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 Thu, Apr 9 1992 Date: Thu, 9 Apr 92 05:44:24 EDT Message-ID: 04-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update April 9, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MORE RENTAL UNITS FINANCED: A dramatic surge in the number of rental units financed by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency in calendar year 1991 could signal a shift by developers to concentrate more resources on building affordable housing. The agency financed construction of 462 rental housing units statewide in 1991, a 350% increase over 132 units in calendar year 1990. MARKET WAS `LARGELY UNTAPPED': The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency anticipates that multifamly loan activity will increase in 1992, following a noticeable increase in 1991. The increase in 1991 "is not surprising because the market potential for affordable housing has been largely untapped," according to the Agency's Kevin Quince. He says developers realize they can profit on affordable housing. FIRST-TIMERS DOMINATE: First-time homebuyers in 1991 comprised the highest percentage of existing-home buyers since the middle of the 1980s, according to a survey by Century 21. Almost 41% of all transactions in the study involved first-time buyers. That's the highest percentage since 1986. The strongest region for first-timer activity was the Northeast, with 55% of purchases were first-time buyers. KIT COVERS DISABILITIES ACT: The National Association of Realtors says it has prepared a compliance kit to help Realtors understand the deadlines on the new Americans With Disabilities Act. The kit aims at helping Realtors understand what they must do to ensure their state associations, local boards and business offices meet the requirements of the law. FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR ELDERLY: The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a Notice of Funding Availability for supportive housing for the elderly. Applications must be received by June 3 and must be delivered to the HUD field office for the applicant's jursidiction. For further information, applicants should contact the field offices for their jurisdictions. RESIDENTIAL LAND DEALS GOOD: There will likely be a small and short window opened for good residential entitled land deals, according to real estate analyst Sanford Goodkin. Goodkin says the hot area for such deals likely will be California, with states such as Illinois and Tennessee coming into play in the next 36 months. Goodkin says that with interest rates low, residential will be "the heat wave." SYSTEM FREES SALES ASSOCIATES: An increasing number of residential real estate brokers are scrapping the custom of floor time in exchange for client coordinator or call coordinator systems, according to Realtor News. It has full-time employees answering phones, greeting walk-ins and putting in motion a response from a sales associate. That allows sales associates to have more time out of the office. TAX CREDIT IS DEAD: The $5,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers is dead, according to reports in a recent issue of Real Estate Finance Today. Many real estate lobbyists are hoping that a stripped-down bill might go beyond extensions of mortgage revenue bonds and the low-income housing tax credit to include some form of passive-loss relief. But Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, rules out such changes. BROAD-BASED TAX BILL UNLIKELY: Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, has ruled out any passive-loss modifications in economic plans. The chairman of the Finance Committee also has said not to expect any broad-based tax bill this year. An aide to the House Committee on Ways and Means says that chairman Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., is unlikely to take the lead in fashioning a bill with real-estate tax breaks. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.96% Wednesday, unchanged from Tuesday 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 Tuesday 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% Wednesday, unchanged from Tuesday 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 Tuesday and unchanged also from the week before. A year ago they were at 7.848%. T-BONDS INCREASE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed an increase Wednesday, listing at 7.91%. That's up 0.03 from rates of 7.88% Tuesday and up 0.02 from 7.89% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.26%. 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