Renewed consumer confidence draws increasing numbers of middle income home
  buyers back into the market after being sidelined by corporate downsizing

    CHICAGO, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising consumer confidence, stable
interest rates and stronger home pricing drew America's middle income earners
back into the nation's housing markets after a year of watching from the
sidelines.  The number of repeat home purchasers earning between $41,000 and
$60,000 grew nearly two percentage points to 24.6 percent of all buyers,
according to the 21st annual Chicago Title and Trust Co. survey, "Who's Buying
Homes in America."
    "Since the beginning of the decade, first-time home buyers have fueled
home sales, as the country's middle income earners behaved cautiously in the
face of waves of corporate downsizing," said John Pfister, Chicago Title and
Trust Co.'s vice president of Marketing Research.  "We are now seeing
increasing numbers of middle income, move-up buyers purchasing homes.  The
actual numbers of first-time buyers continued to increase in 1996, but move-
up, or repeat, buyers accounted for a larger percentage of the overall
market."
    Pfister attributed the shift to several factors, including higher levels
of consumer confidence, stable interest rates and improved pricing in most
markets, which gave move-up buyers good prices for their current homes.
Nationally, in the 18 major urban markets surveyed by Chicago Title and Trust
Co., the median home price rose 3.7 percent to $153,200 from $147,700, while
the average home price rose 4.2 percent to $187,800 from $180,200 in 1995.
The only exceptions in the trend toward stronger pricing were in Los Angeles,
New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, where home prices remained
lackluster.

    SURVEY EXPLORES HOME BUYER RACIAL ORIGIN FOR FIRST TIME

    The 1996 survey provides some insight into home purchasers' racial origins
for the first time.  While comparative data will be unavailable until the next
survey, first-year findings indicate that among African-American home buyers,
72.7 percent purchased their first home in 1996; among Hispanic home
purchasers, 63.5 percent were purchasing their first home; and among Asian
home purchasers, 71.7 percent were purchasing their first home.  In
comparison, 44.7 percent of all home buyers in 1996 were first-time buyers.
    In the 18 markets surveyed by Chicago Title and Trust Co., African-
American home buyers represented 5.1 percent of all buyers, while Hispanic and
Asian home purchasers each accounted for 3.5 percent of all home purchases.

    NEW DATA ON NON-MARRIED MALES AND FEMALES

    The 1996 survey also provides a more in-depth look at the marital status
of American home buyers.  While the percentages of non-married males and non-
married females were the same -- approximately 14.9 percent -- 10.1 percent of
non-married males had never been married, and 7.7 percent of the females had
never been married.  Among non-married home buyers, approximately 62.4 percent
of the males and 50.9 percent of the females were first-time buyers.
    "However, the most dramatic marital status news among those surveyed was
the return to the housing market by larger numbers of married home buyers,"
said Pfister.  "Nationally, the percentage of married couples purchasing homes
in 1996 rose to 70.2 percent from 66.4 percent the previous year."

    STRONG SHIFT IN FINANCING PREFERENCES

    Seventy percent of 1996 home purchasers chose conventional fixed-rate
mortgage financing, compared with only 55.5 percent in 1995 and 63.0 percent
in 1994.  The popularity of adjustable-rate mortgages among home purchasers
fell to its lowest point in three years -- 21.2 percent.  According to
Pfister, comparatively low mortgage interest rates early and late in the year
appeared to account for the year's preference for fixed-rate financing.
    "Despite lower interest rates for much of the year, the average monthly
mortgage payment for home purchasers surveyed rose 2.4 percent last year,
primarily because buyers made smaller down payments and opted for fixed-rate
financing," said Pfister.

    THE NATIONAL PRICING SPECTRUM

    Regardless of whether the purchaser was a first-time or repeat buyer, San
Francisco continued to lead as the country's costliest housing market,
according to several measures.  San Francisco buyers reported the highest
median home price at $264,800, the highest average home price at $294,900 and
the highest average monthly mortgage payment at $1,533.  Even though Memphis,
Tenn., led the sample with the lowest median and average home prices --
$94,400 and $115,700, respectively -- Orlando, Fla., boasted the lowest
average monthly payment.  Viewed as a percentage of after-tax income, New
Yorkers had the highest average monthly payments at 37.4 percent, and home
owners in Minneapolis-St. Paul had the lowest percentage at 29.1 percent.
    Atlanta home buyers led the nation with the highest percentage of new home
purchases at 44.7 percent, while Los Angeles home buyers purchased the highest
percentage of previously owned homes at 90.3 percent.  Dallas and Detroit led
the nation in the percentage of buyers (78.5 percent) choosing conventional
fixed-rate mortgages, while San Franciscans, as usual, more frequently chose
adjustable-rate mortgages (38.2 percent) for their purchases.
    Chicago Title and Trust Co. (CT&T) is the source of real estate services,
providing title insurance, escrow and closing services, as well as appraisal,
credit and flood certification products through a network of more than 250
offices and approximately 3,700 agents nationwide.  The Chicago Title and
Trust Family of Title Insurers -- including Chicago Title Insurance Co., Ticor
Title Insurance Co. and Security Union Title Insurance Co. -- issues
approximately one in every four title insurance policies in the United States
with annual gross revenues in excess of $1.3 billion.  CT&T also is the parent
company of National Flood Information Services Inc. of Arlington, Texas;
Credit Data Reporting Services Inc. of Kingston, N.Y.; and Market Intelligence
Inc. of Hopkinton, Mass.  Chicago Title and Trust Co. is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Alleghany Corp. (NYSE: Y).

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