"Seattle Thrift to Offer Fannie Mae Loan Plan"
American Banker (11/25/98) P. 8

Fannie Mae recently chose Continental Savings Bank and four other lenders to offer its All-in-One Construction loan, which is designed for homeowners building their own homes. The loan rolls the construction costs into the mortgage, allowing customers to operate under one loan.

"Activist Group Asks Disclosure of Mortgage Rates to Regulators"
American Banker (11/25/98) P. 3; Barancik, Scott

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition says that lenders should be required to disclose to the government how much they charge in interest on home loans. This type of policy would help regulators detect predatory lending practices, and it would also help regulators tighten their enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act, according to John Taylor, president of the coalition. Currently, lenders must report demographic information of their borrowers, but not pricing data. The suggestion by the coalition was part of a report ranking the best and worst lenders in 20 major metropolitan markets in terms of lending to minorities and low-income families. In seven of these markets, mortgage loans to minorities exceeded their population figures. But in eight markets, denial rates for minorities rose but fell or remained steady for white applicants. In addition, blacks were twice as likely to apply for a subprime loan as whites.

"Industry Group, Feds Funding Initiatives Against Housing Bias"
American Banker (11/25/98) P. 8; Timmons, Healther

Last week, two programs aimed at boosting homeownership in underserved markets were introduced separately by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA). While the MBA has earmarked $1.5 million for the creation and operation of the Research Institute for Housing America, HUD has dedicated $7.5 million for the identification and elimination of bias among lenders, real estate agents, and landlords. Both programs were conceived as part of a greater effort to improve the disparity between the national homeownership rate of 72 percent for whites and 45 percent and 44 percent for blacks and Hispanics, respectively. Furthermore, recent housing coalition research has indicated that mortgage lending to white and black applicants increased at a disparate rate from 1995 to 1997. As Daniel Russell, executive vice president at Norwest, explains, underserved markets and minority borrowers "will be the primary drivers for homeownership in the next 20 years. Anyone who doesn't get the message will be out of business."

"NAR Cited by Gore, Cuomo for Successful Effort to Raise FHA Limits"
PRNewswire (11/24/98)

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently received an award from Vice President Al Gore and Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo for its leadership in this year's successful effort to raise the FHA mortgage limit. The limit was increased to a maximum of $197,620, and it is expected to help 175,000 additional families become homeowners. "Enactment of this law is a victory for everyone who has been locked out of the market by the inability to obtain private-sector financing," said Martin Edwards, NAR's first vice president nominee, who cited the association's work with buyers who aren't able to qualify for conventional financing. The new FHA law will allow a number of markets to keep up with increases in home prices, and it will also establish uniformity by allowing the county with the highest FHA limit in a metropolitan area to dictate the limit for the area.

"Power Houses"
Fortune (11/23/98) Vol. 138, No. 10; P. 124; Sellers, Patricia

Wealthy individuals may choose to spend their money in a variety of ways, including paying high prices for extravagant homes. A recent Fortune article highlighted homes owned by five successful entrepreneurs. Eli Broad, owner of Kaufman & Broad, one of the country's largest homebuilders, based his home on his love of contemporary art. The homebuilding magnate built his own house a decade ago, using it to showcase art and architecture. Ian Schrager made his fortune in a similar manner. Following his involvement in Studio 54, a glamour club of the late 1970s, Schrager became an owner of several large "boutique" hotels, including Manhattan's Royalton. His home was purchased in Southampton for $3.2 million, and last year he renovated it into a weekend home for his family. The home's focus is on a spacious kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. Wayne Huizenga, owner of three sports teams in Florida, included a large and exclusive golf course on his property, which also features a 55,000 square-foot clubhouse. Microsoft chief software architect Charles Simonyi followed the path of Bill Gates when he purchased a home on Lake Washington. The home has been expanded significantly since it was first built, and it focuses on technology and a library. Finally, Jirka Rysavy, founder and chairman of Corporate Express, the world's largest supplier of office supplies and services, took a completely different approach. Rysavy lives in a cabin in the Rocky Mountains with no plumbing. He says he prefers to keep his life simple.

"New Web Site Focuses Attention on Northern Housing"
PRNewswire (11/23/98)

The Alaska Housing Finance Corp., the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., and Yukon College have developed a new Web site (www.north-rthn.org) which will focus on housing and building issues in the north. The site will include information on building techniques for cold weather, as well as general information on home building in the north. An open forum is available on the site, as is information on local meetings and conferences. The Web site was created in order to provide information on important issues concerning Alaskan builders, including energy efficiency and career information, according to Michael Mason of Yukon College.

"Rebuilding a Block: Push City Hall, and Keep Pushing"
Philadelphia Inquirer (11/23/98) P. A8; Lowe, Herbert

Strawberry Mansion was once one of the most stable neighborhoods in Philadelphia. But as many businesses began leaving the area in the 1970s and 1980s, residents left as well. The population soon fell drastically and remaining families found it difficult to receive financing for housing and renovation. As a result, many of the homes became abandoned, and some were torn down or left vacant. The city had been considering tearing down remaining homes, but a recent petition drive led by longtime resident Shonetae Hamilton convinced city officials to develop programs to rebuild the homes. Construction on the homes could begin in the next year, and if it succeeds, it will result in a complete turnaround for an area long considered deteriorated. Some city officials say the neighborhood should have been restored years ago, but federal subsidizing was difficult. Residents of Strawberry Mansion had tried earlier to restore the area, but when they gave up, the abandoned homes became havens for crime. Many local residents credit Hamilton with helping to improve the neighborhood. Abandoned homes will now be restored rather than demolished and construction costs will be kept low to allow more low-income families to purchase the homes.

"House Notes"
Houston Chronicle (11/23/98) P. 1P; Yip, Pamela

Cash-out refinancing gives homeowners the opportunity to refinance their first mortgage and tap into the equity in their home for extra cash at the same time. Similar to home equity loans in this regard, cash-out refinancing still differs from home equity lending because the borrower will have just one loan, unlike most home equity loans that often result in two loans. Nevertheless, borrowers will still have to contend with a longer life of debt if they take a cash-out refinancing loan, or a home equity loan. Bob Barnes, executive vice president of the residential lending division of Compass Bank in Houston, says the decision to tap the equity of a house via a cash-out refinancing should be made based on the actual need to refinance. If the homeowner merely wants to access the equity, there are many less expensive ways of doing so.

"Downsizing the Dream House"
Washington Post (11/21/98) P. B5; Hales, Linda

Larger homes do not guarantee more comfortable living says architect Sarah Susanka of Minnesota, who believes that it is quality spaces that bespeak a true dream home. Susanka has taken up the challenge of showing homeowners how to truly turn their dream house into the house of their dreams. In her new book, written with Kira Obolensky, titled "The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live (Taunton Press, $30, 199 pages), Susanka shares her philosophy on downsizing dream houses. Susanka prefers homes that are about 2,500 square feet over the luxurious, 4,500 square foot homes that are being built in the suburbs today. "We've forgotten something in the translation," said Susanka. "One of the things we loved about those old houses was the intimacy." Large homes tend to be viewed from the perspective of being a collection of rooms and square footage. Smaller homes, on the other hand, are much more comfortable because owners do not think twice about getting as much use out of the space that they have for their daily activities.

"Linking Your PC to Your Toaster? It's Not So Far-Fetched"
Reuters (11/22/98) ; Martell, Duncan

The latest home networking technology was on display last week at the Comdex show in Las Vegas. Market observers say the penetration of personal computers with Internet connections in homes will determine whether home networking will take off. According to a survey in May by Market Strategies Inc., 45 percent of homes have a PC, almost 20 million homes have more than one, and 86 percent of homes with more than one PC are connected to the Internet. John Todd, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles, estimates that the home networking market will grow to $4.2 billion by 2002.

"The Case for Open Space: It's Time for Stroger to Act"
Crain's Chicago Business (11/02/98) Vol. 21, No. 44; P. 10

The Busse Woods section of the Cook County (Ill.) Forest Preserve District receives as many visitors as Yellowstone National Park, yet it could be affected by the growing demand for open land in the county. A strong real estate market is reducing the inventory of open land available. Busse Woods and other parts of Forest Preserve should be protected from land acquisitions, but Forest Preserve and Cook County Board President John Stroger have been too slow in creating a plan to hold the land as open space, according to the editors of Crain's Chicago Business. Stroger doesn't want to allow voters to decide on the land, and he says he has been lobbying the General Assembly to help finance land acquisitions. It is likely Stroger has been hesitant because he doesn't want to support a plan that would result in a tax increase. But the purchase of land in Forest Preserve would only result in a tax increase of about $10.40 a year for owners of a home worth $300,000.

"Your Home Online"
California Real Estate (10/98) Vol. 78, No. 9; P. 12

Real estate Web sites on the Internet are fast-becoming a reliable source of information for consumers who are interested in purchasing a home. According to a National Survey Systems (NSS) poll on the preferences of house shopping of 3,300 new homebuyers, 14 percent of respondents considered the Internet to be their primary source of information on the market. Compared to a year ago, the real estate market researcher found that only 4 percent of those polled responded similarly. NSS also reveals that the number of residents of California who found their homes on the Internet was three times higher this year than a year ago.