Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.real From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: real Mon, May 18 1992 Date: Mon, 18 May 92 05:21:50 EDT Message-ID: 05-18 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update May 18, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network O&Y FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY: Toronto-based Olympia & York, the world's largest real-estate developer, filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday after restructuring talks failed. The filing covers the parent firm, Olympia & York Developments, and its holdings in several Canadian and U.S. corporations. Properties in New York and other U.S. cities, owned by separate subsidiaries, are not covered. RIOTS SPUR RACE FOR SOLUTIONS: The Los Angeles riots have drawn new attention to selling public housing to tenants as a solution to urban decay. President Bush emphasized it last week as the key housing component of his program to help cities. Proponents point to Washington, D.C.,'s public housing project Kenilworth-Parkside, where drug markets disappeared and rent collections soared when tenants began managing it. (For more, see special Ownership package.) MORTGAGE RATES MAY FALL FURTHER: Since February, the national average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages has been stuck above 8.75%. Last week, the average quickly sank from 8.75% to 8.64%, its lowest level since January. Rates could possibly fall a quarter percentage point further within a few months, says Gary Schlossberg, senior economist at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. NAR RAISES SALES ESTIMATE: The National Association of Realtors Friday raised its estimate for 1992 home sales by 49,000 to about 3.5 million. The NAR also expects interest rates to fall gradually to an average 8.5% by the year's end. The average rate on 15-year mortgages fell to 8.26% last week from 8.38%, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. says. The average adjustable-mortgage rate fell to 5.97% from 6.02%. ALEXANDER'S CLOSES DOORS: Alexander's, one of New York's oldest department store chains, Friday filed for bankruptcy protection. The firm says it will reorganize as a real-estate operating company. The 64-year-old store lost $40 million the past two years and said a profit was doubtful. Alexander's 11 department stores in New York and its suburbs are on some of the most valuable real-estate in the area. FANNIE MAE EXPECTED TO GROW: Federal National Mortgage Association, the largest provider of residential mortgages, should benefit from more refinancing caused by lower interest rates, says Money manager Graham Tanaka, head of Capital Management. Tanaka foresees assets growing and rates on 30-year fixed-mortgages, now 8.64%, falling a half to a full percentage point within a year. ACCESSIBLE HOME HOTLINE: Homeowners seeking ways to make their homes more accessible to the handicapped have a new source of information. A toll-free hot line, sponsored by Century 21 and the National Easter Seal Society, offers free brochures and referrals to companies that do home modification work. The number: 1-800-875-4663. The hot line is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday. KAN. PROPERTY TAX CUT EXPECTED: Kansas Gov. Joan Finney is expected to sign a plan Wednesday that would change the source of funding for the state's 304 school districts. The measure would cut property taxes by $293 million, while raising sales and income taxes by $349 million. N.C. LEADS IN HOME SHIPMENTS: Manufactured home shipments in North Carolina were up 43.6% in March, indicating a rebound from a three-year decline. North Carolina, which leads the nation in shipments with 10.5% of the market share, has seen four consecutive monthly jumps. Florida is number two in shipments, followed by Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Nationwide, shipments were up 23.4% in March. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON OWNERSHIP: PUBLIC HOUSING NOT OFTEN SOLD: Efforts to sell public housing apartments to occupants have been slow. The city of Baltimore spent four years trying to sell 30 apartments to tenants from a list of more than 3,000 names. In Los Angeles, the public housing authority wanted to sell 75 units, but few tenants met the income level needed to qualify as a self-sustaining homeowner. Nine apartments were sold. FUTURE SUBSIDIES WILL BE NEEDED: Federal subsidies will probably continue to be necessary for many tenants, who currently lack the resources to maintain the units. Subsidies will also be necessary to maintain the buildings and pay for any necessary security, New York Mayor David Dinkins warned a Senate housing subcommittee last week. "If we want tenant ownership, we must not expect miracles," Dinkins said. CRITICS STRESS JOBS: Even supporters say the plan, promoted by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp, isn't the solution to America's public housing crisis. Critics say government resources would be put to more practical use by creating jobs and job-training programs. When people have jobs, they can buy houses, and "it won't be public housing,"says Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. PUBLIC HOUSING DEMAND IS HIGH: More than 5 million families need affordable housing, the government estimates. Los Angeles has 8,700 public housing units and over twice that amount of people on waiting lists. In New York, more than 200,000 people are on the lists for public housing. The Bush administration seeks $1 billion to finance a program called Home Ownership for People Everywhere (HOPE). (End of package.) Real Estate Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. 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