From: hamachi@adobe.com (Gordon Hamachi)
Subject: Real Estate News Summary, Part 121
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 00:33:14 GMT

Real Estate News Summary, Part 121, August 1992

947. In light of today's real-estate market, many investment property owners
     are losing money on vacation homes because of decreased rental rates.
     Overbuilding in the mid-1980s resulted in an abundance of rentals, driving
     rental rates down as much as 15%.  Homeowners who can't make payments and
     want to bail out may be forced to take losses.  The crunch is a nationwide
     trend.  [San Jose Mercury News]

948. Sales and prices of houses in the Bay Area fell sharply in July.  Experts
     blame a consumer confidence crisis, large job losses in California and the
     growing tide of people moving out of the state.  Sales dropped for the 4th
     straight month, falling 8.2% from June and 2.2% from July 1991. The median
     price dropped to $257,100 down 2.5% from June and 6.0% from the previous
     July.  Statewide, sales were down 11% from a year ago, and prices were
     down 3.7%.  Nationwide, sales rose 6.7% from a year ago, and prices were
     down 0.8% from a year ago and 2.4% from June. [San Francisco Chronicle]

949. Existing single-family home sales rose 3.9% in July, reversing a 3-month
     slide, as more consumers took advantage of falling mortgage rates.  Sales
     were 6.8% higher than the year-earlier rate.  However, the median price
     was $102,600, down 2.4% from June and 0.8% from a year ago.  The Mortgage
     Bankers Association expects no more than a modest increase over July
     levels for the balance of the year.  Blamed are low consumer confidence, a
     smaller population of people reaching home-buying age, and faltering
     regional economies in the Northeast and California.  [Wall Street Journal]

950. Consumer confidence fell again in August.  The Conference Board's index
     slid 3.2 points to 58.0.  That followed a 11.4-point plunge in July.
     [Wall Street Journal]

951. Consumer confidence continued to erode, falling to its lowest level since
     March.  But sales of existing homes rose 3.7% in July, spurred by falling
     mortgage rates.  [San Jose Mercury News]

952. Unemployment in Santa Clara County dropped to 6.4% in July from 7.4% in
     June, according to government figures, but a more reliable government
     survey of businesses showed the county actually lost 3,000 non-
     agricultural jobs during that period.  Since July 1991 the county has lost
     10,900 non-agricultural jobs; electronics has lost 9,100 and aerospace has
     lost 2,300.  [San Jose Mercury News]

953. Rates on 30 year mortgages jumped back above 8% this week, pushed by a
     plunge in the value of the dollar.  Economists were uncertain whether
     mortgage rates would continue to rise.  [Associated Press]

954. As rates dip near 4%, lenders report a surge of activity in adjustable
     rate mortgages.  Adjustables accounted for barely 5% of national mortgage
     volume earlier this summer; however, they jumped to 20% to 25% of volume
     for many lenders in late August.  Lenders have now priced adjustables so
     aggressively that in some cases the starting rates are 4% below competing
     fixed-rate mortgages.  [San Jose Mercury News]

955. The California home price bubble is finally bursting.  The decline in
     values this year alone could be 10-15%. Even the California Association of
     Realtors is reporting a 3.5% price drop in the traditionally strong Q2 of
     this year; until recently it wasn't reporting any decline. The fall in
     California home prices could be the steepest in the last 4 decades: in
     1990-91, for the first time in its history, California lost more 30-45-
     year-olds than moved in.  In Southern California, home prices dipped 6.2%
     from 7/91 to 7/29.  In the San Francisco Bay Area prices have steadily
     decreased since 5/89.  The situation could worsen as consumer expectations
     of appreciation fade.  [San Francisco Examiner]
Newsgroups: misc.invest.real-estate