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 8 1992 Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 05:46:40 EDT Message-ID: 04-08 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update April 8, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ACCESSIBLE MORTGAGES A CONCERN: Provisions to make accessible again the Federal Housing Administration's single-family mortgage insurance program must be part of legislation reauthorizing National Affordable Housing Act programs, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. NAR's Stephen Casper discussed the reauthorization bill Tuesday during a hearing before the U.S. House housing subcommittee. (For more, see special FHA package below.) EXISTING HOME SALES RISE: Sales of previously owned homes rose sharply in February from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. NAR recorded an actual sales total of 224,000 existing single-family homes nationwide in February, 16.1% above the February 1991 total of 193,000. The increase followed a trend of year-to-year sales increases over the past several months. MORTGAGE RATES PERSUASIVE: February's increase in mortgage rates likely persuaded some prospective buyers to go ahead with home purchases, suggests Dorcas Helfant, president of the National Association of Realtors. "The risk of future increases convinced them it was time" to buy, she said. Freddie Mac said the national average commitment rate for 30-year fixed-rates was 8.83% in February. REFINANCING FOR REPAIR POSSIBLE: Homeowners can refinance their mortgages to make major repairs and improvements under a new initiative from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. It's an expanded version of the Buy-and-Fix-It Program established to help residents buy and rehabilitate older homes in need of substantial repair. Both programs use a single fixed-rate loan for mortgage and repair work. COMPLIANCE A TOP PRIORITY: Fair housing compliance is a top priority among real estate professionals, according to "Play Fair in Housing," an article in the April issue of Real Estate Today. The expanded enforcement authority of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has caused a notable increase in the number of housing complaints the agency logged, says the article by free-lance writer Warren Berger. INDIANS OWED MONEY FOR LAND: A federal judge in Seattle says the Lummi Nation is owed money for land. Judge Barbara Rothstein says the Lummi Nation is owed more than $480,000 for three years its tidelands were leased for recreation by the Sandy Point Community association. The next step is a ruling on interest owed to the tribe. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.96% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday and down from 8.98% the week before. They were at 9.49% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 6.22%, unchanged from Monday and up also from 6.19% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.39%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.50% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday and down from 4.64% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.26%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.800%, unchanged from Monday and down from 6.002% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.848%. T-BONDS DECLINE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed a decline Tuesday, listing at 7.88%. That's down 0.01 from rates of 7.89% Monday and down 0.07 from 7.95% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.20%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON FHA: RESTRICTIONS SHOULD BE REVOKED: The National Association of Realtors' Stephen Casper Tuesday told the U.S. House housing subcommittee to rescind FHA restrictions that make the program more expensive for homebuyers. Casper said the limit on closing costs that may be financed should be removed because it's costing FHA business. The housing subcommittee is part of the House Banking Committee. HUD LIMITED FINANCING: The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees FHA, last July limited the amount of closing costs that can be financed to 57%. The restriction was an attempt to build up reserves in the single-family mortgage insurance fund. It was imposed in addition to new limits on the amount FHA borrowers can finance, mandated by the National Affordable Housing Act. CONGRESSIONAL INTENT EXCEEDED: Casper said that "HUD exceeded the intent of Congress" with the restriction on closing costs and that the statutory provisions in the NAHA weren't given enough "opportunity to work." HUD's restriction has added hundreds of dollars to the upfront costs borrowers must pay at settlement. Borrowers who cannot afford other types of financing have been closed out of FHA, he said. (End of package.) 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