From: hamachi@adobe.com (Gordon Hamachi)
Subject: Real Estate News Summary, Part 136
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 18:58:03 GMT

Real Estate News Summary, Part 136, November 1992

1073.Single-family home building is surging in many parts of the country.
     That's good news for buyers, sellers, and the overall economy.  But nobody
     seems to know about it.  U.S. home building hasn't been in recession for
     well over a year.  In some areas new permits or starts are up 40% to 60%
     over last year.  Unfortunately, California's new home market still lags.
     During the first 9 months of the year permits were down 11.1%.  In the San
     Jose area permits were down 30.5%. [San Jose Mercury News]

1074.Clinton's presidency along with a Democrat-controlled Congress may lead to
     a rise in inflation.  Leveraged investments--such as buying a house with a
     modest amount of cash and a fixed-rate loan--can provide good returns in
     an inflationary environment. [Times Tribune]

1075.Real estate values in California rose 5.1% from 1991 to 1992.  But that
     rate of growth was down from 8% last year and an average of 10% during the
     past decade. [Los Angeles Daily News]

1076.Thousands of Californians are relocating to states like Arizona and Nevada
     for better home values.  They are discovering new communities, often built
     by California-based builders, with many California amenities.  One project
     in Las Vegas offers identical homes for 30% less than in Palm Springs.
     Arizona and Nevada are competing for upscale second home buyers as well as
     middle-income retirees. [San Francisco Examiner]

1077.Americans are changing home addresses at the slowest pace since the 1982
     recession.  Only 17% moved between March 1990 and March 1991.  The
     recession and the steady rise in two-worker families may explain this.
     It's not as easy to move if there's no job for the spouse at the other
     end. [Scripps Howard News Service]

1078.Spurred by lower prices and a belief that interest rates have bottomed,
     home sales in the Bay Area rose 3.8% in October, and 5.2% from a year ago.
     The median Bay Area price fell 2.1% in October and 1% below a year ago.
     Statewide sales rose 10.9% in October, and 7.6% from a year ago, while
     prices fell 0.7% from September and 0.6% from a year ago  Sales could
     remain strong, as the Conference Board reported consumer confidence rose
     in November to the highest level in 5 months. [San Francisco Chronicle]

1079.Kennedy-Wilson will auction 32 condominiums in West Los Angeles.  Minimum
     selling prices up to 40% off original asking prices. [Los Angeles Times]

1080.October existing home sales jumped nearly 11% as anxious sellers cut their
     asking prices and rising mortgage rates spurred buyers who were sitting on
     the sidelines waiting for rates to bottom.  The median price dipped 0.7%.
     The statewide surge in sales followed a 1% rise in September and were 7.6%
     higher than in October 1991.  Sales rose in all major metropolitan areas
     except Los Angeles, which showed a 2.5% drop.  [Los Angeles Times]

1081.Existing-home sales in October surged 9.1% from the month before and 14.3%
     from a year earlier.  It was the largest one-month gain in 6 years and the
     sales level was the highest in 3 years.  One economist said that the rise
     in sales is not likely to be part of a short run-up followed by months of
     declines, as has happened frequently in the past 18 months.  The news
     agrees with other indications of improvement in the national economy.
     Since June 1991 sales have been dominated by first-time buyers.  Recently
     move-up buyers have been returning. [Investor's Business Daily]