AGING BOOMERS REFUSE TO QUIT

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Just as they did in the '60s with Flower Power and in the '70s with Disco Fever, the now-aging baby boomers will redefine retirement in the 21st Century. They will demand more active, challenging lifestyles that transform the Golden Years into the Still-Going Years.

In a recent national survey conducted by Del Webb Corporation, baby boomers vow that just because they are aging doesn't mean they are finished. From education, to health, to work, to personal goals, boomers predict they will do in retirement what they have always done -- push the envelope.

"Based on this research and other studies we have conducted, the boomers should be renamed the 'zoomers' in retirement," said LeRoy Hanneman, president and chief operating officer of the Phoenix-based developer. "They are zooming into the new millennium and into retirement with fast and far-reaching agendas."

According to the survey, two million leading-edge boomers are likely to move into an active adult community when they retire. The Del Webb study compares boomers aged 48-52 with people more than 65 years old.

For a generation raised never to trust anyone more than 30, the boomers polled are strongly positive about their own retirement years. A majority says they are more prepared financially and emotionally than their parents. A whopping 91 percent predict they will be happy during retirement.

Breaking from 20th Century retirees, boomers say full-time leisure retirements are not for them. Asked what the main difference is between boomer lifestyles and pre-millennium retirees, half said part-time work will be the hallmark of the boomer retiree.

The new retiree image centers on the fact that many "retiring" boomers could live 30 years or more after leaving their full-time jobs. Boomers fret about paying for their lengthy new millennium retirement and say they will continue to work part time.

More than 60 percent of boomers polled say they will work at least 20 hours a week during retirement. To underscore that, they are demanding offices in their retirement homes, hardly surprising since the survey found almost 40 percent own two or more computers. Compare that to those age 65 and older already. Among that group, 67 percent don't own a single computer.

OCCUPANCY, RENTS CLIMB IN U.S. APARTMENT MARKET

Occupancy in the better-quality properties has climbed to 96.1 percent, according to the latest issue of M/PF Research, Inc.'s "U.S. Apartment Market Report." The occupancy rate is up 0.3 points during the past year and is at a peak for the 1990s.

"Demand in most markets peaks in the July-September time frame," said M/PF Research President Ron Witten, "and the moving vans really hit the road in summer 1999. Although the economy has cooled slightly, job growth still is strong enough to support very healthy housing demand.

"Furthermore, more apartment completions in many areas mean that highly desirable product is available. Rising interest rates also are helping to support apartment demand by slowing the flow of renters making home purchases."

Limited apartment vacancies are triggering accelerated rent growth. Same-store rents (measuring rents at the same properties from one time to another) climbed 4.4 percent between September 1998 and September 1999. That performance pushed annual rent growth back to the aggressive levels seen from mid-1998 through early 1999, after a brief slowdown in 1999's second quarter.

Occupancy is tightest in the Northeast -- 97.9 percent.

Dallas led the nation in multi-family housing starts during 1999's third quarter, issuing permits for some 3,600 units. Houston was another market building apartments at a rapid pace.

For more information, contact M/PF Research at 972-980-2900.

CONSTRUCTION AT $700.1 BILLION ANNUAL RATE

WASHINGTON, DC -- Construction put in place during September was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $700.1 billion, nearly the same as the revised August estimate of $696.8 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau.

During the first nine months of this year, $524.1 billion of construction was put in place, 6 percent more than the $492.4 billion for the same period last year.

PERSONAL INCOME INCREASES

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $25.9 billion, or 0.4 percent. In August, personal income increased $28.3 billion, DPI increased $36.4 billion (0.5 percent) and PCE increased $50.5 billion, or 0.8 percent.

TWO TEXAS SITES ADDED TO SUPERFUND LIST

DALLAS, Tex. -- The former Garland Creosoting property in Longview and the State Road 114 Ground Water Plume site near Levelland have been added to the federal Superfund program's National Priorities List (NPL).

The Garland Creosoting Company began manufacturing creosote-treated wood products at its 12-acre site in 1960. Hazardous substances used in the wood-treating process have contaminated soil, ground water and nearby surface water.

Shortly after the creosoting company filed for bankruptcy in early 1997, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission performed an emergency response action to remove unprotected drums of hazardous materials and to prevent the spread of toxic chemicals into nearby Iron Bridge Creek.

The site poses a threat to public health because rainwater runoff could carry contamination into the Sabine River less than two miles away.

The State Road 114 Ground Water Plume is a plume of contamination about a mile wide and extending west to east along W. State Highway 114 in the Ogallala Aquifer west of Levelland.

Toxic chemicals have been detected in 30 ground water wells, and residents have been advised that water from these wells should not be used. TNRCC and EPA officials have worked together to install and maintain filtering systems for 20 of the wells. City water wells are considered at risk for contamination.

HASTINGS OPENS FOUR NEW STORES, NOW IN 22 STATES

Hastings, a leading multimedia entertainment and Internet retailer, has new stores in Moses Lake, Wash.; Newnan, Ga.; Ames, Iowa; and Bartlesville, Ok.

Another three stores are scheduled to open by the end of fiscal year 1999. The average Hastings superstore is 21,500 square feet.

KROGER TO BUY 74 WINN-DIXIE STORES IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA

CINCINNATI, Ohio /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. announced yesterday plans to purchase 74 Winn-Dixie grocery stores in Texas and Oklahoma.

Sixty-nine of the stores are in Texas, primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The stores will become part of the Southwest Kroger Marketing Area headquartered in Houston.

Kroger also will purchase a dairy operated by Winn-Dixie in Fort Worth. A member company of Tibbett & Britten Group North America will acquire the Winn-Dixie distribution center in Fort Worth.

The purchase price was not disclosed. The agreement is subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission.

Kroger is the nation's largest retail grocery chain with 2,192 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under a dozen banners.

TREC CHAIRMAN ELECTED TO ARELLO BOARD

AUSTIN, Tex. -- Texas Real Estate Commission Chairman Jay Brummett has been elected to the board of directors for the international Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO).

"I am very pleased and honored to have been chosen to serve on the board of this fine organization," Brummett said. "ARELLO is an internationally well respected and effective organization that works to improve the administration and enforcement of real estate license requirements and regulatory laws. I appreciate the confidence my colleagues from other states have shown in me by providing an opportunity to participate in their deliberations on behalf of Texas."

The Southern Regional Conference of ARELLO is scheduled to meet in Austin June 22-24, 2000.

TREC MEETS NOV. 8

AUSTIN, Tex. -- The next meeting of the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) will be Nov. 8, 1999, in conference room 235 of TREC headquarters, 1101 Camino La Costa, Austin.

Possible agenda items include revisions to standard residential and farm and ranch property contracts plus a review of prospective rule changes concerning mandatory continuing education curricula and providers.

HOMEOWNERS CONTRIBUTING TO GALVESTON BAY POLLUTION

CLEAR LAKE, Tex. -- Lawn care may be contributing to the decay of Galveston Bay and surrounding bayous. That's because individuals may unintentionally contribute to runoff pollution.

Runoff pollution includes grease and oil from parking lots and garbage and other pollutants from homes and yards.

"Landscaped lawns require constant doses of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides," says John Jacob, water quality specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. "If those chemicals are not used completely by the lawn, they end up in the runoff and then in the bay."

Over-fertilization of bay algae results in fish kills every year. Pesticides are toxic to aquatic wildlife and can accumulate in the food chain.

"Homeowners often apply ten times the amount of pesticides as does the typical farmer," Jacob says. "This is not healthy for the homeowner nor the bayous."

The solution? Fertilize less. Mow the lawn as high as possible, and leave clippings on the ground. Water only when the grass begins to wilt. Apply weed and bug killers only when a problem is detected. Follow instructions on labels. Lastly, reduce the amount of lawn in the landscape.

For more information on designing a water-smart lawn, call 281-291-9252 and ask for the Water Smart Landscape brochure.

GRAND OPENING NEAR HOUSTON ATTRACTS 120,000

KATY, Tex. /PRNewswire/ -- Shoppertainment is here! Based on traffic counts, more than 122,000 attended the grand opening of Katy Mills mall on Oct. 28.

The 1.3 million square-foot shopping and entertainment destination is 25 miles west of downtown Houston on I-10. Shoppers were expected to spend some $5.2 million on grand opening day and $16.2 million during the four-day weekend.

With 200 retailers, including manufacturer and retail outlets, off-price retailers, category dominant stores and unique dining and entertainment venues, Katy Mills is changing the way Texans think of shopping.

Katy Mills is expected to attract 18 million visitors annually from a 100-mile radius. More than 3,000 full and part-time jobs were created by the mall. Sales the first year are expected to exceed $320 million. During the next 20 years, the project is expected to generate more than $1.7 billion in tax revenue for the City of Katy.

DATE SET FOR RURAL LAND CONFERENCE

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- The Tenth Rural Land Outlook Conference sponsored by the Real Estate Center has been set for Mar. 24, 2000, at the Bush Presidential Conference Center.

409 GIVES WAY TO 979

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. -- Beginning Feb. 1, 2000, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University will have a new area code -- 979.

The current area code (409) will be used until Feb. 1. Both 409 and 979 may be used from Feb. 1 until Aug. 4, 2000. Only 979 can be used after Aug. 4.

The new 979 area code includes the cities of Bryan and College Station and all of the main campus of Texas A&M University.