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Mortgage rates that fellto historic lows this weekare triggering more home-owner interest in refinanc-ing and more inquiriesfrom would-be buyers,Rochester-area real estatebrokers said.

The national average ona 30-year fixed-rate loanslipped below 5 percent, to4.96 percent, for the firsttime since the mortgagecompany Freddie Mac be-gan tracking rates in 1971.

Chuck Hilbert, president

of the Greater RochesterAssociation of Realtors,said he expects to see thelocal market pick up.

“We hit bottom in 2008,”he said. “Now we’ll see acontinual rise.”

There were signs of anupturn in December, ac-cording to figures the asso-ciation released Friday. Af-ter sales plunged 29 per-cent in November from ayear earlier, they re-bounded to post a slightyear-over-year gain in De-cember.

But for all of 2008, sales

of existing homes in the re-gion were down 13 percentfrom 2007, to a total of10,958.

Values remained stablefor most of 2008, with themedian selling price at$117,000. But that stabilitywas called into question inDecember, when, despitethe increase in sales vol-ume, the median priceslipped 6 percent to$110,000.

Real estate agents said itlikely was a one-monthblip, possibly reflectingthat many houses sold in

December were in lowerprice categories.

“I don’t think it’s a long-term trend,” said ArmandD’Alfonso, president andchief executive of Nothna-gle Realtors. “Housing is astable investment in Roch-ester.”

D’Alfonso contrastedRochester with many othermarkets around the coun-try that saw a big run-up inprices early in the decadeonly to crash in the pastcouple of years. Nationally,

Time to buy or refinance?Mortgage rates are at a 38-year low, which means smallermonthly principal-and-interest payments no matter howlarge the loan. Compared with 20 years ago, paymentswould be hundreds of dollars less.

Three monthly mortgage payments based on varying interest rates

SOURCE: Freddie Mac KEVIN M. SMITH graphics editor

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

$2,500 monthly payment

Current rate: 4.96%(Lowest since 1971)

20 years ago: 10.5%

$915

$268

$1,074 (at 5%)

$457

One year ago:

5.76%

$200,00

0 loan

$100,000

$50,000

$1,829

1% 5% 10% 15%

$537

MORTGAGES, PAGE 9A

Mortgage rate at record lowNews may spark more buying, refinancingMARY CHAOSTAFF WRITER

Janet Bird anticipates achallenge providing thesouvenir that many of herSchool 50 students wantfrom her upcoming trip tothe presidential inaugura-tion.

“Students have been ask-ing for pictures of me andBarack Obama,” she said.The elementary school stu-dents know that the inau-guration is a big deal, saidBird, who received one of240,000 free inaugurationtickets through the Peopleto People Ambassadorsprogram. They haven’tquite grasped the size ofthe event, which is ex-pected to draw millions ofAmericans to Washington,D.C.

While Bird may not re-turn with a personal photo,she says she’s excited about

Witnessing historyLocal students are excited to attend inauguration

Rochester Academy Charter School students received tickets to attend President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugu-ration Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Front row, from left, Shanita Upshaw, 15; Neriah Santiago, 12; AlexandrenaPalmer, 12; and back row, from left, Elif Bilgin, 14; Clarissa Doucet, 14; and Ivy Jones, 12.

SHAWN DOWD staff photographer

Student Council adviser Rabia Hos, left, and Alexandre-na Palmer will get to see Barack Obama’s inauguration.

SHAWN DOWD staff photographer

More inside■ Already at work: Presi-dent-elect makes a pitchfor economic package, 3A■ Teaching moment:Schools use inaugurationas an opportunity, 8A■ Connections column:The tough task of inaugu-ration poetry, 1B■ Local craft: Champagneglasses for the inaugu-ration were imprinted by acompany in Perinton, 5B■ Presidential menus:Cottage cheese withketchup? Food fit for apresident, 1C

ERICA BRYANTSTAFF WRITER

INAUGURAL, PAGE 8A

Area athletes expressedanger and disappointmentFriday after learning thatthe 2009 Empire StateSummer Games, whichdraw 6,000 athletes fromaround the state for anOlympic-style competi-tion, have been canceled.

The 32nd SummerGames had been scheduledfor July 22 to 26 in Dutch-ess, Orange and Ulstercounties, but were can-celed by organizers Friday,ultimately because of thestatewide budget crunch.

Last week the state an-nounced that it would be

unable to spend the $2.7million necessary to runthe games. A proposal fromthe state cut some eventsand called for athletes topay a $285 registration fee,but organizers decidedthose changes were unac-ceptable.

“The participation feeviolates the spirit of the

Organizersax N.Y.summergames■ Budget crunch cancels event;athletes express disappointment.JOHN BOCCACINOSTAFF WRITER

DEMOCRATANDCHRONICLE.COMcomment

What do you think of thedecision to cancel theEmpire State Games? Clickon this story to discuss.

GAMES, PAGE 9A

NEW YORK — Investi-gators trying to determinehow birds could havebrought down US AirwaysFlight 1549 were hamperedby the swirling, bone-chill-ing waters of the HudsonRiver on Friday as theylooked for the plane’s two

missing engines and triedto retrieve its black boxes.

The investigation raninto a series of obstaclesone day after the pilotditched the plane carrying155 people into the riverfollowing an apparent col-lision with birds thatcaused both engines to fail.All aboard survived.

Both engines broke off

the plane sometime afterthe crash and sank to thebottom of the river. Thecurrent was especiallyswift, making it impossiblefor crews to remove theplane’s flight recorders.

Investigators also had

yet to interview the pilot,Chesley B. “Sully” Sullen-berger, whose status as anational hero rose as hetook a congratulatory callfrom President George W.Bush. The pilot was ingood spirits, a pilots unionofficial said.

Crews planned to pullthe plane from the watertoday.

Kitty Higgins of the Na-tional TransportationSafety Board suggestedthat part of the investiga-tion would be to “celebratewhat worked here.”

“A lot of things wentright (Thursday), includingthe way that not only thecrew functioned, but theway the plane func-tioned.” ❑

Plane crash investigation hits some snagsMeet ‘Sully’ Moreabout the pilot, 10A

DAVID B. CARUSOand VERENA DOBNIKTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PULLING THE PLUG ON CIRCUIT CITY

The Circuit City store on Jefferson Road in Henrietta isone of three area stores and one of 567 nationally thatwill be closing its doors due to bankruptcy. Stores inVictor and Greece also will close. STORY: 5B

WILL YURMAN staff photographer

COMING SUNDAY: INAUGURATION PREVIEW

Local buzzCoverage of President-

elect Obama’s whistle-stop tour to Washington,D.C., and local prep-arations for inaugural.

8-page sectionA special eight-page

section previewing theinauguration that in-cludes Inauguration Dayevents step-by-step.

Online ExtraDEMOCRATANDCHRONICLE.COM

Check out the homepage for a link to compre-hensive multimedia inau-guration coverage.

Former Hilton funeraldirector Jason L. Gano wassentenced Friday to six to18 years in prison — twicewhat he had been offeredin a plea deal — for hisrole in illegally harvestingbody parts. ❑

STORY: 1B

Former funeralboss receivesprison sentence

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DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE ■ DemocratandChronicle.com M SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2009 9A

games and … objections to thisapproach are so strong amongour host site partners, sponsorsand volunteers that maintainingthe support necessary to suc-cessfully host the games has be-come untenable,” Steven Lant,chairman of the games and CEOof CH Energy Group, wrote toParks Commissioner Carol Ash.

Dan Keefe, a spokesman forthe state Office of Parks, Recre-ation and Historic Preservation,said there has been no decisionon the future of the games.

“We just received the letter …and we are still reviewing howto proceed,” Keefe said.

For 14 years, Mike Brown hasgone for gold in the open basket-ball portion of the games. Brownis hopeful that, once the state’seconomy recovers, the games,which allow athletes from teen-agers to senior citizens to com-pete, will return.

“This is unfortunate becausethe games were really beneficialto all of us athletes, but I reallycan’t be bitter,” said Brown, 40, aGates resident who has won fivegold medals. “There are sometough financial decisions thatneed to be made, and it’s hard tojustify spending this money onthe games, which are, for all in-tents and purposes, just for fun.Hopefully the games will returnbetter than ever.”

Instead of intensifying hertraining leading up to the games,Briana Dorsey will concentrateon winning sectional titles forSchool of the Arts’ varsity in-door and outdoor track teams.

“The competition last year (inBinghamton) was great and Iwas looking forward to compet-ing again this year,” said Briana,16, a junior who participates insprint events. “It’s not fairthey’re not having these games,but we also didn’t want to haveto pay to play.”

While the scholastic and openathletes faced the proposition ofpaying to play, those in the mas-ters division, older competitorswho have not qualified for thegames in the open division, paidtheir own way.

Henrietta’s Elaine Zack, 78,said it’s a shame that the mastersathletes, who paid for every-thing out of their pocket, nolonger have a chance to show-case their athletic skills against

the best in thestate.

“It blows mymind theywould take thisaway when get-ting exercise isso important.This isn’t thebest way to

make cuts,” said Zack, who com-peted in 20 Summer Games incycling and track and field andcarried the torch aroundPAETEC Park during the 2006Opening Ceremonies.

State agencies have had to cut10 percent from their budgets asthe state grapples with a $15.4billion deficit in the 2009-10 fis-cal year.

Rochester has hosted theSummer Games three times —1993, 1998 and 2006 — and it’sestimated the games bring an es-timated economic impact of upto $10 million to the host city.

“There’s an economic boomfor those that host the games,and they’re also a tremendousopportunity for the scholastic-aged kids,” said Kwame Donko-Hanson, 40, a Rochester resi-dent who competed in track andfield at the masters level. “Col-

lege coachescome to see thehigh schoolkids performagainst thestate’s best, andto be recog-nized on theteam is such anhonor. It’s dis-appointing that

these kids won’t have that op-portunity. I hope the economywill turn up and they can restorethe games. For the masters ath-letes, it’s a chance to relive notonly our youths, but to promotegood, healthy habits.”

There is a grass-roots cam-paign, including an online peti-tion to Gov. David Paterson andAsh, to preserve the mastersportion of the Summer Games.(The petition can be found atwww.petitiononline.com/EmpMas09/.)

The Winter Games are Feb. 20to 22 in Lake Placid, EssexCounty and the 2010 SummerGames are scheduled for July 21to 25 in Buffalo. ❑

JBOCCACI@DemocratandChronicle.com

Includes reporting by staffwriter James Johnson and Al-bany bureau staff writer JosephSpector.

GamesFROM PAGE 1A

Zack

Donko-Hanson

the median selling price of exist-ing homes fell 15.5 percent inNovember compared with No-vember 2007, according to theNational Association of Real-tors. December numbers for thenation have not yet been re-leased.

Although local real estate pro-fessionals were unperturbedabout December’s price dip,Amit Batabyal, an economicsprofessor at Rochester Instituteof Technology, said it might be asign that Rochester, too, is losingsome of its stability.

“Median home price declineshave occurred in many housingmarkets in the U.S., but up untilnow Rochester was generallyimmune from such pressures,”Batabyal said. “The decline inthe median price, combinedwith flat sales, is a sign theRochester real estate market isnot anywhere near an equilib-rium and that there’s some insta-bility in this market.”

The lower interest rates, how-ever, could spur an increase indemand, which would likelypush prices up again.

“With the lower rates, manypeople are calling about getting

prequalified to purchase a newhome and calling regarding refi-nances,” said Christine Nothna-gle, president of NothnagleHome Securities, the realtyfirm’s mortgage division.

Hilbert pointed out that wheninterest rates drop, buyers areable to get more home for thesame amount of money. For ex-ample, a monthly principal-and-interest payment of $600 isenough for a $100,000 home at a6 percent rate. At 5 percent, thesame payment could support a$112,000 home.

While the inquiries are pour-ing in at Flaherty Funding inHenrietta, the mortgage firm’spresident, Tom Flaherty, de-scribed the wave as a differenttype of refinancing boom. Forone thing, there is tremendousscrutiny of applications by

lenders, who either got burnedby defaults on subprime mort-gages or who always have beenconservative in their lendingpractices.

As a result, people who mighthave qualified for an originalmortgage with little or no in-come verification a few yearsago may not be able to qualifyfor a refinance now at 5 percent,Flaherty said. Some who are ap-plying for a refinance are oftensurprised at the gantlet theyhave to go through to get a loan,he said.

“The pendulum had swung sofar in one direction, now thependulum is swinging far in theother direction.”

The real deals to be had in thisscenario are for creditworthyborrowers who want to refi-nance or to purchase a newhome, Flaherty said. “You’re notgoing to get a better chance ongetting a good deal on the priceof a home and at a great rate,” hesaid.

The interest rate declinecomes as a welcome relief tosome real estate professionals.After a lackluster fourth quarterat ReMax Realty Group in Pitts-ford, agents have been busy inthe new year, with a lot of trafficat open houses and plenty of in-quiries about buying and selling,said president Michael Haymes.

“The banks are very anxiousto do business,” Haymes said.“It’s getting people off thefence.”

Appropriately priced housesin good condition continue tosell well in the Rochester area,said Patrick Hastings, associatebroker at ReMax Plus in Brigh-ton, who called it “a very resil-ient market.” ❑

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

MortgagesFROM PAGE 1A

A market bumpRochester-area home salesincreased in December froma year earlier.

Staff graphic

SOURCE: Greater Rochester Associationof Realtors Inc.

Listed for sale

Monthly closings

Purchase offers accepted

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

939986

828

441

833

401

D J F M A M J J A S O N D

’07 2008

DEMOCRATANDCHRONICLE.COMcomment

At any given time, about 4percent of households in theRochester region are thinkingabout buying or selling realestate, according to the SienaCollege Research Institute. Butrecently that share has fallen to1 percent. Will activity pick upagain because of historically lowinterest rates? Click on this storyto discuss.

payment.■ Increasing your payment,

but at lower interest, so you canshorten the term of your loanand pay off your mortgagesooner.

■ Consolidating your firstmortgage and maybe a homeequity loan into one payment.

■ Pulling out some of yourequity for home improvements.

Is there a rule of thumbwhen it comes to refinanc-ing? Should rates be a certainpercentage lower than yourcurrent rate?

If you are looking to justlower your interest rate andpayment, a common rule ofthumb is that the rate should beat least 1 percent below yourcurrent rate. Keep in mind that

Mortgage rates, now below 5percent in this week’s nationalsurvey by Freddie Mac, werearound 6.5 percent as recentlyas August. The downward movein the past few months hasstirred interest in home buyingbut even more so in refinancingexisting mortgages. Here aresome tips on refinancing, withanswers provided by ChristineNothnagle, president of Noth-nagle Home Securities.

How do you know it’s agood time to refinance?

Lower interest rates tend totrigger a homeowner’s desire torefinance. These are some com-mon reasons:

■ Lowering your monthly

there are costs involved in refi-nancing. If you have built someequity in your home, you maybe able to include those costsinto the refinance. You need tocarefully examine what you aresaving per month and the break-even point to recoup thoseexpenses.

Are current eligibilitystandards different from twoyears ago?

The credit and underwritingguidelines have changed, sosome homeowners may not beable to refinance at this point.Many lenders now requirehigher credit scores than twoyears ago. A few years ago,there were programs to helpself-employed borrowers wherethey did not have to use theirtax returns to qualify, and thoseprograms are no longer avail-able.

Current guidelines require

that you must have made yourmortgage payments on time forat least the past 12 months to beeligible for financing. For cur-rent homeowners who havegone through some difficultfinancial times, they may needto wait until they can show aperfect 12-month housing pay-ment history.

Another challenge may be forthe homeowner who has beenin the house for a very shortperiod of time. If they pur-chased the home six monthsago, very likely the value hasremained the same as whenthey purchased the property. Ifthe homeowner chose a mort-gage program with little downpayment, there may not beenough equity to roll in theirclosing costs. If they wish torefinance, they may need to paytheir costs from their savings. ❑

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

Refinancing offers benefits■ But reworking mortgage has costs;eligibility standards have changed.MARY CHAOSTAFF WRITER

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