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, May 6 1992 Date: Wed, 6 May 92 05:32:34 EDT Message-ID: 05-06 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update May 6, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network O&Y TO SELL SANTA FE STAKE: Troubled developer Olympia & York Tuesday unveiled plans to sell its 18% stake in Chicago-based Santa Fe Pacific for an estimated $400 million. The cash-strapped developer announced its plans for a public offering of Santa Fe shares while 11 banks met in London to decide whether to put its British subsidiary into administration under British insolvency procedures. (For more, see special Olympia package below.) AGENCY LOWERS MORTGAGE RATES: The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency has announced that it has lowered the rate on its mortgages to 7.85%. Chairman Melvin Primas Jr. made the announcement at the beginning of the New Jersey Association of Realtors' "Yes, You Can Buy a Home in New Jersey Campaign" to give potential homebuyers confidence. It's the lowest rate the agency has offered in more than 10 years. BOND REMARKETING HELPS FINANCE: The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency's new mortgage rates of 7.85% are for fixed 30-year mortgages with a minimum down payment requirement of 5%. The Agency allocated $30 million from a mortgage revenue bond remarketing to finance the mortgage. Chairman Melvin Primas Jr. says the low rate makes it easier for first-time homebuyers. MIDWEST LEADS IN INCREASES: Midwestern cities such as Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, led the USA in first quarter 1992 home market value increases, according to the latest quarterly home-value trends report from Runzheimer International. Milwaukee led all other cities analyzed nationwide with increases of 1.3% during the first quarter. Houston, Madison and Cincinnati had increases of 1.1%. SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS NAMED: The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials has announced the John Carroll Small Agency Scholarship recipients. The competition was open to housing agencies under 250 units or agencies with a total budget under $500,000. Bath, Mich., Charter Township Housing Commission; Bellevue Housing Authority, Omaha, Neb.; and Stilwell, Okla., Housing Authority were among recipients. CENTER OFFERS CATALOG: The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University has created a catalog listing available resources from the USA's largest publicly funded real estate research organization. The catalog has nearly 300 titles. Topics include appraisal, the housing market and investment. For a free copy, write Free Catalog, real Estate Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2115. LAND-USE GRANT RECEIVED: The Eastern Shoshone tribe in Fort Washakie, Wyo., has received a federal grant of $98,807 to complete its land-use plan for the Wind River Indian Reservation. Goals of the plan are to identify and preserve sacred sites and environmentally sensitive areas, placement of reservation housing and economic development. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.84% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but down from 8.85% the week before. They were at 9.47% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 6.10%, unchanged from Monday but down from 6.13% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.23%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.34% Tuesday, unchanged from Monday but up from 4.32% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.11%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.611%, unchanged from Monday but down from 5.800% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.654%. T-BONDS DECLINE: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds showed a decline Tuesday, listing at 8.00%. That's down 0.02 from rates of 8.02% Monday and down 0.04 from 8.04% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.24%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON OLYMPIA: PROPOSAL HAS BANK BACKING: The alternative to Olympia & York's British subsidiary filing for bankruptcy is a proposal backed by British banks Lloyds and Barclays for a group of 11 banks to lend $53 million to allow work to continue at O&Y's development at Canary Wharf in London's docklands. The banks were meeting Tuesday night. Creditors are getting impatient with O&Y debt. MEETING CALLED FOR THURSDAY: Olympia & York Tuesday in a separate development said it had called a meeting for Thursday with representatives of its 15 largest creditor banks to outline plans for restructuring its $12 billion debt. O&Y will present a five-year plan. The sale of its stake in Santa Fe Pacific is meant to show O&Y's banks it's willing to make some sacrifices in restructuring its debt. FINANCINGS WITHDRAWN: O&Y also said that in addition to the collapse of two Canadian commercial paper programs totaling $672 million, it has withdrawn plans for four real estate financings this year totaling $1.4 billion. The company said that as a result it would not pay interest on publicly traded bonds secured by its flagship building, First Canadian Place in Toronto. The payments were due Monday. (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