| Chelsea's Perennial Inspiration If last year was about big, manly architectural statements at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, this year is about exploring the softer, more sensual side of gardening, with smells and sounds featuring heavily in show spaces. Billings Slip Back After five months of positive readings, the Architecture Billings Index slipped back into negative territory during April, an indication that demand for design services declined. More Real-Estate Loans Default in Europe European commercial real-estate markets are struggling with a sharp increase in mortgages falling into trouble, just as more European countries slip back into recession. Deal Is Near to Develop Willets Point The Bloomberg administration is nearing a deal with the Related Cos. and a real-estate firm controlled by owners of the New York Mets to build a retail and residential development on a gritty swath of Queens near Citi Field. CBRE Taps New Vein From Old Deal The real-estate company's top-of-the-market acquisition of Trammell Crow Co. has turned out to be the deal that keeps on giving, in the form of incoming CEO Robert Sulentic. Foreclosures Show No Sign of Decline The percentage of homeowners delinquent on their mortgages in the first quarter fell to the lowest level since the end of 2008, but the share of loans in foreclosure remains high. Fearing the Worst on Park Avenue The national luxury-home builder Toll Brothers is moving to alter two small, pre-Civil War houses that survive amid the tall co-ops of Park Avenue, despite lobbying efforts by neighbors to save them. |