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, Nov 3 1992 Date: Tue, 3 Nov 92 04:59:46 EST Message-ID: 11-03 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update Nov. 3, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SEPTEMBER CONSTRUCTION RISES: As voters go to the polls Tuesday the economy - the campaign's hottest issue - is looking slightly stronger, but it is still growing weakly at best. On Monday, the Commerce Department reported work begun on construction projects in September was worth $428.5 billion at an annual rate. That's up 1.3% from the value of August's ground breakings. August's report was down 1.1% from July. (For more, see special Report package below.) CITICORP SELLS MORTGAGES: Citicorp is selling $1 billion in mortgages without recourse to the Federal National Mortgage Association. Without recourse means the bank has no obligation to buy back the loans if they sour - which means it doesn't have to set aside capital as a cushion against the prospect of the loans going bad. Fannie Mae's purchase of the loans is a sign Citicorp's mortgage problems are easing. DEVELOPER PLEADS GUILTY: Developer Don Martin, 64, pleaded guilty Monday in Montgomery, Ala., to what prosecutors described as a $29 million mortgage swindle. Martin inflated real estate appraisals, sold nonexistent property and sold some property twice, prosecutors charged. Martin's dealings contributed to three Savings and Loan failures, the FBI said. Sentencing will take place on Jan. 19. BUILDINGS HOLD UP TO QUAKES: A civil engineering professor at the University of Southern California says great strides have been made in developing buildings that are immune to earthquakes. Ahmed Abdel-Ghaffar notes, however, that the techniques are being used mostly by government agencies and firms in Japan, New Zealand and Turkey. He says U.S. construction firms shy away because of cost. SCIENTISTS SEARCH FOR MATERIALS: With prodding from the construction industry, scientists at the University of Southern California and other universities are searching for materials that are both earthquake-safe and inexpensive. The Carpenters':Contractors cooperation Committee Inc. has sponsored $2.5 million worth of research at USC to increase the flexibility of high-strength concrete. FIRM WINS TWO BUILDER'S AWARDS: Kaplan:McLaughlin:Diaz Architects has won two Builder's Choice awards for the design of two projects in Los Angeles. The nationwide awards program for residential and light commercial projects is sponsored annually by Builder, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builders. The firm won in the "Best Communities" as well as "non-residential" categories. OAKWOOD SHOWS RECORD PROFIT: More evidence of the boom in manufactured housing: Oakwood Homes Corp. Tuesday reported record sales, total revenues and net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1992 and the year ended Sept. 30, 1992. Sales for the fourth quarter were a record $58.984 million compared with $40.143 million for the same quarter last year. Oakwood produces and sells throughout much of the South. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.23% Monday, unchanged from Thursday and down from 8.23% the week before. They were at 8.78% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.12%, down from Thursday and down from 5.13% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.58%. ARM INDEXES INCREASE: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 3.50% Monday, up from 3.48% Thursday and up from 3.26% the week before. A year ago they were at 5.15%. 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 6.714%. T-BONDS INCREASE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds were up Monday, listing at 7.66%. That's up 0.09 from rates of 7.57% Thursday. Rates were down 0.01 from rates of 7.67% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.94%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON REPORT: HOME CONSTRUCTION SPARKS JUMP: September construction starts increased at a rate larger than any since a 1.4% rise last April. Much of the increase was sparked by home construction, which has strengthened thanks to 30-year fixed-rate mortgages as low as 8% in some parts of the nation. Work was started on single-family homes worth $120.2 billion at an annual rate, up 3.5% over August. COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION DROPS: While home construction increased, non-residential construction lagged behind August's rate. Economists in a Bloomberg Business News survey last week projected a much more modest gain of 0.3% in September construction spending. "Concerns about a new decline are not borne out by these numbers, but we're not entering a new boom either," said David Cohen, an economist at MMS International. REPORT HINTS AT MODEST GROWTH: Whether or not this last economic news released before the election will have an effect is uncertain. Evelina Tainer, chief economist at Prime Economic Consulting in Chicago was relieved to hear the construction report. "They're not great shakes but at least we're still growing." The construction figures were coupled with a report saying manufacturer's production was up. (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. 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