Said to be London's first environmentally sustainable skyscraper.

"Windows in the light wells open automatically to augment the air conditioning system with natural ventilation, an occurrence anticipated to save energy for up to 40% of the year.

"The floor plans are shaped like flowers, with a circular perimeter indented by 6 triangular light courts. The indentations remain a constant size at each level, while the space between them diminishes.

"The floor plan is rotated for each successive floor, creating a series of spiraling 5-story atria that stretch the full height of the building."

- Emporis, Inc.

It's time for cranky New York Times Company shareholders to start crowing again. Just three years after the company sold its landmark headquarters to Tishman Speyer, the real estate giant has unloaded it for $350 million in profit.

Tishman announced that it would sell the Times Square-area office building, which it bought for $175 million from the New York Times in 2004, for a cool $525 million. Yes, that is three times what it paid the Times three years ago.

The building's buyer is Africa Israel USA, a holding company controlled by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. He must be eager to gain prominence in the New York real-estate scene given such a high profile acquisition, in addition to his recent stake in the Anthorp, an exclusive West Side apartment building.

Should Times shareholders chalk the lost profit opportunity up to a scorching hot real estate market, a badly brokered deal in 2004, or an over-eager buyer in 2007?

If the Anthorp deal was any indication, Leviev does not seem interested in slowing down for long enough to bargain. The Israeli tycoon has already garnered the dubious record of highest price ever paid for a U.S. residential building by paying $426 million for a 50 percent stake in that property.

It also could be that Tishman has an exceptionally green thumb rather than the Times having a knack for sapping value. This sale will mark the second time in 2007 that Tishman Speyer has tripled its investment in office space; in January the firm accepted a $1.8 billion bid for 666 Fifth Avenue, which it bought for $520 million in 2000.

Not to be outdone by the Big Apple in bloated real estate deals, London has just plowed through previous records with its own 1.1 billion pound sale, almost doubling the single-building record set in February when Swiss Re sold its pickle-shaped London high rise, known locally as the Gherkin.

HSBC snatched the crown for highest price commanded by a British building with the sale of its Canary Wharf headquarters. The deal will be a sale-and-leaseback agreement providing HSBC with a minimum of 20 years of occupancy, which should reassure Londoners that Europe's largest bank is in the U.K. to stay.

As was the case with the Times building, the sale of HSBC's headquarters also represents foreign investment flowing into the city. The buyer in this case is Spanish property giant Metrovacesa, which boasts around $10 billion in Spanish real estate assets and an appetite for international expansion.

Now there's what I call a couple of bold entrances onto the real estate scene.

Additionally, Congress is finally putting its collective heads together to try to come up with some homeowner relief. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank's foreclosure-prevention package passed the House, but faces uncertainty in the Senate and a possible veto by President Bush. The bill calls for lenders to cut troubled debt to no more than 85% of a home's current appraised value, with the FHA covering the rest of the principal owed by the homeowners if the loan goes into default. The high cost of the program - an estimated $1.7 billion, by the Congressional Budget office - substantially reduces its chances of clear sailing.

But homeowners may fare better under programs undertaken by their individual states. In Pennsylvania, a moratorium was placed on foreclosure auctions in April, and the state saw foreclosure filings drop 24.4%. Don't be surprised to see other states go this way as they tire of waiting for federal relief.

For the homeowner, the current economic scenario is not pleasant, and those who don't have to sell their homes may be better off just biding their time, waiting for better days ahead. But if you are in a situation that requires selling your home, there are a few things you can do to maximize your selling price and minimize your home's time on the market.

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