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T he P oru and O bserver • A ugust 28, 1996
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Home sales weaken from higher mortgage rates
Sales o f existing homes weak
ened f o r a second consecutive month
during July, the National Associa
tion o f Realtors said Monday, as the
impact o f higher mortgage rales
from earlier in the year began to
slow the housing market.
The real estate lobby group said
sales o f existing, or used, homes fell
0.5 percent in July to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate o f 4.14 million
following a revised 2.8 percent June
decline to 4.16 million.
Nonetheless, the drop in July sales
was not as sharp as anticipated by
Wall Street economists, who had
forecast sales o f existing homes
would drop to a rate o f 4.10 million
a year last month.
Existing-home sales peaked in
May at a record rate o f 4.28 million
a year before starting to lose momen
tum in June and July.
John Tuccillo, chief economist
for the Realtors’ association, said
some falloff in sales was normal
after the extraordinarily brisk rate of
business earlier in the year.
“Any time a new record is set in
the pace o f sales, it’s inevitable that
some slowdown will follow,” he said,
adding that the July sales rate still
was higher than that posted for any
single month in 1995.
The Federal Home Loan Mort
gage Corp., or Fannie Mae, said the
average rate for a 30-year mortgage
loan in July was 8.25 percent, down
from 8.32 percent in June.
That still represents a significant
runup in mortgage rates since Janu
ary, when they averaged 7.03 per
cent.
The group revised its estimate of
June sales to show sales declined at
a sharper 2.8 percent rate, to 4.16
million, rather than the 2.3 percent
fall to 4 .18 million that it reported a
month ago.
Regionally , the only area in which
sales o f existing homes strengthened
in July was the Midwest, where they
Allstate Insurance invests in Northwest
Allstate Insurance Co. invested
$539 million in m unicipal bonds in
Washington in 1995 and paid more
than $5 million in premium and
other taxes, according to a co m p a -
ny report released this week.
In Seattle, the company invested
more than $55 million in bonds which
include m ulti-family housing and
water and sewer projects.
The data appeared in Allstate’s
new community involvement report,
“Beyond the Promise,” which de
scribes the com pany’s community
relations activities and also lists the
economic impact the company has in
each state where it does business.
The report noted that independent
consumer marketing research indi
cates that Allstate is one of the largest
auto and property insurers of Afri
can-Americans and Hispanic-Amer-
icans.
Allstate manages a $55-billion
investment portfolio, one of the larg
est in the insurance industry, and
owns more municipal bonds than any
other insurer.
The company attempts to lever
age these funds by engaging in in
vestment policies and practices that
foster economic development in com
munities.
Across the country, Allstate has
established partnerships that focus
on the issues and concerns of urban
residents.
The company has invested $1 bil
lion in single and multi-family mu
nicipal bond investments, and nearly
$1 billion in industry-facility munic
ipals.
Allstate, which has 3 1 1 agent of
fices in the state, insured more than
430,(XX) autos and 129.(XX) dw ell
ings.
The company also paid out more
than $208 million in personal prop
erty and casualty claims last year in
the state.
"What makes Allstate unique is
that we attempt to reach out, through
our agents, employee volunteers, fi
nancial resources and progressive
policies and practices, to make life
better for all Americans,” said Jerry
D. Choate, Allstate chairman and
chief executive officer.
“It’s our responsibility and in our
best interest to go beyond the prom
ise by building partnerships to help
improve the whole community," he
added.
One example of Allstate’s com
mitment to the community is its lead
ership role in improving safety on the
nation’s highways. In I960. Allslate
began testing air bags and after 20
years of persistence, federal laws
were enacted requiring that all 1998
model year cars offer air bags.
Personal safety and security is
another priority for Allstate and its
customers. By supporting initiatives
such as the American Academy of
Pediatrics' All Kids Safe program.
Allstate works to reduce violence
and crime in the community.
In addition to Allstate's programs,
employees go beyond the promise.
More than 50 percent of employees
participate in over 10,000 communi
ty projects nationwide.
Last year the Helping Hands com
mittee received the Award for Excel
lence in Corporate Community Ser
vice from file Points of Light Foun
dation.
Downside of Urbanization
by
S onali P aul
Power plants in Alabama might
have to clean up their smokestacks
and drivers in Illinois might have to
pay more for gasoline in a few years,
to help New Yorkers breathe more
easily.
Eastern states, struggling to get
rid of smog without strangling their
economies, have drawn more than
halfthe country into a massive project
which could eventually force other
states to combat smog in the dirtiest
eastern cities.
Policymakers from Maine to Tex
as plan to decide early next year on
what steps to take to limit ozone
forming emissions.
The 37-state Ozone Transport
Assessment Group (OTAG), assem
bled over a year ago by the Environ
mental Protection Agency, could call
foremission cuts at power plants, for
oil firms to make cleaner fuel or car
companies to make cleaner cars to
stop dirty air from drifting into east
ern cities.
While no decisions have been
made yet, coal-burning utilities fear
they will be the biggest targets for
emissions curbs, although utilities
and automobiles produce about the
same amounts o f smog-forming pol
lutants.
Models show that utilities could
cut nitrogen oxide pollution from
their smokestacks for $2,500 or less
per ton, using new technology or
cleaner fuels such as natural gas,
while it would cost more than $ 15,000
per ton to reduce nitrogen oxide
emissions from automobiles.
Increases in fuel manufacturing
costs could range from a few cents a
gallon to 16.5 cents a gallon, said
Marc Meteyer, associate director of
the American Petroleum Institute.
C o al in d u stry g ro u p s see
policymakers, who will have to clear
their recommendations with state leg
islators and governors, as loath to
risk al ienating drivers and hence vot
ers, by imposing new fuel or tighter
car emission controls.
Branching out
Friends o f Trees is implementing
a tree planting program designed
specifically for private property own
ers
The program, called “Branching
Out”, allows homeowners who are
interested in planting trees on their
property to order the appropriate trees
from Friends o f Trees.
The Branching Out program is an
effort to increase the planting o f large
trees, native trees and food-bearing
trees on private property.
The planting o f trees is a proven
way to improve the environment by
enhancing air and water quality and
decreasing run-off. In addition,
homeowners can make significant
energy savings and increase proper
ty values by 6 to 12 percent by plant
ing trees on their property.
Friends ofT rees will distribute an
informational packet to interested
property owners on how to site and
select the proper trees. The trees can
then be ordered through the Branch
ing Out program. Orders must be
received by October 25th.
All proceeds will fund other
Friends ofT rees planting projects.
rose 5 percent to a seasonally adjust
ed annual rate o f 1.06 million.
In the Northeast, sales were down
1.6 percent to 630,000 a year and in
the West they fell 2.2 percent to
900,000.
Sales in the South, the nation’s
largest regional housing market, were
down 1.3 percent last month to 1.56
million a year
The supply o f existing homes
available for sale in July declined to
2.03 million, or 5.9 months’ worth,
from 2.21 million, or 6.4 months'
worth, at June’s sales pace.
The average price for a used home
fell sightly in July to $149,400 from
$150,200 in June
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