More than 8.3 million U.S. mortgages, or 20 percent of all properties with a mortgage, were in a negative equity position at the end of 2008, according to newly released data from Sacramento, Calif.-based First American CoreLogic. That is a significant increase from 7.6 million, or 18 percent, of all mortgages in negative equity at the end of September.

Negative equity, often referred to as "underwater" or "upside down," means a borrower owes more on their mortgage than the home is worth. The collapse of the U.S. real estate market has eroded the value of many properties, placing many homeowners in the underwater position.

The situation could be getting worse. The First American CoreLogic data also shows than another 2.2 million mortgages are approaching negative equity and are within 5 percent of that equity position.

The Milwaukee area is faring better than the U.S. as a whole. In the Milwaukee area, 31,629, or 13.1 percent, of all properties with a mortgage are in negative equity. Another 11,917 mortgages, or 4.9 percent, are nearing negative equity, which means a total of 18.0 percent of the area's mortgages are at or nearing negative equity.

In Wisconsin, 16.2 percent of mortgages are in negative equity.

Some states are in far worse shape than Wisconsin. In Nevada, 55.1 percent of the mortgages are in negative equity, with a total of 335,340. In Michigan 40 percent, or 459,385, of the mortgages are in negative equity. In Arizona, 31.8 percent, or 407,604, of the mortgages are in negative equity. In Florida, 30.3 percent, or 1.28 million, of mortgages are in negative equity. In California, 29.5 percent, or 1.9 million, of mortgages are in negative equity. California has the most underwater mortgages in the nation.

Milwaukee area home sales were down 11.9 percent in February, compared to February of 2008, according to the latest housing statistics released Tuesday by Metro MLS Inc.
"The decrease in sales figures was expected given the chaotic economic news we are hearing about each day from Washington DC and Wall Street," said Mike Ruzicka, president of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR).

February could be seen as an improvement compared to January, when home sales in the metro area were down 32.2 percent compared to January of 2007.

"The GMAR believes that the market in southeastern Wisconsin has put the majority of the housing correction behind it, faring much better than most other markets in the nation. What we are experiencing now is a market that has plateaued at a more affordable level, but will experience slight ups and downs until the overall economy recovers."

The buyers market has discouraged homeowners from trying to sell. February was the 22nd consecutive month in which listings were down compared to the previous year, down 6.2 percent compared to 2007.

"Listings should increase as we head into the spring selling market," Ruzicka said.

The Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation's (MEDC) loan and finance committee on Tuesday recommended approval of a $2.25 million loan to Milwaukee-based Lighthouse Development Company LLC for the South Water Works development. The matter now goes to the MEDC executive committee, which is expected to consider it sometime within the next two weeks.

Lighthouse Development is redeveloping the former Transpak Corp. complex at Pittsburgh Avenue and Barclay Street in Walker's Point into a mixed development with apartments, office space and retail space.

The loan, if approved, will be used for the restoration of a 73-year-old, four-story building at 201 E. Pittsburgh Ave. into 35,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 square feet of retail space. Fullhouse Media Inc. will move from the Third Ward to occupy 24,000 square feet of office space in this building. Columbia Sportswear Company will occupy about 7,000 square feet of retail space in the building.

Clybourn Commons LLC plans to build a four-story, 39,680-square-foot building at 501 N. 20th St. along the north side of I-94 and near the Marquette University campus.

Clybourn Commons plans to demolish four duplexes at 505 N. 20th St., 509 N. 20th St., 2016 W. Clybourn Ave. and 2020 W. Clybourn Ave. to make way for the new building. The buildings are historic, each is between 114-119 years old, according to city records. But the four structures have a combined assessed value of only $346,200, according to city records.

The proposed apartment building will have 36 units, with 16 two-bedroom units, 10 one-bedroom units and 10 studio units. The entire ground floor of the building will be used for parking.

The tenants in the building are expected to be predominantly upper level Marquette University students, especially dental school students because the dental school is located just to the north.

Iowa College Acquisition Corp. d.b.a. Kaplan University, plans to open an instructional site in a 7,355-square-foot space on the first floor of the building at 211 W. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee, according to information filed with the city's Board of Zoning Appeals.

The 8-story, 101,895-sqaure-foot building is owned by a group of investors known as Zahara Wisconsin Ave LLC and Zaida Wisconsin Ave LLC. Most of the building is occupied by the Internal Revenue Service.

The first floor retail space in the building has been vacant for years. Last year Ohio-based JHF Group had planned to open a Cadillac Ranch bar and restaurant in the space, but those plans fell through.

Kaplan University offers online master's, bachelor's, associate's and professional law degrees, as well as online certificate programs. It is not affiliated with Kaplan College-Milwaukee.

Kaplan University is providing a hybrid model in which its new online university students are enrolled at a physical facility, such as the planned instructional site in downtown Milwaukee. Once enrolled, students will attend their first two terms of general education core classes there. After the first two terms, students will continue their coursework online. The Milwaukee campus will provide support services for students including tutoring, a resource center and a student lounge. The campus is expected to have 15 full-time office employees, five part-time teachers and about 140 students.

A spokeswoman for Kaplan University declined to comment on its Milwaukee plans until after the March 19 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.

McDonald's Corp. plans to build a new 4,249-square-foot restaurant at 4925 W. Hampton Ave. on Milwaukee's northwest side. The new restaurant will be a relocation of McDonald's existing restaurant in a 3,000-square-foot building at 5025 W. Hampton Ave., one block to the west. The new restaurant will replace a vacant former Aldi store and it will be owned and operated by McDonald's franchisee Robert Pyles. In recent  years McDonald's has been remodeling or replacing many of its older restaurants.

BizTimes Milwaukee is seeking nominations for its 2009 Bravo! Entrepreneur and IQ (Innovation Quotient) awards, which salute company leaders that demonstrate the best traits of entrepreneurship, or are creating innovative products, services or processes in business.

Winners from each award programs will be honored at the fifth annual BizTech Expo Conference & Expo at the Wisconsin State Fair Park from April 29-30.

To be considered for the Bravo! Award, the entrepreneur must be part of a closely-held company that has been in business for a minimum of one year and has a minimum of $1.5 million in annual sales.

Other criteria for the Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards includes:

• Entrepreneur must be the founder of the business, or have been critical to its growth.
• Company must be based in, or have been founded in, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, Racine, Kenosha or Walworth counties.
• Company must show vision, risk and creativity.
• Company must be profitable.
• Entrepreneur should contribute to the community through charitable or leadership roles.
• Entrepreneur should demonstrate strong corporate culture.
• Company should have demonstrated significant growth and long-term potential.
• Committee may honor a separate individual, in addition to the founder, if deemed appropriate.

For the IQ Award, judges will choose the most innovative, clever and unique products, services or processes among the companies nominated. Self-nominations are encouraged.

The nominated companies must be based in Wisconsin and have a physical presence in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, Racine, Walworth or Kenosha County.

The winners of both Bravo! and IQ will be honored at an awards luncheon at the fifth annual BizTech Conference & Expo to be held at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

To nominate a company leader for the Bravo! Entrepreneur Awards and view videos from last year's luncheon, visit www.biztimes.com/bravo.

To nominate a company for the 2009 IQ Awards and view videos of the 2008 awards program, visit www.biztimes.com/iq.

Kohler PetSmart building sold
A&L Properties, a group of California investors, purchased the 21,890-sqauare-foot PetSmart building at 4013-19 Highway 28, Kohler, from Wisconsin Pets LLC for $3.4 million. The building is located on an outlot of the Deer Trace Plaza shopping center along I-43 that is anchored by Home Depot, Target, Best Buy and T.J. Maxx. PetSmart occupies about 90 percent of the building. A Cost Cutters salon occupies a portion of the building and one small tenant space is vacant. The deal was brokered by Marcus & Millichap brokers Eric Rapp, who represented the buyer, and Evan Halkias, who represented the seller. "That (shopping center) is doing great and has very little vacancy," Rapp said.

Milwaukee-based Towne Investments recently completed construction of two new speculative industrial buildings in Pleasant Prairie. Towne Industrial III, an 82,104-square-foot building, and Towne Industrial IV, a 51,540-square-foot building, were built in LakeView Corporate Park. The buildings are available for lease or for sale. They are being marketed by John Sharpe, Rick Delisle and Sergio Chapa of Chicago-based Lee & Associates.

Waukesha-based Gerald Nell Inc. was selected by Super Products LLC to renovate three manufacturing buildings and build a 45,000-square-foot addition at 17000 W. Cleveland Ave., New Berlin.

Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp. recently completed the design and construction of a tenant build-out for Edward Fox Photography at 4805 S. 74th St., Greenfield. Briohn also recently completed an office renovation for American Dental Partners Inc. at 7040 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage's Wisconsin region announced Tuesday that The Katie Falk Team including Katie Falk, B.G. Hook, Maureen Zander, Natasha Duvall and Peggy Wehausen have joined its north shore office in Glendale. The Katie Falk team was previously affiliated with Prudential Real Estate, which the team joined in 2007 after a 10-year affiliatin with Realty Executives. Real estate professionals Susie Popalisky, Cathy Rapp, Marv Whalen, Elizabeth Folliard and Clarice Laubenheimer also recently joined the Coldwell Banker north shore office. "We are thrilled to welcome the Katie Falk Team to our office," said Judy Hearst, regional vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage's Wisconsin Region. "Their years of experience and energy make them an asset to our exceptional team."

Best Lawyers, a legal profession publication, recently named Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. shareholders Bruce T. Block and Jesse S. Ishikawa "lawyers of the year" for 2009. Both received the honor in real estate law, Block for the Milwaukee area and Ishikawa for the Madison area.

Milwaukee-based Stefaniak Group LLC recently hired Courtney Stefaniak. Stefaniak, 21, is a Marquette University senior who recently obtained her real estate license. She is the third generation of the Stefaniak family in the real estate business. Stefaniak Group is led by her father, Peter S. Stefaniak and partners Peter Michael Stefaniak, Beth Stefaniak Savas and Jean Stefaniak.

Brookfield-based Shorewest Realtors recently added Malissa Welke as a sales associate in its Mequon office, Lisa Kintop-Wilbrandt as a sales associate at its Oak Creek office and Angeline Olson, Natalie BellChristopher Phillips as sales associates in its Lake Geneva office.

Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc. recently received the Associated General Contractors of American's Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partner Award for its work on the Milwaukee City Hall renovation project.

The city of Milwaukee and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities are hosting a green roof symposium today from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the campus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, 1025 N. Broadway, Milwaukee. The workshop will provide information for elected officials, planners, businesses, and building and design professionals about green roof and wall technology. "Our economy and our environment are interdependent. My vision for Milwaukee calls for greater use of energy-saving, job-creating technology like green roofs and green walls," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. "Our innovative approach to water quality and energy has the potential to grow our economy."

The producers of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are looking for a family in southeastern Wisconsin whose home deserves an extreme makeover, Milwaukee's ABC affiliate WISN-TV announced. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, March 20.

A to Z’s of Selling Real Estate Owned (REO) Properties, Friday, March 13, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon at WICPA 235 N. Executive Dr., Brookfield.

10th Annual MANDI Awards (Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation), Thursday, March 19, 6:30 p.m., Harley-Davidson Museum, 400 Canal St., Milwaukee. For more information, call (414) 273-1815.

Mortgages: The Bad, The Good and The Optimal, presented by the Marquette University Center for Global & Economic Studies and the Center for Real Estate, will be held from 7:45 a.m. to  9:15 a.m. on Friday, March 20, at the Marquette University Raynor Library, 1355 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee. More information is available by calling (414) 288-7946.