Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!tamsun.tamu.edu!mtecv2!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Newsgroups: usa-today.real,americast.usa-today.real Subject: real Fri, Aug 28 1992 Message-ID: Date: 28 Aug 92 08:57:03 GMT Organization: American Cybercasting Lines: 123 Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com 08-28 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update Aug. 28-30, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FDIC RELEASES SURVEY RESULTS: Results from a survey conducted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show the recovery in the U.S. real estate market appears to be slowing. In the survey of bank and thrift examiners released Thursday, the agency found they had overestimated the health of the real estate market in the May-July period. In a survey taken in May, more respondents said the market was improving. (For more, see special FDIC package below). TISCH GROUP CUTS CANARY BID: A Wall Street investor group sharply cut its bid Thursday to rescue the troubled Canary Wharf project in London, the Associated Press says. The group, including CBS Chairman Lawrence Tisch and former Salomon Bros. vice chairman Lewis Ranieri, lowered its bid to $464 million from $692 million. O&Y put Canary Wharf under British insolvency protection after talks with creditors collapsed. LETTER OF INTENT SIGNED: Las Vegas-based Investment Growth Resources Inc. announced Thursday it has entered into a letter of intent with ISCO Homes Inc., a private corporation located in Lawndale, Calif. The letter proposes that IGRI acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of ISCO Homes in exchange for a controlling interest in IGRI common shares. PUERTO RICO PLANS PARK: The Puerto Rico Economic Development Administration announced Thursday the planned development of Puerto Rico's first privately-financed industrial park. The park will consist of more than 140 industrial parcels encompassing 360 acres and will be worth close to $200 million upon completion. The project is being developed by a group of local investors, including the Serralles family. ABRAMS ANNOUNCES LOSSES: Abrams Industries Inc. of Atlanta said Thursday its first-quarter net income fell to $151,461, or 5 cents a share, from $253,721, or 9 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Sales fell to $19.63 million from $23.14 million. Abrams Industries is involved in commercial construction and manufacturing and manages commercial real estate. FRENCH FIRMS MERGE: French construction and civil engineering company Fougerolle SA is planning to merge fully with Societe Auxiliaire d'Entreprises SA, Bloomberg Business News said Thursday. The move follows the acquisition by Fougerolle earlier this year of 94.7% of SAE stock through a takeover bid. SAE shareholders will be offered one Fougerolle share for every SAE share held, officials said. PROPERTIES SKIRT DISASTER: Sizeler Property Investors, Inc. of Kenner, La., announced Thursday its properties in southern Florida incurred no damage attributable to the effects of Hurricane Andrew. Only two of the company's Louisiana properties incurred minimal, non-structural damage, and all of its retail shopping centers were open for business this morning. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 7.87% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday but down from 7.96% the week before. They were at 9.17% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.20%, unchanged from Wednesday but down from 5.30% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.03.%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 3.40% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday but down from 3.43% the week before. A year ago they were at 5.62%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.258%, unchanged from Wednesday and unchanged from the week before. A year ago they were at 7.155%. T-BONDS DECLINE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed a decline Thursday, listing at 7.39%. That's down 0.02 from rates of 7.41% Wednesday but up 0.07 from 7.32% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.00%. (Special package on FDIC). COMMERCIAL MARKET STAGNATES: About two-thirds of the 500 regulators responding to a survey conducted by the FDIC said conditions in the U.S. commercial real estate market remain unchanged. The responses mean an excess supply of office space existed on the market in the May-July period. Twenty-one percent said they saw improvement in the commercial market, but 14% reported that conditions were worsening. RESIDENTIAL MARKET IMPROVES: In a survey taken in May, more regulators said the market was improving than in the current survey. The market for residential housing however, continues to show improvement, the survey said. Just over half of those surveyed said local housing conditions improved during the May-July period in relation to the previous three months, while 10% said the market had deterioriated. OVERALL ESTIMATE IS PESSIMISTIC: Despite those positive assessments, the FDIC said regulators' view of the overall real estate market was still more pessimistic in the May-July period than in the previous three months. The survey's index of market conditions fell to 63 from 72 in the May survey. A reading of more than 50 indicates more respondents thought conditions were improving than deteriorating. Energy Editor: Martin Baucom. (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. 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