Existing-home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of REALTORS^®.

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales are on an uptrend. “December was a good finish to 2010, when sales fluctuate more than normal. The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery,” he said. “The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level. The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $168,800 in December, which is 1.0 percent below December 2009. Distressed homes rose to a 36 percent market share in December from 33 percent in November, and 32 percent in December 2009.

“The modest rise in distressed sales, which typically are discounted 10 to 15 percent relative to traditional homes, dampened the median price in December, but the flat price trend continues,” Yun explained.

Inventory Levels
Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 4.2 percent to 3.56 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.5-month supply in November.

NAR President Ron Phipps said buyers are responding to very good affordability conditions despite tight mortgage credit. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, stable home prices, and pent-up demand are drawing home buyers into the market,” Phipps said. “Recent home buyers have been successful with very low default rates, given the outstanding performance for loans originated in 2009 and 2010.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.71 percent in December from 4.30 percent in November; the rate was 4.93 percent in December 2009.

Transaction Types
A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 33 percent of homes in December, up from 32 percent in November, but are below a 43 percent share in December 2009.

Investors accounted for 20 percent of transactions in December, up from 19 percent in November and 15 percent in December 2009; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales were at 29 percent in December, compared with 31 percent in November, but up from 22 percent a year ago. “All-cash sales have been consistently high at about 30 percent of the market over the past six months,” Yun said.

Single-family home sales jumped 11.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.64 million in December from 4.15 million in November, but are 2.5 percent below the 4.76 million level in December 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $169,300 in December, down 0.2 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales surged 16.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000 in December from 550,000 in November, but remain 5.2 percent below the 675,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price was $165,000 in December, which is 7.4 percent below December 2009.

Performance by Region
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 13.0 percent to an annual pace of 870,000 in December but are 5.4 percent below December 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $237,300, which is 1.4 percent below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 11.0 percent in December to a level of 1.11 million but are 4.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $139,700, up 3.3 percent from December 2009.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 10.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.97 million in December but are 2.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the South was $148,400, unchanged from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West surged 16.7 percent to an annual level of 1.33 million in December but remain 1.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the West was $204,000, down 5.6 percent from a year ago.

— NAR
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011012001?OpenDocument

The University of Southern Indiana has become one of 10 national institutions selected to participate in the 2011 International Academic Partnerships Program from the Institute of International Education. Participation will allow USI to create new exchange opportunities with China, including training activities and a study tour this spring.

 

Evansville, Ind. -- University of Southern Indiana is one of 10 United States institutions of higher education to participate in a 2011 initiative of the International Academic Partnerships Program (IAPP) according to a news release issued by the Institute of International Education (IIE). USI and the other nine institutions were selected based on an interest in building ties with institutions in China, a dominant economic and world power. IAPP is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.

 

"The IAPP program is a perfect fit at a perfect time for USI," said Heidi Gregori-Gahan, director of International Programs and Services at USI. "A goal of the University's strategic plan is to enhance experiential learning experiences, including study abroad opportunities for all students. Student interest in studying in China has grown over the past three years at USI."

 

Mandarin Chinese was first offered in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in the College of Liberal Arts in 2009 and enrollments in the programs have grown steadily. USI also offers a major in International Studies through the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Business is developing an International Business major.

 

According to Gregori-Gahan more faculty and students are interested in developing short-term programs ranging from business to public health to education.

 

"Education majors and area teachers are planning a global engagement program in Beijing this summer and faculty in the College of Nursing and Health Professions want to develop, in addition to exchange programs, joint courses that could be delivered to USI students and to students in China via the web," Gregori-Gahan said.

 

The IAPP will assist USI in establishing international exchange opportunities with China. They plan a series of training activities, focused on implementing and sustaining partnerships with institutions in China and a study tour to China in spring 2011 to meet with potential partner campuses. USI will be forming a campus task force to work on prospective partnerships with China.

 

Other institutions selected for the China initiative are Greenville Technical College, Jacksonville State University, Lake Washington Technical College, Marymount Manhattan College, Saginaw Valley State University, Southern Methodist University, State University of New York at Fredonia, The College of New Jersey, and Utah Valley University.

 

The IIE Center for International Partnerships launched IAPP in 2009 as a two-year initiative, with the pilot group focused on building partnerships between the United States and India. Ten American institutions participated in the first year, and their experience culminated with a study tour to India that coincided with President Obama's Indian visit in November 2010. IAPP China will build on the success of the first year with India, harnessing new lessons learned from year one and continuing to leverage IIE's expertise in international higher education.

Source: University of Southern Indiana & Inside INdiana Business

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=45655

The Evansville City Council has unanimously voted to support a development agreement for a new hotel in the downtown area. Woodruff Hospitality was selected to build the $32 million Hyatt Place, which will be located adjacent to the new Evansville Arena. The hotel is expected to include 220 rooms and more than 300 parking spots.

Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel applauds City Council’s unanimous vote this evening in support of a resolution affirming the Evansville Redevelopment Commission’s decision to move forward with an agreement to develop a new
hotel in downtown Evansville adjacent to the new Evansville Arena and The Centre.

“I appreciate City Council’s leadership in pushing this vitally important project to the next level,” said Mayor Weinzapfel. “A hotel of this caliber is essential to the continued revitalization of downtown Evansville and to our community’s ability to most effectively market The Centre and the new Evansville Arena to convention, trade show and event planners, not to mention tourists of all kinds.”

As Mayor Weinzapfel announced on December 21, 2010, the City is ready to finalize an agreement with Evansville firm Woodruff Hospitality to develop a new $32 million Hyatt Place hotel with 220 guest rooms and suites, as well as banquet and meeting facilities to complement those at The Centre.

“Not only is this a positive step for our community, but it’s shaping up to be a good deal financially, especially when compared to the incentives other communities have offered for similar projects. Plus, this project will create hundreds of good paying jobs during construction over the next year and its subsequent operation," Weinzapfel said at the time.

The agreement will stipulate that the hotel site include at least 305 parking spaces for its operation. Those spaces will also be available for arena functions. The developer will be responsible for all operating and other expenses of the new hotel and parking facility, as well as for the demolition of what remains of the former Executive Inn and its parking garage. If for some reason it is less expensive or otherwise more logical for the City to undertake the
demolition of the former Executive Inn, the incentives will be adjusted accordingly.

The City is in a position to offer public incentives not to exceed $3,500,000 from downtown economic development funds pledged by Casino Aztar; up to $4,500,000 in loans supported by the downtown TIF, not general property taxes; and up to a 10-year property tax phase-in schedule as allowable by law. In comparison, Fort Wayne officials provided a parking facility and more than $1 million for infrastructure improvements, an annual subsidy of $250,000 for at least 10 years, $6 million worth of income tax credits, the construction of a skywalk, and other incentives to spur the development of a new nationally-affiliated hotel near the new baseball stadium in downtown Fort Wayne.

The local development agreement will call for the utilization of local workers and the hiring of local construction companies, engineers and architects to the fullest extent possible. The City also will request that local minority- and women-owned businesses be utilized for a total of 21% of the work.

The development agreement is based on the responses to the initial request for proposals the Evansville Redevelopment Commission (ERC) issued in September to solicit concepts for the development, design and construction of a new hotel and determine the type and amount of public incentives that would be necessary for such a development in the current economic climate.

Woodruff Hospitality was one of four respondents to the initial RFP. Responses were also received from Browning Hotel Associates LLC (Indianapolis), White Lodging Services Corporation (Merrillville) and The Kunkel Group (Evansville), which joined Woodruff in its bid
for the hotel project shortly after the responses were received.

The ERC endorsed these incentives at its meeting on January 3, 2011, and will incorporate them into its final request for proposals for the hotel development as required by State law. The ERC
will consider all responses it receives to its RFP and expects a final agreement to be concluded in March 2011.

Woodruff Hospitality was formed approximately five years ago to acquire, renovate and manage hotel properties. Martin Woodruff, also a State Farm Insurance agent, is Woodruff Hospitality’s
majority owner and principle; and Jeff Stratton is Vice President of Finance. Woodruff Hospitality has engaged Evansville-based Landmark Design & Engineering, Inc., owned by David Stallings, to work with Hyatt corporate officials to design and engineer the new hotel facility.

Source: City of Evansville & Inside INdiana Business

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=45558

Much of the U.S. economy has been slow to recover from the recession. That hasn't been true of farmland markets, which have continued to climb, a group of Purdue University agricultural economists says.

Strong crop returns, very low interest rates and a growing expectation that both might continue have had a positive influence on farmland values, said Mike Boehlje, Chris Hurt and Brent Gloy.

"Even while some residential and commercial real estate values have been falling, that has not been the case for farm real estate," Boehlje said. "Instead, we've seen some high prices for farmland in recent months, even exceeding $10,000 an acre in some extreme cases."

Boehlje, Hurt, Gloy and fellow Purdue agricultural economist Craig Dobbins examine farmland value dynamics in their paper "Farmland Values: Current and Future Prospects." The paper can be viewed online by going to http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/commercialag/progevents/landvalueswebinar.html and then clicking on the link.

The four economists and Bruce Erickson, Purdue's director of cropping systems management, will discuss farmland values during a free webinar 1-2 p.m. EST Monday (Jan. 10). To register for the online event, visit the website above.

Farmland values have risen steadily since 1987 but have shot up in recent years. Between 2000 and 2010 the average price per acre of average-quality Indiana farmland - land capable of producing an average corn yield of 155 bushels - rose from about $2,300 to just over $4,400 this past June, the economists said. Land values continued to increase even more dramatically during the last half of 2010.

"These higher prices aren't for development purposes," Boehlje said. "Many of the land sales in the Midwest are to farmers rather than outside investors, so it's farmers bidding against farmers. Not only is land demand strong but also supply is low as few families are willing to sell. Strong demand with limited supply makes farmland a hot commodity, both for its asset value and the income it can generate.

"In addition, low interest rates are making farmland attractive, and farmland is seen as a hedge against inflation. Farmland and real assets, whether they be land or commodities, are perceived by many to have more inflation hedge potential than financial assets."

Higher crop prices play a major role in farmland values as they increase returns, Hurt said. Global demand for grain is growing, brought on by higher world incomes and the increased use of crops for biofuels.

Two huge growth markets have been corn for ethanol and soybean exports to China, Hurt said. In 2005 those two markets required 16 million acres of production. By 2010 it took 41 million acres of the two crops to meet those market demands, he said.

"That's a startling 25 million-acre increase in the demand for land," Hurt said. "It represents about 10 percent of the U.S. crop base planted to major crops. That says we've had a very large increase in demand for land and is thus one of the primary contributors to surging land values on the demand side."

Crop prices also are getting an indirect boost from Federal Reserve monetary policy. Hurt said the second round of the Fed's buying of Treasury securities through so-called "quantitative easing" is conducive to weakening the U.S. dollar and creating inflation.

"The act of creating more money tends to depress the value of the dollar. That generally results in stronger commodity prices, which would then push up returns to farmland and be an added stimulant to land values," he said.

High crop returns also affect the rental rates landowners charge farmers to use their land.

"Cash rents are higher as a result of the greater returns to the land on which crops are grown, but farmland prices have been rising more rapidly than cash rents in recent years," Gloy said.

A 2010 Indiana farmland value survey conducted by Purdue indicated that average-quality Hoosier farmland was worth $4,419 per acre in mid-June. Cash rents on that land averaged $161 per acre, meaning buyers were willing to pay a price for land that was about 27 times the annual rent. By contrast, this "value-to-rent multiple" was 20 in 2000 and just 12 in 1986.

"The increased value-to-rent multiples suggest that both rising crop incomes and falling interest rates have been leading contributors to today's land values," Gloy said. "Future land values will largely be determined by the economic returns to farmland ownership, the level of interest rates and by expectations, including inflationary expectations, of both land buyers and sellers."

Source: http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/general/2011/110107BoehljeFarmland.html