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 Wed, Apr 1 1992 Date: Wed, 1 Apr 92 05:43:26 EST Message-ID: 04-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update April 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FEWER WILL BUY HOMES: Consumer confidence went up in March, to 54 from 47.3 in February, the Conference Board said Tuesday. That's a sign that people feel better about the economy. But fewer people plan to buy a home the next six months - 3.3%, down from 4.2% in February. If housing stumbles, the economy will suffer. Demand for everything from carpets and appliances to carpenters will fall. REAL ESTATE STOCK A PLUS: Investors have been laying bets on companies they think will power higher in a recovering economy. First-quarter winners include real estate-related companies, retailers and technology companies. The theme, says Arnie Kaufman of Outlook, "is recovery from poor situations." Some companies tied to the ups and downs of the real estate industry swallowed big losses; now stocks are zooming. OMNI PURSUES EXPANSION: Omni Hotels is taking advantage of the current hotel real estate market to pursue expansion plans announced last year. Its most recent addition: The Omni Berkshire Place at 52 Street and Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan. It was purchased from Aer Lingus, former Omni Hotels parents, for $83.5 million. Omni has managed the luxury 420-room hotel since 1976. TEXAS PROPERTY ACQUIRED: Omni Hotels has arranged several acquisitions in the past five months. In addition to purchasing the Omni Berkshire place, the company in November assumed management of the Omni Houston Hotel, formerly the Four Seasons Inn on the Park, after the property was acquired by Harbour Centre Development Limited, an affiliate. Harbour expects to acquire the Marriott Mandalay Hotel in Dallas. LUMBER PRICES ARE HIGH: Lumber prices are high, promising a pickup in earnings for wood- and paper-related stocks, analysts say. For the first time since 1986, stocks in the forest- and paper-products group are expected to outperform the market. Already, they're off to a good start. Since Dec. 31, many stocks in the group have soared while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has dropped 3.2%. LOW RATES SPUR PRICES: One factor behind high lumber prices is lower interest rates. Lumber rises when rates fall on expectations that lower mortgage rates will spur home construction demand. Prices rose in January anticipating a rebound as mortgage rates hit 17-year lows. Builders boosted construction of homes and apartments 9.6% in February. That boosted demand for lumber and pushed prices up. WINDERMERE, STAR FORM ALLIANCE: Seven offices from Spokane, Wash., franchise Star Brokers will add 175 agents to Windermere Real Estate Wednesday. The alliance marks the first time that Windermere has expanded east of the Cascades and sets the stage for Windermere's expansion in other eastern Washington communities as well as Idaho and Montana. TRUST TO REPURCHASE STOCK: Arizona Land Income Corp., an independent real estate trust, Tuesday said that the receiver appointed to manage the affairs of Farm & Home Life Insurance Co. Friday approved a transaction for the company to repurchase 75,000 shares of the company's Class A common stock held by Farm & Home. Farm & Home's affairs have been managed by a receiver since July 3. LANDFILL FIGHT CONTINUES: Residents of Lithonia, Ga., fearing falling property values, noise and traffic, are rallying to keep Browning-Ferris Industries from building a 100-acre landfill in DeKalb County. Browning-Ferris has gotten preliminary approval and is awaiting a second round of environmental tests. County commissioners gave landfill approval for the site 20 years ago. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.98% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 9.03% the week before. They were at 9.52% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 6.19%, unchanged from Monday but down from 6.22% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.41%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.64% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 4.73% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.34%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 6.002%, unchanged from Monday and unchanged also from the week before. A year ago they were at 7.848%. T-BONDS INCREASE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed an increase Tuesday, listing at 7.95%. That's down 0.01 from rates of 7.94% Monday and down also from 7.94% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.22%. Real Estate Editor: Beth Mann. (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