
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 18, 1994                   TAG: 9401180043
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Medium

MORE SINGLES BUYING THEIR OWN HOMES

Single people bought nearly one-third of the homes purchased by first-time buyers in 1993, the nation's largest title insurance company said.

Smaller down payments and the lowest interest rates in 30 years enabled many people previously locked out of the housing market to buy their first homes, Chicago Title and Trust Co. said in a report released Monday.

First-time purchases by never-married singles climbed to 32.3 percent last year from 29.8 percent in 1992. It was their largest share in the 18-year history of the company's annual home-buyer survey.

The report also showed that the average home price edged up 1 percent and a trend toward adjustable-rate mortgages continued.

Chicago Title said nationwide sales of condominiums and single-family dwellings reached 5.1 million units last year, 5 percent below the record 5.3 million sold in 1978.

"What near-record home sales last year really prove is the power of declining interest rates," said John Pfister, a Chicago Title vice president and market research manager.

The economy also made lenders more willing to make home loans in 1993, said Robert Dederick, chief economist for Northern Trust Co. in Chicago.

"Because strong demand for other types of credit was lacking, there was an incentive for lenders to push out into this type of lending," he said.

Evalina Tainer, president of Prime Economic Consulting in Chicago, said she was surprised by the high number of single home-buyers. But she said people are waiting longer to marry and more unmarried people are living together, two factors that may partially account for the gain.

First-time buyers accounted for 46 percent of all home purchases, down from 47.7 percent in 1992, according to the survey.

Despite an increase in the overall average home price, to $172,700 from $170,800, the average down payment for all buyers fell to 20.2 percent of the sale price, from 21.4 percent, Chicago Title said.

Monthly payments also declined, thanks to low mortgage rates, the company said. The average for first-time buyers was $950, down from $968 in 1992. For repeat buyers, the average monthly payment was $1,076, down from $1,156 a year earlier.

Chicago Title said 22.2 percent of buyers chose adjustable-rate mortgages to finance their homes, up from 21.6 percent in 1992 and 16.3 percent in 1991. It is usually easier for first-time buyers to qualify for adjustable-rate mortgages.

by CNB