Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.real From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: real Fri, Feb 28 1992 Date: Fri, 28 Feb 92 05:50:42 EST Message-ID: 02-28 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HOME SALES FALL IN JANUARY: January saw a 1.5% drop in existing home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales fell for the first time in four months from December's seasonally adjusted rate of 3.27 million to 3.22 million. Rising mortgage rates and unusually slow sales are to blame for the drop, NAR said. The rate was a 12.6% rise from last year, when the Gulf war and recession hurt sales. FALLEN HOPES FOR CLOSED BASES: Four years ago Congress approved the closing of 86 military bases, and last year 35 more bases joined the list. With the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon hoped to see the land reach developers, but few properties have sold. Among the obstacles to selling the land: Bureaucratic delays, environmental troubles and an economy that has left investors uninterested in new projects. (For more, see special Pentagon package below.) MAUI'S GRAND HYATT UNPROFITABLE: To turn a profit, the Grand Hyatt Wailea on Hawaii's Maui Island would need to charge an average of $700 nightly per room, and maintain a minimum year-round occupancy rate of 75%, says Anthony Downs, a real estate economist with the Brookings Institution, in a recent report for Salomon Bros. Room rates average approximately $375 for the hotel, which is usually 40% full. MONT. LAND RECOMMENDATION MADE: A recommendation from the Bureau of Land Management would designate 173,449 acres of Montana land as wilderness and drop 274,000 from consideration. The President has two years to give Congress the recommendation. NUTRITION CENTER TO PROCEED: Even though only the foundation can be afforded, the Bowman Gray School of Medicine plans to proceed with plans to break ground on a $58 million nutrition center this spring. The school hopes Congress will provide additional funding. IOWA FIRE INVESTIGATED: Officials have begun an investigation of a fire that burned for more than five hours in Burlington, Iowa, Wednesday, damaging portions of the the city's historical downtown area. The fire destroyed one building and damaged two others. Estimated damage: $1 million. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON PENTAGON: SALE OF CLOSED BASES OFTEN SLOW: In the next five years, the Pentagon hopes to raise $1.5 billion from the sale of surplus properties. But these lands often have trouble reaching private hands. Federal law gives other government agencies the first chance to buy the land and state land local agencies can acquire them free or at bargain prices. State and local officials also must be consulted before the land can be sold. ENVIRONMENT MUST BE CONSIDERED: Environmental problems are another obstacle. The Superfund list of contaminated sites includes several of the closed bases, and a wildlife group, for example, has halted development at Pease Air Force Base, N.H., near Boston's Logan International Airport. The group says traffic from Deutsch Airbus, a German firm expressing interest in the land, will harm a planned wildlife refuge. SEMINARS ON PLANS HELD: Real estate professionals are being briefed on Pentagon plans by the American Society of Real Estate Counselors, which has sponsored seminars around the country this winter. For now, the Pentagon is offering short-term leases to buyers, who can then bid on the properties when they come to market, says Robert Rauner, director of the Pentagon's Office of Economic Adjustment. (End of package.) FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.82% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday and up from 8.73% the week before. They were at 9.29% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.92%, unchanged from Wednesday but down from 5.78% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.57%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.37% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday but down from 4.19% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.30%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 6.245%, unchanged from Wednesday and unchanged also from the week before. A year ago they were at 7.858%. T-BONDS DECLINE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds remained stable Thursday, listing at 7.84%. That's unchanged from Wednesday and down 0.07 from 7.91% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.20%. Real Estate Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM