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 Fri, Apr 17 1992 Date: Fri, 17 Apr 92 05:42:11 EDT Message-ID: 04-17 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update April 17-19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HOME SALE SURGE HITS LANDLORDS: The recent upturn in homes sales is a bad sign for one group of property owners: Landlords. The bad sign means good news for renters, however. Low interest rates and affordable prices mean many apartment dwellers can become homebuyers. And experts say that trend is putting pressure on landlords in many areas to limit rent increases. (For more, see special Rent package below.) RTC OFFICES GET MORE AUTHORITY: The Resolution Trust Corp. has adopted a policy giving more authority to its field and regional offices to approve residential and commercial transactions involving RTC properties. The RTC Working Group Chairman Nestor Weigand says a lack of timely response to buyer offers has pushed up property holding costs and increased the price of the S&L bailout for taxpayers. AGENCY TO BE STREAMLINED: Resolution Trust Corp. officials say the new policy to speed up responses to offers on RTC properties is part of its chief executive officer's plans to streamline the agency. Albert Casey says he aims to make the agency structured more like a private enterprise. Real estate brokers seeking information can call 800-537-7355. FINANCING SHORTAGE CITED: The lack of construction financing for homes has caused inventory shortages leading to price increases in some areas, according to National Association of Realtors President Dorcas Helfant. She says that could complicate affordability for potential first-time buyers. "The realities of the market are going to set in," Helfant says, "and it will drive prices up." HUD GRANT IS FOR AIDS PATIENTS: The Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide a grant to assist those with AIDS. HUD says a $2.9 million grant will be provided to make low-cost housing in St. Louis available for people with the disease whose illness has exhausted funds and placed them at risk of losing their homes or apartments. RTC BRINGS $2.4B IN MBS: The Resolution Trust Corporation brought $2.4 billion in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities to market in March, including two single-family offerings totaling nearly $1.5 billion as well as multifamily and commercial mortgage securitizations. An RTC statement says that the $800 million Series 1992-4 was priced March 19. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES UNCHANGED: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.84% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday and down from 8.96% the week before. They were at 9.48% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 6.15%, unchanged from Wednesday and down from 6.22% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.39%. ARM INDEXES STABLE: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.25% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday and down from 4.50% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.22%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.800%, unchanged from Wednesday 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 Thursday, listing at 7.93%. That's up 0.06 from rates of 7.87% Wednesday and up 0.07 from 7.86% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.17%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON RENT: HOMES CAN BE HAD: The recent drop in interest rates and home prices "is taking a lot of people out of the rental market" in Houston, says apartment manager Harry Reed. Rents in Houston are likely to barely edge ahead of inflation this year after jumping almost 12% last year, Reed says. And in high-priced southern California, a home can be had for the cost of a two-bedroom apartment, says one broker. MANY HAVE ROOMMATES: The recession also is putting a brake on rents. Almost 85% of all adults under age 25 are renters. But poor job prospects are keeping many of them living with parents, or doubling with friends. And because of the baby bust, fewer new households are forming. Baby boomers, meanwhile are aging. Older households are more likely to own homes. Consequences: Fewer renters in the long run. WAGES ARE LOWER: Many young workers aren't earning the high wages their parents enjoyed, says economist Robert Sheehan. That's putting a ceiling on rents. For landlords, that could mean a slower-than-expected recovery from a glut caused by overbuilding in the mid-1980s. From 1983 through 1986, developers built 2.6 million apartment units, boosting the USA's total supply by about 10% in just four years. (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