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Housing Affordability Slips Due To Higher Interest Rates
The purchasing power o f the
typical home buyer dropped slightly
in the first-quarter o f 1995 due to
elevated mortgage interest rates, ac­
cording to the National Association
o f Realtors’ Housing A ffordability
Index released today.
N A R ’ com posite
H ou sing
Affordability Index, which measures
affordability factors for all home
buyers, was 125.5 in the first quarter
o f 1995, compared to 126.0 posted in
the previous quarter. This year’s first-
quarter was down form 136.7 re­
corded during the same period a year
ago. When the index measures 100, a
fam ily earning the median income
has exactly the amount needed to
purchase a median-priced resale
home, using conventional financing
and a 20 percent down payment.
Since the median is the m id­
point, the composite index shows
that h a lf the families in the nation has
at least 125.5 percent o f the income
needed to qualify for the purchase o f
a home w ith a median price o f
$107,700. The typical family could
afford a home costing $ 135,300.
According to N A R ’s President
Edmund G. Woods, Jr., the decline
in affordability conditions during the
first quarter was expected. “ Rising
rates definitely robbed buyers o f some
purchasing power,” Woods said.
“ The impact is far more noticeable
among first-time buyers than those
trading up.”
N A R ’s first-time home buyer
index, which shows the ability o f
renters who are prime candidates to
quality for a mortgage on a starter
home, also fell in the first-quarter o f
1995 compared to the previous quar­
ter. The first-time buyer index was
8 1.5 in the first quarter, compared to
82.4 posted in the fourth quarter o f
1994. The first-quarter index was
down compared to 88.5 during the
same period a year ago.
When th is index equals 100,
the ty p ic a l firs t-tim e buyer can
a ffo rd the ty p ic a l starter home
under e x is tin g fin a n c ia l c o n d i­
tions w ith a 10 percent down pay­
ment. I he firs t-tim e buyer m edi­
an incom e represents the ty p ic a l
income o f a renter fa m ily w ith
wage earners between the ages o f
25 and 44.
Northwest Natural Gas Cautions To Call Before You Dig
As the weather warms, thoughts
ofgardening, remodeling, yard work,
and building projects begin to dance
in our heads. Before starting any
work that requires digging, N orth­
west Natural Gas is reminding peo­
ple to notify underground utilities. It
is necessary for safety, and it’s re­
quired by law.
Notification is easy and free o f
charge by calling a notification ser­
vice two full working days before
excavating. A ll it takes is one call
The service w ill alert participating
underground utilities to locate and
mark their lines.
'D on’t plant a tree, build a fence
or do anything else requiring digging
until you’ ve called and had all the
underground u tility lines located on
your property. It’s the law to call
before you dig,” explained George
Pulicella, manager o f Customer
Equipment Service at Northwest
Natural Gas. “ Ifa person doesn’t call
and damages underground services,
they can be held liable for all repair
costs for damaged utilities, not to
mention the hazard that exists ifa gas
pipe is ruptured oran electrical cable
is broken.
“ For instance, the polyethylene
pipe that is widely used for natural
gas distribution, while the best mate­
rial to use w hen buried in the ground,
is susceptible to damage from tools
such as shovels and post hole dig­
gers.
These damages are easily avoid­
ed by c a llin g before d ig g in g ,”
Pulicella said. “ O f course we don’ t
want people damaging our services,
but most importantly, we want to
make sure our customers are safe.”
Pulicella went on to say that
each year damage to approximately
1,500 natural gas facilities can be
attributed to excavation. Nearly h a lf
o f the damages are due to the failure
o f the excavator to notify Northwest
Natural Gas o f their intent to dig.
Most o f the remaining damages are
attributed to excavators who weren’t
careful when digging around natural
gas lines.
“ Northwest natural w ill identify
the location o f the natural gas pipe
with yellow paint.
The law requires that anyone
digging in the marked area must hand
excavate with a shovel instead o f
using a backhoe and must take due
care not to damage the pipe once it is
exposed," Pulicella warned.
PDC, Livable City Housing
Council (LCHC) Announce
LCHC Executive Director
The L iv a b le C ity H ousing
C o u n c il and P ortland D e ve lo p ­
ment C om m ission (P D C ) have
jo in tly agreed that N eyle H u n t­
er, D ire c to r o f H ousing at the
P o rtlan d D e ve lo p m e n t C o m ­
m ission w ill assume the duties
o f D ire c to r o f the L iv a b le C ity
H ousing C o u n cil (L C H C ).
Ron T im p e and C om m is-
sio n e rC h a rlie Hales, C o-C ha ir­
men o f the L iv a b le C ity H ous­
ing C o u n c il, received approval
from the H ousing C o u n c il at
th e ir m eeting today.
“ We are d e lig h te d to see
N eyle m ove o ver to the Hous­
ing C o u n c il. T h is w ill a llo w
the C o u n c il to focus on id e n ti­
fy in g the necessary strategies
to meet the L iv a b le C ity goals,”
said T im pe. “ N eyle is excep­
tio n a lly w e ll q u a lifie d fo r the
p o s itio n and w ill be able to
w ork e ffe c tiv e ly w ith the P o rt­
land D evelopm ent C om m ission
and others to meet P o rtla n d ’ s
housing needs.”
When the 16-member Livable
C ity Housing Council was estab­
lished by Mayor Katz and the City
Council last December, it was en­
visioned that a full-tim e director
would be hired. In the interim, staff­
ing has been provided by the Plan­
ning Bureau and the Portland De­
velopment Commission. PDC has
also provided administrative and
technical support to the Housing
Council and w ill continue to do so
in close cooperation with the Plan­
ning Bureau.
“ We are pleased to see the
H ousing C o u n cil appoint a f u ll­
tim e D ire c to r w ho can keep the
C o u n c il’ s w o rk m o v in g fo r ­
w a rd ,” said V e rn B. R yles,
chairm an o f the P ortland D e­
velopm ent C om m ission. “ Neyle
H u n te r’ s a ppointm ent w ill p ro ­
vide a consistency in leader­
ship and continue the strong
linkage among PDC, LC H C and
the Bureau o f P la n n in g .”
H EA LTH
New Coalition Calls For Government Remedial
Actions To Cut Cancer Rates Among Minorities
With minorities suffering the
highest cancer rates in America, many
o f the nation’s leading health and
minorities organizationsjoinedtocall
for major changes in the govern­
ment’s health and research programs
to redress this tragic imbalance.
Meeting in Washington, the new
Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC)
identified a set o f policy changes for
the Administration and Congress that
are designed to save lives through
funding, research, program control,
prevention, and survivorship initia­
tives.
"Though the ICC w ill stand up
for the many m inority groups in our
culturally diverse county, we w ill
speak with one voice in Washing­
ton," said Lovell Jones, Ph. D, found­
ing chairman o f the ICC, and profes­
Professor and director of
Experimental Gynecology and
Endocrinology at the MD
Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston, Texas, Lovell A.
Jones, Ph.D, co-chaired the
Cultural Diversity, Public Policy
and Survivorship 5th Biennial
Symposium on Minorities, the
Medically Undeserved &
Cancer.
sor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Cen­
ter.
The ICC includes groups as d i­
verse as Howard University Hospi­
tal, National Appalachian Leader-
fat First Interstate Bank.
we can help you get
1 F YOU DON’T
ship Initiative on Cancer, National
Hispanic Leadership Initiative on
Cancer, American Cancer Society,
Kellogg’s and the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation.
into a dream horde you
never dreamed you
THINK YOU’D QUALIFY
could afford. W ith our
Protecting Our Babies
Dr. Henry Foster, nominee f o r U.S. Surgeon General, join ed First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala on a visit to 9 child care centers in the
nation ’s capital to raise awareness about the importance ofchildren needing at least 11 vaccinations
before their second birthday.
FORA HOME LOAN,
programs, low down-
CONGRATULATIONS,
Hatfield Works To Restore Research Cuts
Sen. Mark O. Hatfield likened
the proposed cuts for the National
Institutes o f Health, contained in the
Senate Budget Resolution, to “ elim ­
ination by firing squad for the bio­
medical research enterprise in Amer­
ica.”
Hatfield joined w ith 180 re­
searchers, patients and advocates to
oppose the cuts.
“ We face a tragedy in the mak­
ing. While I jo in with my congres­
sional colleagues in the effort to elim ­
inate the deficit and intend to support
the budget resolution, I think we need
to be careful what we cut. We cannot
balance the budget on the back o f the
domestic discretionary programs,
particularly i f it neans indiscrim i­
nately dismantling our long-term in­
vestment programs.
“ Only through the promise o f
medical research w ill we find the
treatments and cures we need to erad­
icate disease and d is a b ility and
achieve true cost containment within
our health care system. The N IH is
the cornerstone o f improved quality
o f life in this Nation,” said Hatfield.
The proposed Senate Budget
Resolution cuts the National Insti­
tutes o f Halts by 10 percent for 1996
and freezes spending through 2002,
for a total cut to the agency o f $8
billion.
In addition, the plan exempts
key programs from cuts such as the
Centers for Disease Control and the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration. As a result,
the cuts to the remaining institutes
programs, including research into
Parkinson’s and Alzheim er’s Dis­
ease are between 16-20 percent.
Few federal programs, i f any,
have the high rate o f economic return
as the institutes.
For example the discovery o f
fluoridation in the prevention o f tooth
decay, saves the country approx i-
niately $4.5 billion each year in pre-
ventingdental cavities; psychoactive
drugs, which actively reduce hospi­
talization for mental illness, save over
$7 billion ayear and allow patients to
return to productive lives; and a $20
m illion investment in influenza B
vaccine has resulted in a savings o f
first-time-buyer
over $400 m i 11 ion a year by prevent-
ing cases o f childhood meningitis.
Hatfield, indicated his intention
to pursue an amendment to the bud­
get resolution to restore the cuts.
THAT’S THE FIRST
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or variable rate options.
we have home loans to
QUALIFICATION.
accommodate almost
everyone. So stop by and
talk to a First Interstate
representative today
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©1995 First Interstate Bancorp
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may be in order.