LOS ANGELES /PRNewswire/ -- A national study of babyboomers and Generation X-ers has found that both age groups agree salary isn't everything when it comes to a good compensation package.

The "New Faces of Retirement" poll, commissioned by Transamerica Asset Management Retirement Services, found that most respondents (60 percent) would take a job with a lower salary and excellent retirement benefits before they would choose a position with a higher salary but poor retirement benefits.

Although the majority of both the boomer and gen-x populations surveyed considered retirement benefits more important than salary, Gen-Xers place slightly less emphasis in this regard (64 percent versus 53 percent).

Other findings of the study:

-- 82 percent of those polled plan to retire before the age of 65 if they feel financially secure; -- 76 percent are concerned that Social Security will not be there when they retire; and -- 71 percent say that compared to their parents' generation, people in their generation will have a much harder time achieving financial security.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /PRNewswire/ -- Texas is one of 13 states the "San Francisco Chronicle" lists as having some water contaminated by MTBE, the gasoline additive.

The newspaper reports this week that California has 10,000 shallow groundwater sites, including 1,000 in the Bay Area, contaminated by MTBE. It has been found in dozens of the state's lakes and reservoirs. Contamination incidents from coast to coast were surveyed, and the newspaper listed MTBE problems in Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida.

HOUSTON, Tex. /PRNewswire/ -- EEX Corporation has agreed to sell substantially all of its oil and gas properties in Oklahoma and the Hardeman Basin of North Central Texas for about $32 million in cash. Lariat Petroleum, Inc., is buying the Oklahoma properties, and Key Production Company, Inc., is acquiring those in the Hardeman Basin. The aggregate daily production from these properties approximates 15 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas.

EEX Corporation is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company with activities in Texas, the Gulf of Mexico and Indonesia.

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. economic growth should ease in 1999 in reaction to global changes, but with low interest rates and low inflation, the nation's economy will remain steady, according to the latest economic outlook from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The housing market is solid and expected to remain healthy in 1999, said Dr. Fred Flick, NAR vice president of economic research. The gross domestic product, which rallied to 3.9 percent in the third quarter, will ease to 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter before slowing substantially in 1999. Mortgage rates should edge downward towards 6.6 percent in response to the recent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

"The trade deficit will widen in 1999 spurring further interest rate cuts that will keep mortgage rates low," said Flick. "Conditions are favorable for a healthy housing year, with low mortgage rates and strong consumer confidence."

NAR forecasts existing home sales of 4.78 million units this year and 4.47 million in 1999. The new home sales market is expected to reach a record 872,000 units in 1998 and 821,000 units next year. Housing starts should total 1.6 million units in 1998, an increase of 8 percent from 1997. However, starts are ahead of demand so a slow-down can be expected in 1999, says NAR.

Texas A&M University and the Real Estate Center will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 3 for the Christmas holidays. The next edition of RECON will be on Jan. 4, 1999.

WASHINGTON, DC -- More than 70,000 professionals from the building trades will descend on Dallas Jan. 15-18 for their industry's largest event of the year, the International Builders' Show presented by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

"We have just finished one of the best years for housing ever with the highest annual rate of new home sales on record," said Kent Colton, NAHB executive vice president and CEO. "Everyone will be formulating game plans to keep business running smoothly in 1999."

With approximately one million feet of exhibition space and more than 1,000 exhibitors, the 1999 event promises to be the largest annual convention and exposition ever held by NAHB. Conventioneers are expected to pour close to $10 million into the Dallas economy during the four-day event.

Texas Governor George W. Bush will deliver the keynote address during grand opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 15, at Reunion Arena. The theme of the opening ceremonies is "Building the American Spirit."

This is the second year for the annual NAHB exposition to be held in Dallas. NAHB has reserved some 20,000 hotel rooms for the event.

One major attraction this year is a 40,000 square foot home built by the Tommy Ford Construction Company. Another highlight will be the New American Home, an annual project of the National Council of Housing Industry and Builder Magazine.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hibernia Corporation announced yesterday that the company's plan to merge its Texas bank, Hibernia National Bank of Texas, into its Louisiana bank, Hibernia National Bank, has been approved by the Comptroller of the Currency.

The transaction is expected to be effective Jan. 1, 1999. The new bank will be called Hibernia National Bank. Hibernia would be a $14.3 billion asset organization with 257 banking locations in 34 Louisiana parishes and 13 Texas counties.

AUSTIN, Tex. -- Rules that establish procedures for resolving disputed complaints and contested enforcement cases were among 30 eliminated yesterday by the Texas Real Estate Commission. The deleted requirements were considered outdated or unnecessary.

The old requirements will be replaced with nine simplified and revised rules based on the state's overall Administrative Procedures Act.

"Whether we are reexamining current procedural regulations or responding to new business practices, such as real estate advertising on the Internet," said Chairman Jay Brummett, "TREC must fully meet its legal obligations without imposing more rules than are effectively needed."

AUSTIN, Tex. -- No new Texas laws will be needed to regulate real estate advertising on the Internet, according to the Texas Real Estate Commission. However, commissioners have received specific recommendations for amending existing rules that apply to advertising on the Internet and using other means of electronic communication.

A formal proposal is being prepared for public comment and further consideration at the Commission's next meeting on Jan. 11, 1999.

Other items to be considered at the January meeting include:

-- "after-the-fact" referral fees, -- simplification of attendance records at mandatory continuing education courses and -- whether limitations are warranted on the number of real estate license exams that can be taken repetitively in specific time periods.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Real estate will remain strong in 1999 because the underlying fundamentals of property performance in 1998 have remained solid in the face of sagging financial markets. That's the opinion of John Bralower, president of Sonnenblick-Goldman Company, a leading independent real estate investment banking firm.

"While 1999 may not be a boom year," said Bralower, "real estate, equity and debt will remain solid investments. The markets have learned from past mistakes and are in a better position to manage the downside, while taking advantage of opportunities."

Other commercial real estate trends he noted:

-- Markets are increasingly becoming global as consolidation and other trends push corporations to break out of their national borders and do business worldwide.

-- Traditional lenders, including insurers, banks and pension funds, will become bigger players in real estate as the more aggressive investment banks, which dominated the more highly leveraged deals, seek to redeploy their capital.

-- Refinancings will increase considerably as owners wait out greater returns.

-- Sales will continue strong but not as strong and not as pricey as this year.

-- Owners of hard real estate assets will have greater flexibility to withstand the fluctuations of financial markets.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Two Texas companies were among the eight selected to receive The Business Roundtable's prestigious Construction Industry Safety Excellence award.

Austin Industrial, Inc., and Protherm, Inc., are both members of the Associated Builders and Contractors. Both winning Texas firms are in Houston.

Each year, The Business Roundtable honors safety leaders in the industry as a means of encouraging construction safety nationwide. Companies are recognized for outstanding lost workday rates, total recordable incident rates and for excellent safety programs.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- According to a new First-Time Homeowner Affordability Index (FTHAI) developed by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, Texans buying their first home in the third quarter did not do quite as well as those buying a year earlier.

"The new index measures the ability of non-homeowning households to afford a modest home," says Dr. Jack Harris, research economist. "The FTHAI is measured in the same way as the THAI but uses median income of renter households and moderate sized starter home prices in the formula."

For the third quarter, the FTHAI was 1.16 compared to 1.18 for the same period in 1997.

"Renters' median income has not improved as much as that of Texas homeowners," says Harris, "although prices of smaller homes have increased at the same rate as the rest of the market."

First-time homebuyers fared best in these Texas cities:

1. Palestine (2.21) 2. Garland (2.21) 3. Abilene (1.92) 4. Wichita Falls (1.91) 5. Fort Bend County (1.89)

WASHINGTON DC -- Local property taxes and parking restrictions lead the complaint list of multifamily property owners, according to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

That finding is one of many in a just-released report, "What We Have Learned About Properties, Owners and Tenants from the 1995 Property Owners and Managers Survey."

Owners of large properties say the Americans with Disabilities Act, rent control and waste disposal requirements are all equally troublesome. Medium-sized property owners rank rent controls third. Small-property owners complain about lead-based paint requirements.

Other highlights of the report:

-- There were 2.2 million multifamily properties with fewer than five units in 1995. More than 459,000 had five to 49 units, and nearly 60,000 had 50 or more units. The study only included privately held properties.

-- Investors were primarily interested in rental income. Overall, 58 percent of multifamily properties made a profit or broke even, 27 percent had a loss, and 16 percent of owners were not sure if they made or lost money.

-- Many owners were not aware of the Section 8 rent subsidy program sponsored by HUD.

-- Renovating bathrooms, replacing kitchen facilities and upgrading heating systems were the top three capital improvements in 1990-95.

-- About half the multifamily property owners were between 45 and 64 years old. Eighty-five percent were white, 8 percent African American, and 4 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander. Six percent were owned by Hispanics.

-- One in eight properties included handicap-accessible units; 91 percent of those units were paid for by the owners, and 4 percent shared costs with tenants.

WASHINGTON DC -- Monday the Commerce Department's Census Bureau released 1998 population estimates for the insular areas of the United States -- Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and America Samoa.

The estimates for July 1, 1998, are:

Guam.......................................149,101 U.S. Virgin Islands....................118,382 Northern Mariana Islands..........66,611 American Samoa.......................62,093

McLEAN, Va. -- Freddie Mac has announced it will increase its single-family mortgage loan limit from $227,150 to $240,000, effective January 1, 1999. The 5.67 percent change is consistent with the increase in the national average home price between October 1997 and October 1998.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (INB) -- Hugh and Jesse, a father and son team in Chicago, have just signed a contract for a 12-unit building. They plan to do some rehab work and then sell it. How much will they profit?

WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Women business owners are seeking bank credit for their firms with greater frequency, obtaining credit in greater amounts and continuing to use credit for business expansion. However, women entrepreneurs continue to have less bank credit than men business owners, and women owners of color face greater difficulties in gaining access to capital.

These findings are the latest in a six-year analysis of business financing trends conducted by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners and sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Today, 34 percent of women business owners who have bank credit have $50,000 or more available for use in their businesses, compared to 20 percent in 1996. However, they still lag their male counterparts; in 1998, 58 percent of men owners have $50,000 or more in available bank credit.

THE WOODLANDS (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Residents of The Woodlands, Texas, kick off the community's year-long 25th Anniversary celebration tonight at 6 p.m. That's when "The Light in the Forest" beacon will be illuminated.

Residents and long-time community leaders will join Congressman Kevin Brady in flicking the switch that turns on the 7,000-watt beacon. The beacon rotates inside six vertical columns of light forming a crown of light, and it will shine throughout 1999.

The Woodlands is home to 50,000 residents. It was one of the country's original 13 planned communities and has been hailed as a model of successful urban planning.

DALLAS /PRNewswire/ -- Future Petroleum Corporation announced today it has purchased oil and gas properties in Texas and Louisiana for $4.467 million in cash.

As of August 1, the acquired properties had estimated net total proven reserves of 517 million barrels of oil and nearly 19 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Texas properties purchased were in Ector, Matagorda and McMullen Counties. In Louisiana, the company bought in Vermilion and Ouachita Parishes.

AUSTIN -- Residential redevelopment is happening in downtown Austin. The redevelopment of the Brown building is the first residential project downtown in more than a decade.

W. Ball Development is responsible for a new parking garage and renovation of the historic Brown building. It was originally constructed in 1938 and was the office of many of Texas' most prominent leaders, including John Connally and Lyndon Johnson.

Today, the building has been turned into upscale loft apartments. Two months before its November 1998 opening, the project had leased 50 percent of the lofts. Rents range from $875 to $1,795 per month. The units are renting at $1.10 to $1.50 per square foot, depending on the floor plan.

The building contains numerous recycled materials. Terrazzo floors were preserved, and many of the marble pieces have been incorporated into kitchen countertops and backsplashes. The lobby has been restored to its 1938 grandeur with pink, green and yellow terrazzo floors and pink marble walls. The three elevators have figures above them depicting Brown's business principles and are lit in neon.

Bill Ball of Ball Development says that it has been only recently that the market has made it possible to do residential lofts downtown. He notes that the federal tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic structures along with a tax abatement from the city helped make the project financially feasible.

More residential units are on the drawing boards of a number of downtown developers. The Sutton Company has 39 lofts at Brazos and Fifth Street. Plans are underway for the Reddy Ice building at 10th and Red River. The building will include retail and residential uses. Another project is in the design phase -- a 352-unit center between Caesar Chavez and Third Streets just west of Congress Avenue.

WASHINGTON -- A nation-wide audit to test for and evaluate housing discrimination was announced Monday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"This historic audit will help us fight housing discrimination more effectively," said HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. "By determining the extent and scope of housing discrimination in greater detail than ever before, the audit will help us give all American families the opportunity to exercise their legal right to move into any neighborhood and any home they can afford."

The audit, which will cost $7.5 million, will include 3,000 to 5,000 tests for housing discrimination in housing sales, rentals and mortgage lending.

DALLAS (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Motel 6 has announced the signing of its 100th property franchise agreement.

The 36-year-old lodging giant has been offering franchises since 1996. A $600 million system-wide renovation and a prototype "Motel of the Future" resulted in a record number of franchising inquiries. Some 1,300 applications were denied.

"We know that we are competing against major franchisors in the lodging industry," said David O'Shaughnessy, executive vice president of franchising and quality. "While we want to expand across the country, we won't sacrifice quality and consistency just to meet growth objectives."

The latest franchise will be located in Saraland, Alabama, and will be one of Motel 6's all-new "Prototype 2000" properties. These motels feature interior corridors, state-of-the-art heating and cooling, computerized front desks and back offices and electronic door locks.

With the addition of the latest property, Motel 6 will have 781 total locations in the United States.

WASHINGTON -- Existing home prices are increasing at moderate rates in most metropolitan areas, according to NAR.

NAR's third quarter metro area home price report, covering 132 metropolitan areas, shows 13 areas with double-digit annual increases in median existing home prices. Only eight areas posted price declines. The majority showed moderate rises.

"Generally, home prices are appreciating faster than the overall rate of inflation," said NAR President Sharon A. Millett, "but are not outpacing increases in buyer income. Combined with low interest rates, this is preserving a good balance between buyers and sellers in most areas of the country."

The national median existing home price was $132,700 for the third quarter -- 4.9 percent higher than the third quarter last year.

Third quarter metro median resale prices ranged from $69,700 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, to $330,700 in San Francisco. The biggest increase from last year -- 18.1 percent -- was reported by Charleston, S.C., where the median is $122,900.

"Regionally, the strongest price increases have been in the Midwest and the West," said Millett, "where we see a lot of activity in the trade-up market."

In the South, the median existing home price of $118,000 rose 5.1 percent from the third quarter of 1997. After Charleston, S.C., the strongest increase was in Beaumont, Texas, where the median price rose 13.9 percent to $76,400. Montgomery, Ala., also reported a 13.9 percent rise to $107,600.

HOUSTON (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Texaco announced yesterday a reorganization of its North American natural gas business unit, Texaco Natural Gas. The move is an effort to improve the company's competitive position, reduce operating expenses and "improve focus in growth areas."

The reorganization will result in the reduction of 100 positions and save some $20 million annually..

CARROLLTON -- John Lundquist is the new sales manager for Judge Fite Company's Plano office.

Lundquist has extensive management and residential real estate experience. As an associate of the company, he has been a consistent top producer.

He has a bachelor of science in finance from Oklahoma State University and has taken graduate courses at Loyola University.

NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ -- In a clear sign that the U.S. commercial loan market is slowing, loan volume to corporate borrowers in key industries tailed off dramatically during the third quarter, according to Loan Pricing Corporation, which tracks and analyzes loan and bond markets worldwide.

The slowdown comes partly in response to the global economic turmoil that has disrupted financial markets worldwide, including the U.S. high-yield bond market, upon which many leveraged and highly leveraged bank loans depend. As well, banks have for much of the year been resisting thinly priced loans to investment grade borrowers, citing declining returns caused by plummeting loan pricing.

"These changes have had a pronounced effect on the corporate loan market," said Jim Davis, president of LPC. "Volume is off from the last year, when a record $1.1 trillion in loans were completed in the United States alone. This year's figure certainly will be less, and loan pricing in both the investment grade and leveraged markets has soared in recent weeks."

According to LPC, several industries that lenders rely on heavily for corporate loan demand retreated noticeably from the U.S. market during the third quarter.

REITs: Loans to real estate investment trusts followed a similar pattern. While volume for the quarter reached a respectable $12.3 billion, 81 percent of that came during July, before the financial markets turmoil. Real estate had written an impressive come-back story for the past few years; it contributed -- via speculative deals -- as much as any other sector to the credit crunch that brought the lending market to a standstill in the early 1990s, but it posted a strong volume in 1997.

OIL & GAS: While loans to oil and gas companies totaled a healthy $27.12 billion during the third quarter, only three deals accounted for the bulk of the volume. The market otherwise has been lackluster, as atrophying oil prices has meant tougher going in the loan market for these borrowers.

ROUND ROCK (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dell Computer Corporation unveiled the first manufacturing center on its new 570-acre campus in northeast Austin and celebrated the most ambitious initiative in the company's history.

The new facility, dedicated to manufacturing servers, storage products and workstations, is one of five new manufacturing facilities announced or completed by Dell around the world this year. In addition to Austin, Dell has new sites in Ireland, China and Brazil.

Dell is ranked No. 2 in the United States and No. 3 in world-wide PC rankings, according to leading analysts.

OKLAHOMA CITY (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fleming announced Friday that the company is transferring all business from its Houston division to its Garland division beginning early next year.

The Houston supply center is expected to be closed in late June 1999. Fleming made the changes in response to the Houston division's largest customer -- Randall's Supermarkets -- decision to move to full self-distribution. IGA, Kmart and several independent retailers currently served by the Houston division will be supplied from the Garland food division.

Fleming is one of the nation's largest food marketing and distribution companies, serving more than 3,000 supermarkets nationwide.

BETHESDA, Maryland (BUSINESS WIRE) -- AMI Capital Inc. has closed a $5.1 million loan on an apartment complex in northwest Dallas.

AMI structured the transaction on Santa Fe Apartments, a 237-unit garden-style complex as a 10-year term loan with 30-year amortization. AMI fixed the rate on the 80 percent loan-to-value mortgage at 6.7 percent.

The property consists of one- and two-bedroom apartments in six three-story buildings on 5.55 acres. The multi-family rental property was constructed in 1982 and was 96 percent occupied at closing.

AUSTIN (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Samsung announced Monday it will invest more than $400 million in two manufacturing facilities, one in Tijuana, Mexico, and the other at Samsung Austin Semiconductor in Austin.

In Austin, Samsung will invest $200 million to expand its 64-megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip equipment.

McLEAN, Va. -- In Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.93 percent, with an average of one point, for the week ending Nov. 13, 1998. That was up from last week's average of 6.89 percent. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 7.23 percent.

The rate for one-year treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.56 percent this week, with fees and points averaging 1.0. That compares to last week's 5.48 percent and 5.53 percent one year ago.

The average for 15-year FRMs this week was 6.57 percent, with an average of one point. This also was higher than last week's 6.5 percent average. A year ago, the 15-year FRM was 6.78 percent.

SAN ANTONIO -- Mike Hollaway Custom Homes was named 1998 Distinguished Single-Family Builder of the Year at the recent Greater San Antonio Builders Association Inaugural Gala.

The award was presented to Mike Hollaway in recognition of his on-going support of the association, the building industry, his commitment to housing in San Antonio and his dedication to strengthening the local industry.

Hollaway Enterprises includes Mike Hollaway Custom Homes and Mike Hollaway Realty Management. In addition to offering custom home building and general real estate services, the company provides marketing services to other local home builders.

DALLAS -- Uptown Realtors, ranked fourth in residential real estate sales by number of transactions according to the Dallas Business Journal, plans to open a third Dallas office. The new office will be on Main Street in the heart of downtown Dallas in a storefront location near Neiman Marcus.

In making the announcement, President Mike Grossman said the office will serve as a downtown housing center and will include helpful information to prospective purchasers and tenants for all properties currently available and being developed downtown.

"We have seen tremendous growth in the inner-city market, and this is another way we will continue our mission to serve and reflect the diversity of Dallas," said Grossman. "The market in the downtown area is exploding with opportunities."

Uptown Realtors recently celebrated its fifth year in business.

HOUSTON (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Houston Exploration Company has announced it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire offshore producing properties and facilities for $85.28 million from Chevron USA. The transaction is expected to close on Nov. 30.

The acquisition includes a 100 percent working interest in three adjacent offshore lease blocks of 17,280 net acres in the Mustang Island area on the continental shelf, which currently has nine producing wells, three production platforms and average daily production of 37 mmcfe per day, net. The acquisition also provides additional exploratory, exploitation and development drilling opportunities.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Atherton Capital Incorporated has expanded its retail gas station, lube center and convenience store loan origination efforts by opening a Houston office.

Dan Weber will provide loan origination services throughout the South Central United States as Atherton's regional vice president. The region includes Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

The San Francisco Bay Area specialty commercial finance company provides loans for owners, franchisees and investors in branded retail businesses. Financing programs include debt refinancing, acquisition of existing units, real estate acquisitions, equipment purchases, store improvements and leasing. Atherton serves operators of quick service and casual dining restaurants, gas stations, lube centers and convenience stores, video stores, optical retailers and specialty retail outlets.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing single-family home sales was 4.73 million units, down 3.7 percent from the all-time high resale rate of 4.91 million units reported in July. The August pace was 10.5 percent more than the 4.28 million units recorded in August of last year.

Despite the decline in August sales, NAR President R. Layne Morrill said the rate is still more than what is considered to be the economic threshold -- a sustained rate of 3.5 million units.

"The dip in numbers reflects a cautious correction in the market as consumers stopped to catch their breath in a very healthy economy," he said. "In fact, the sharp changes in the financial markets a few weeks ago only served to underscore the stability of residential real estate as a safe, solid long-term investment choice for consumers."

Morrill noted that the true return on a home investment should be based on home appreciation and the amount leveraged. Homebuyers typically use their own money to cover only 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price of a home, yet the home appreciation they realize is based on the total value.

"Add this to the tax benefits homebuyers receive for their investments in the form of deductions allowed for mortgage interest and property taxes, and this leveraging of borrowed funds gives housing a return far in excess of the market's appreciation," said Morrill.

The national median existing-home price for August was $132,900, an increase of 4.2 percent from the same month last year.

Effective yesterday, if you are planning to dig 16 inches or deeper using mechanical equipment, in most cases you are required to call a statewide, toll-free number -- 800-545-6005 -- at least two working days in advance. Calls go to a notification center which notifies operators of virtually every type of underground line or pipe except water and sewer. These companies can send someone out to mark what is underground or perform a "line locate."

With passage of the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act last year, Texas became the last state in the continental United States to adopt a mandatory one-call system to locate underground pipelines and cables. If needed, the line locate will be performed within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) from the time it is requested. Those who don't call before digging may be subject to a fine.

According to the Coalition for Safer Excavation, a quarter million Texans a year lose their telephone service, including access to 911, as the result of excavators who cut underground lines. Third parties without line locates cause more than half the telecommunications outages and nearly half the pipeline failures in the state.

The course is for building management professionals, not computer "techies." Students will learn how to develop a Year 2000 plan to keep their buildings and facilities running smoothly throughout the transition; inventory and analyze computer-dependent systems which could be affected by the century date change; implement step-by-step strategies to avoid system crashes; and communicate progress to tenants, lenders and business partners. For more information or to register, call 210-521-8838.

Recent transactions include acquisition financing for Dallas-based Free State Storage, LP for a 525-unit self-storage facility in Canton, Texas; a $5.4 million refinance of Winn Dixie-anchored Chestler Hills Shopping Center in Dallas; and the $3 million refinance of the 212-unit Wood Meadow Apartments in Dallas.

"The commercial real estate market in the Southwest, Texas in particular, is strong enough to withstand the current disruption in the global capital markets," said Miller. "Interest rates are still extremely competitive, and there is still capital for projects across all product lines."

Miller warned, however, "we are seeing some fallout in the domestic capital markets. Some capital providers are not taking any new deals or are closing shop altogether. We're getting a lot of calls from prospective borrowers whose deals have fallen through."

Dallas-based Wilcox Development Services entered into an agreement with an affiliate of the General Motors Pension Trust to develop the high-rise office tower in the prestigious Las Colinas Urban Center. The pension trust acquired the 5.25-acre site on the northeast corner of John Carpenter Freeway and O'Connor Boulevard on Sept. 1. Groundbreaking is scheduled for mid-1999 with occupancy scheduled for late 2000.

With 22 stories, the Las Colinas Center will be the tallest building in the area. The building will have a 1,600-car parking garage and a monorail station.

The average existing-home price was $126,100 -- also 8 percent higher than last year.

Single-family building permits in major Texas markets were up 25 percent at the end of July. The average value of a single-family dwelling unit permit was 5 percent higher. Total multi-family permits were up 45 percent. The average multi-family permit (per unit) was 8 percent higher than last year.

The acquisition gives Olympus a premier 3.3-acre site with unobstructed views of the arts district and significant development possibilities. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The state's median home price is expected to rise by 4 percent during 1999 to $213,350, following an estimated 10 percent increase in the median price for 1998. Sales of existing, single-family homes in California are expected to decline 8 percent next year following a projected 10.7 percent rise this year.

A total of 615,000 existing, single-family home sales are projected for this year in California -- up 10.7 percent from 1997. Sales are expected to decline 8 percent to 565,800 in 1999.

Among the other 1999 highlights of the California forecast:

-- State-wide median condominium price of $163,820 -- up 5 percent. -- Condominium sales down 4 percent. -- A 1.8 percent expansion in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. -- Fixed mortgage interest rates averaging 6.5 percent. -- State-wide, single-family housing permits to reach 110,000 -- up 15.8 percent. -- Multi-family permits to reach 40,000 -- up 17.6 percent. -- U.S. unemployment rate averaging 5.4 percent. -- U.S. inflation rate at 2 percent. -- State-wide, non-farm jobs to exceed 13.8 million -- 1.9 percent higher. -- Total state real personal income to increase 2.7 percent.

Little impact is expected on home sales and housing construction.

Growth in the real gross domestic product (GDP) should dip to 1.8 percent for the third quarter, says Dr. Fred Flick, NAR vice president of economic research. The dip is the result of a decline in net exports. A fourth-quarter rebound of 2.4 percent will result as inventories recover from the General Motors strike.

The trade gap, however, is another story. The gap is growing, and U.S. exporters will continue to suffer given weakened world-wide economies.

"The slumping global economy will put a drag on the U.S. economy," says Flick, "and GDP growth should average only 1.4 percent in 1999 -- down from a healthy projected annual growth rate of 3.4 percent for this year."

Housing will remain robust, says the NAR forecast. Existing home sales of 4.39 million units are projected for 1999. That is second only to the expected record of 4.75 million sales this year.

Record sales are expected in the new home market this year with 881,000 units. Activity is projected to settle to a healthy 831,000 sales in 1999. Housing starts are expected to reach 1.6 million units this year -- the best year for housing construction since 1987.

Housing starts will slow to 1.52 million units in 1999 -- still extremely strong.

"With the turmoil on Wall Street, people see real property as a safe investment," says Flick. "Amid falling mortgage rates, low unemployment and relatively high consumer confidence, potential buyers are still finding it to be an excellent time to jump into the housing market."

Tabulations show most full-time workers employed in education (1.1 million) followed by hospitals (431,000) and correctional activities (428,000).

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ExamWeb, a provider of downloadable test preparation software, announced Friday the availability of its newest product designed to help candidates pass the California Real Estate Salesperson Exam.

There is a strong market for this product as some 30,000 will take the exam this year.

The software allows users to take an unlimited number of unique practice exams. The software contains detailed explanations of the answers, tutorials on each subject area and a glossary of real estate terms. ExamWeb's software also tracts the performance of the user, showing how well the student progresses through practice exams, highlighting strengths and weaknesses and graphing the results.

CHICAGO (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Myers Internet Services, Inc., an Internet presence provider to the mortgage industry, announced today the availability of T-LOAN, an Internet-based product that enables a mortgage company's Website to automatically generate a custom quote based on the needs of each customer.

According to Warren Myer, CEO of Myers Internet Services, this product gives lenders and mortgage brokers an affordable way to add the functionality found at major competitive sites.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Realtors can now help customers complete the purchase of a home more quickly with the adoption of a unique new affiliate program from iCreditReport.com, a supplier of real-time credit reports over the Internet.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) -- An Internet Multiple Listing Service is being demonstrated at this year's National Association of Realtors convention here.

Fusion MLS was developed by Sacramento's Realty Plus Online. The software works with or replaces existing MLS systems. The system offers agents Internet features, such as online mapping, customer fliers, graphical reports and third-party data integration via an intuitive browser interface.

Tools include a smart browser method of reminding agents of client appointments, tasks and new product matches both at log-in and via e-mail. A searchable address book, contact manager and calendar are included. There are financial calculators and buyer and seller pre-qualifying forms.

Marketing tools include agent, office and property flier templates with drag-and-drop instant customization. Agents can print MLS, office, open house and buyer tours in various formats.

Fusion MLS can search and display any field in the MLS system along with the standard property search and display tools. Multiple, full-color photos are available with each listing. Both agents and clients can be notified of new listings via e-mail.

Open architecture accommodates any property and allows an MLS to dynamically control system changes.

CARROLLTON, Texas -- Century 21 Real Estate Corporation has announced that Century 21 Judge Fite Company has been awarded the 1998 Founders Award by Baylor University's Institute for Family Business.

"This award is a testament to our family's dedication and knowledge of the real estate industry," said Jim Fite, president of Century 21 Judge Fite Company.

Each year Baylor University confers the Founders Award to a successful family business that has grown and adapted to present and future markets while maintaining the identity and original concept of the founders. More than 200 businesses were nominated for the award.

WASHINGTON -- Sales of existing apartment condominiums and cooperatives continued at a record-setting pace in the third quarter 1998, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The third-quarter annual sales rate for condominiums and cooperatives reached a pace of 611,000 units, breaking the record set in the second quarter of 1998. The third-quarter annual sales rate was 3.3 percent higher than the previous quarter's pace and 16.6 percent more than that of one year ago.

RICHARDSON, Texas (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Micrografx, Inc., has announced several firms to manage the next phase of development for the company's new 90,000 square-foot facility. The new facility will be located in Allen's Millennium Technology Park, a 92-acre tract north of Dallas.

The new corporate campus will be developed by Prentiss Properties.

COLLEGE STATION -- The new videotape on "How to Use Paragraph 7D(1) of the Standard Forms Contract" was the most requested Real Estate Center product during October.

"The Texas Deer Lease" was a close second. Other popular products were:

-- "Landlords' and Tenants' Guide" -- "English-Spanish Real Estate Glossary" -- "The Texas Property Tax System" -- "Texas Real Estate Resource Directory" -- "Real Estate Software Directory on Disk" -- "Real Estate Software Directory" the book version

Hits on the Center Internet site during October: 227,930

Visitors to Center's booth at the Austin Realtor Rally: 381

WASHINGTON -- A two-year U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to the city of Denton will help make environmental answers easier to obtain and understand. Denton has been selected to receive one of eight Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking grants awarded nationwide.

"EPA is committed to making timely, accurate and understandable information readily available so that families can make informed decisions about their daily lives. The Denton project to monitor and report local environmental data will help citizens and industries throughout north central Texas as we work together to protect public health and our environment," said Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke.

The $484,868 grant will allow the city of Denton to work with researchers at the University of North Texas to inform citizens in Denton, the Elm Fork watershed and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area about current, historical and near-term forecasts about environmental conditions.

Advanced monitoring equipment will collect real-time measurements of air and water quality, ultraviolet radiation and other environmental factors. Satellite imagery and other innovative methods will combine with local data to give a more complete and accurate view.

WASHINGTON -- In a move to expand its information-management services in the commercial field, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has launched CommercialSource at REALTOR.COM.

CommercialSource is a portal site for commercial real estate -- an organized list of links to other sites of interest. It has been enriched with original content, including daily news about commercial and investment real estate and monthly features on market trends written by industry experts and the NAR staff.

The site provides commercial real estate professionals with access to more than 150,000 national and international property listings. The site will continue to grow as links are added. Six channels of information can be found at the site:

-- property listings, -- financing sources, -- daily news updates, -- products and services, -- industry resources and -- publications.

COLLEGE STATION -- A survey of 351 Texas bankers shows that less than 19 percent are actively promoting home equity loans.

According to a survey by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, in cooperation with the Texas Bankers Association, almost half of those sampled were making home equity loans without any special promotion. Almost a fourth had no plans to enter the market. Of those making loans, more than 60 percent said they had originated less than $500,000 in loan volume in the six months since loans were authorized in Texas.

"Most of the hold-outs are small community banks," says Dr. Jack C. Harris, research economist who conducted the survey. "All banks with at least $500 million in deposits are making home equity loans, with two-thirds of them actively promoting the product."

Why are Texas banks hesitating after so many years of petitioning the legislature for a chance to make home equity loans?

"Clearly the problem is the extensive list of requirements for a valid home equity lien placed in the constitutional amendment," says Harris."Not only do the stipulations add to the complexity of originating home equity loans, many are written in confusing, and sometimes self-contradictory, language. This means a lender making a home equity loan may not be able to enforce the lien because of an inadvertent violation of legal procedures."

When respondents were asked about the biggest risk associated with home equity loans, three-fourths mentioned the possibility of an unenforceable lien stemming from unclear legal provisions.

HOUSTON (PRNewswire) -- A new gas field has been discovered in Hidalgo County, about ten miles east of McAllen. The announcement was made yesterday by Vastar Resources of Houston.

The discovery, named the Santa Ana field, is producing from lower Frio sands at a combined rae of 23 million cubic feet of natural gas and 1,500 barrels of condensate per day from two wells. A third well is being drilled.

Santa Ana No. 1 is drilled to a depth of 12,100 feet. Rosa Amarillo No. 1 is at 3,000 feet.

ATLANTA (PRNewswire) -- Southern Company Energy Marketing will become the total wholesale electricity supplier to Texas' Brazos Electric Power Cooperative in a five-year agreement that provides the Atlanta-based company with the ability to market excess energy.

In addition, Southern Company will manage Brazos Electric's generation and fuel supplies. Southern Company will provide as much as 600 megawatts of capacity to satisfy projected Brazos Electric load growth, including rapid growth around Dallas-Fort Worth.

DALLAS (PRNewswire) -- EnerShop, a subsidiary of Central and South West Corporation, has signed an agreement with Dallas County for a comprehensive energy systems retrofit project at 13 county locations.

The project encompasses more than 3.7 million square feet of building space. It is designed to reduce the county's energy costs and energy systems operations and maintenance costs by more than $1.7 million per year.

Under the $5.4 million agreement, EnerShop will install new chillers, energy management systems and lighting during the next 15 months. EnerShop will monitor energy use in the 13 buildings for the next eight years and provide recommendations for optimizing energy savings and efficiencies.

EL PASO (PRNewswire) -- A rate settlement agreement for El Paso Electric customers in New Mexico was announced yesterday. Rate reductions for the New Mexico customer will take effect in November. Discussions with Texas regulators on a similar rate decrease for Texas customers are underway.

The New Mexico agreement means an 8 percent rate reduction for residential customers and significant benefits for business and industry. The 8 percent reduction is about $4.60 per month in a 500 killowatt-per-month electric bill.

CONCORD, Calif., (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fluential Systems, Inc., is offering a new alternative for lenders competing with the proliferation of Internet mortgage shopping services.

According to the report, "Seasonality of Moves and Duration of Residence," released today, the 1993 median length of time people age 15 or more had lived in their home was 5.2 years.

The study found that nearly half of the residential moves occurred during the summer. June was the most popular month in which to move with 13.1 percent of moves happening that month. August was a close second at 12.6 percent.

Other report highlights:

-- About 43 million people moved in 1993. That was 16.7 percent of the population -- about the same proportion (15.3 percent) who lived in the same house for more than 20 years.

-- Renters stayed in one residence for a median of 2.1 years compared with 8.2 years for those living in owner-occupied housing.

-- Overall, women stayed at the same residence for a median of 5.6 years compared with 4.9 years for men. Women in owner-occupied housing had a median duration of 8.8 years compared with 7.6 years for men.

-- Sixty percent of all moves occurred from June through October.

WASHINGTON (PRNewswire) -- The cost of a typical new home could be reduced 10 percent or more if excessive regulations were eliminated, according to a new report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Builders in 42 markets nationwide gave detailed information about costs and regulatory requirements in their area in "The Truth About Regulatory Barriers to Housing Affordability."

"Builders were asked to provide a breakdown of the cost of constructing a 2,150-square-foot house with three or four bedrooms on a 7,500- to 10,000-square-foot lot," said NAHB President Don Martin. "They also were asked to define certain aspects of the regulatory climate in their markets. In many cases, builders noted that there has been a significant increase in both the number of permits required and the amount of time it takes to obtain the permits."

Builders cited time delays stemming from a lack of coordination between permitting agencies. Builders said these delays drive up housing prices and reduce housing affordability.

"This is why we've got to continue working to re-establish housing as a national priority," said Martin. "It's important that Congress and the public realize how red tape and bureaucratic inefficiencies translate into higher home prices and hurt families' chances of achieving the American Dream."

Some 48.5 percent of builders surveyed were required to get ten or more inspections during the home construction process. Some 35.7 percent have to wait 13 months or longer between the time an application for a subdivision is approved and a building permit is issued.

Other survey highlights:

-- 46.6 percent of builders said lot development costs increased 20-99 percent between 1987 and 1997; -- 75.7 percent have seen a "significant increase" in the number of state and federal regulations regarding land development, the construction process and business operations; -- builders pay more than $4,000 in permit, impact and processing fees for every home they build; and -- 44.4 percent of builders are required to obtain five to nine government approvals, reviews or both before beginning land development.

TULSA, Okla., (PRNewswire) -- A natural gas discovery in the Kenwood Field of Leon County in East Texas was announced this week. The discovery is the third for Williams' exploration and production unit since July.

The discovery is at the Nash No. 2 well. It has tested at a rate of 25.8 million cubic feet of gas per day at a flowing tubing pressure of 5,360 pounds per square inch. The well was drilled to 14,558 feet, is currently shut-in and is awaiting pipeline construction that is expected to be completed in early November.

"We're estimating that these three discoveries will add between 25 and 35 million cubic feet per day of net incremental production to our growing unit," said Ralph Hill, senior vice president and general manager of Williams' exploration and production unit.