Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.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 Tue, Oct 27 1992 Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 04:59:45 EST Message-ID: 10-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update Oct. 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SEPTEMBER HOME SALES SLIP: Sales of existing single-family homes slipped 1% last month from August to an annual rate of 3.3 million, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Last month 282,000 houses were sold - down from 314,000 in August. That was a second straight drop, despite the lowest mortgage rates in 19 years. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.9% in September, vs. 9% a year ago. (For more, see special Home package below.) LIONHEART UP FOR AUCTION: Lionheart mansion in Atlanta's Buckhead area will be auctioned Friday. J.P. King Auction Group is conducting the auction and says the phenomenal response is no surprise. The 27,000 square foot mansion was completed in 1990 and rests on 5.5 acres of land. The estate features a two-tiered ballroom, 65-foot swimming pool, dual waterfalls, gymnasium, six bedrooms and an entertainment cabana. AUCTION DRAWS STARPOWER: The Lionheart mansion in Buckhead, Atlanta's swankiest neighborhood, has received unprecedented buyer interest from sports and entertainment figures throughout the world. The estate will be auctioned Friday at 7:30 p.m. Among those who have expressed interest: Pop superstars Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart, boxer Evander Holyfield and two-sport star Deion Sanders. MODULAR HOMES SELL WELL: Owning a home has become a tall order, with the median U.S. house price hovering well above $100,000 in the first half of this year. That's why sales of modular homes are up. Industry experts say prices that are 10% to 40% less than those of conventional houses are the lure. Modular houses are also more durable than in years gone by because of new technology. CITY GIVES HOMES AWAY: The city of Anderson, Ind., recently gave away eight homes to low-income families in a drawing as part of its 1992 Urban Homestead Program, according to the November issue of Real Estate Today magazine. All the homes were in need of repair. As a grand prize, residents will receive the deed to the house after their home has been maintained for six years. ASBESTOS REDUCES ASSESSMENT: Tax assessors in New York may have to factor in owners' costs of removing asbestos from buildings when determining value for property tax purposes, according to Real Estate Today magazine. A recent state tax ruling set the precedent. No other states have reduced an owner's assessments on the basis of a building's physical and functional obsolescence. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES SOAR: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.23% Monday, up from 8.01% Thursday and up from the week before. They were at 8.91% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.13%, up from 4.97% Thursday and up from the week before. A year ago they were at 6.66%. ARM INDEXES INCREASE: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 3.48% Monday, up from 3.26% Thursday and up from the week before. A year ago they were at 5.39%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 4.874%, unchanged from Thursday and unchanged from the week before. A year ago they were at 6.845%. T-BONDS INCREASE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed an increase Monday, listing at 7.67%. That's up 0.06 from rates of 7.61% Thursday. Rates were up 0.10 from rates of 7.57% the week before. A year ago they were at 8.03%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON HOME: FIGURES CAUSE SOME ANXIETY: September sales of existing single-family homes were down from August. "Economic numbers out in September weren't that good," says Raymond Worseck, an economist at A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis. "That had to affect consumer confidence: The feeling was one of anxiety again after several months of things looking a little better." THE WEST HAD THE BEST SALES: September sales by region: In the West, sales fell 5.6% to a 670,000 annual rate, from 710,000 in August; in the Midwest, the annual rate slipped .1% to 870,000 houses last month, from 880,000 in August; the Northeast showed the biggest gain - sales rose 1.9%, to a 530,000 annual rate, from August's 520,000; and the South gained slightly with sales up 0.8% to a 1.21 million annual rate. MEDIAN HOME PRICE DROPS: Another sign that demand for homes is weaker: Nationally, the median price for existing homes last month was $103,200. That's 1.3% below August and 2.9% higher than September 1991. "The housing market is not going down the tubes," says Theodore Tung, an economist at National City in Cleveland. "But there won't be a boom. We're continuing the story of a sluggish recovery." (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