Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.real,americast.usa-today.real From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: real Wed, Sep 23 1992 Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 04:36:28 EDT Message-ID: 09-23 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update Sept. 23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HOUSING STARTS JUMP: Housing starts soared 10.4% in August - the first upbeat economic news in weeks. Tuesday, the Commerce Department said starts rose last month to an annual rate of 1.2 million. The lowest mortgage rates in 20 years boosted construction, economists say. In the Northeast, wet weather caused a 7% drop. But starts rose 15% in the West and Midwest; and 10% in the South. (For more, see special Starts package below.) OLYMPIA & YORK GETS EXTENSION: A federal bankruptcy court judge Tuesday granted an extension to Oct. 2 for bankrupt Canadian real estate developer Olympia & York Developments Ltd. The extension of 11 days from the original deadline of Tuesday gives O&Y more time to provide creditors with financial statements and schedules. O&Y's unsecured creditors' committee opposed the extension. CREDITORS OPPOSE EXTENSION: The creditors' committee for bankrupt Olympia & York Developments Ltd. opposed an extension granted Tuesday. The committee is composed of 16 institutions, including Citibank. The creditors' lawyer said O&Y was "piecemeal" about providing financial statements and schedules to creditors, but the ruling federal judge said Tuesday that O&Y has been "diligent." FANNIE MAE RELEASES PLAN: Fannie Mae Tuesday released a 10-point plan to increase the participation of minority- and women-owned securities firms in the market for the enterprise's debt and mortgage-backed securities. Fannie Mae packages most of the mortgages it buys into mortgage-backed securities, which are sold to investors. Acess to these securities could be lucrative for the specified firms. UDC APPROVES CONVERSION: UDC-Universal Development L.P. shareholders Tuesday approvedits own conversion to UDC Homes Inc., a corporation, by a vote of more than 75%. UDC had been a master limited partnership. Officials say the restructure should help UDC to respond to changes in the finance and capital markets and is expected to broaden investor interest in UDC securities. UDC builds residential communities. MODEL LEGISLATION RELEASED: At its annual meeting in Newport Beach, Calif., the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators released a draft of model legislation to regulate the mortgage banking and brokerage industries. Provisions include the minimum and recommended legislative requirements on residential mortgage regulation, as proposed by the group's board of directors. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 7.89% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but up from 7.84% the week before. They were at 8.95% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.03%, unchanged from Monday but down from 5.15% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.83%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 3.15% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 3.17% the week before. A year ago they were at 5.56%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.069%, down from Monday and down from 5.258% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.998%. T-BONDS DECLINE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed an increase Tuesday, listing at 7.47%. That's up 0.13 from rates of 7.34% Monday and up 0.16 from 7.31% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 7.88%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON STARTS: STARTS MAY NOT STAY HIGH: The Commerce Department said Tuesday that housing starts rose 10.4% in August. But most experts say home construction won't keep up August's torrid pace. Economists say low consumer confidence will offset low mortgage rates, keeping home sales and starts from improving much more this year. A sign starts may fizzle: Building permits, which reflect builders' plans, fell 1.6% last month. GROUP SAYS OUTLOOK TENUOUS: The National Association of Home Builders expects housing starts to rise modestly in the fourth quarter, with a total of 1.2 million new units in 1992, officials said. NAHB officials said the housing outlook would remain tenuous until there is an improvement in the job market. Mortgage lenders also said they don't interpret the report to be a signal of a recovery in the market. STARTS WON'T CARRY ECONOMY: Even if starts do rise in coming months, they may not do much for the economy, experts say. "Housing starts can't carry the ball," says Leonard Mills, economist at the Federal National Mortgage Association. Economic recoveries "also need job growth and right now, that's a big if," he says. (End of package.) Real Estate 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. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM