in the area. The City of Calgary is monitoring nine condo projects halted due to the economy. The Calgary Real Estate Review blog has an excellent post rounding up projects that have been postponed, scaled back or scrapped.It's a long list and one that may grow as condo prices also are falling in the area.

Asheville, North Carolina isn't the place I would expect to find $2 million condos but a local developer is hoping that they can find ten green-minded buyers to make the 73 North Street project a reality. The project is built on a small lot and includes a photovoltaic array on the roof and a garage that will only fit Smart cars (a Smart car comes with each unit).

The first floor of the building will have a small commercial space and the second will include an exercise room and spa and a guest room for visitors of building residents. The building's roof would be home to a lounge and garden. The building is planning for LEED certification and will include green features such as a water collection system, water-conserving fixtures, high-efficiency appliances and automated lighting and shading systems.

The building's units will sell for $2.1 million to $2.6 million and each would be about 2,300 square feet and take up an entire floor. According to an article in the Citizen-Times, the project won't go forward unless six of the units are sold in advance. Right now you can buy a large house with an acre or two of land for about that price in the Asheville area so the developers have an uphill climb ahead of them.

The condominium development situation in Cincinnati Ohio area has been up and down over the past few years. There was a flurry of projects announced in 2005 but since then many projects have struggled either delaying construction or scaling back. Now a 13-story condo tower, Overlook at Eden Park is headed for foreclosure. According to Cincinnati.com the developer, Joshua One says the lender is to blame for the unraveling of the project. Bank of America has claimed that Joshua One Development mismanaged the construction budget leading to delays and unpaid bills. Since last April a variety of liens have been filed against the development. Just six of the 24 condos have been sold and listing prices range from $500,000 to $3 million. The developer is still working on a way to avoid foreclosure.

A $150 million hotel and condominium project planned for Milwaukee, Wisconsin has become the latest victim of the down economy. Gatehouse Capital Corp. has decided not to proceed with the Palomar Hotel and Residences. The project called for 66 luxury condos and a 175-room Kimpton Palomar Hotel located in downtown Milwaukee's Park East area on a country-owned parcel of land. Last November, as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports, the County Board voted to extend Gatehouse's purchase option to November 2009 to accommodate a delay in construction. The project was originally supposed to begin construction last year but was then put off to 2010.

Just about every city is facing a building challenge these days. The Houston Chronicle recently rounded up a bunch of commercial real estate projects that have either been delayed or put on hold in the past six months. Part of the problem is finding financing. Banks are no longer willing to make big construction loans in this uncertain market, consumers are less likely to buy condos that they see are being riskier investments and it is harder for many to get mortgage approval. For Houston part of the problem is also the falling oil prices. Several of the developments that have been scrapped or delayed are luxury residential buildings as shown in the gallery below.

Condos prices in Florida have been falling for the last few years but the luxurious area of Park Shore beach in Naples has been one spot that hasn't been as deeply discounted. Now that's changing as multimillion dollar condos like the Aria on Park Shore are selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than their listing prices. The Naples Daily News reports that the overall median sales price in the Naples area has declined 25 percent this year but most of that activity has been taking place on the lower end of the market. It's only been recently that the luxury condos have been seeing the big price reductions. Aria is the final high rise for The Lutgert Cos. on Park Shore beach off Gulf Shore Boulevard and is an 18-story tower with 65 units. Aria includes 13 penthouses. Every condo offers views of the Gulf of Mexico and Venetian Bay. As far as Florida real estate goes, Naples is a pretty good place to go bargain hunting because it is an established area with a history of high real estate prices.