Legacy: The city of Gonzales will name its new event venue after longtime area car dealer Price Leblanc, following his children’s contribution of $1.5 million for the construction of the PACE Center in his honor, WBRZ-TV reports. The PACE Center will be part of the new Heritage Crossing Development at the intersection of Highways 30 and 44. Read the full story.
Lending: U.S. mortgage rates rose slightly this week but remain far below year-ago levels. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan rose to 3.49% from 3.47% last week. That is down from 4.35% a year ago. The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage also increased slightly, to 2.99% from 2.97%. Read the full story.
Home sales: The National Association of Realtors said this morning that sales of existing homes slipped 1.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million. Sales have climbed 9.6% over the past 12 months as borrowing costs have fallen. But sales could be squeezed in the coming months because of a shortage of homes listed for sale. Just 1.42 million homes were on the market at the end of January, a 10.7% decline from a year ago. Read the full story.
