The number of Central Iowa homes sold in December dropped to 424 from 532 in December 2007, and listings also were down to 5,423 from 6,488 a year ago, according to the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors’ monthly report. The average sale price was $168,072, down from $175,449 a year ago, but up slightly from November 2008’s average sale price of $164,946. Homes were on the market an average of 97 days in December, compared with 95 days in December 2007 and 89 days in November 2008. For all of 2008, a total of 8,092 homes were sold in Greater Des Moines at an average sale price of $168,952 and were on the market an average of 96 days. This compares with 10,201 homes sold in 2007 for an average price of $170,385.

Foreclosures on Iowa properties increased 31 percent last year compared with 2007 and nearly 136 percent compared with 2006, according to RealtyTrac Inc.’s 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The state ranked 40th in the country, according to the Web-based real estate tracking company. Nationally, foreclosures increased 81 percent from 2007 and 225 percent since 2006. The 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates last year were Nevada, Florida, Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois and New Jersey, in that order. In Nevada, foreclosures increased 126 percent from 2007 and 530 percent since 2006.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Inc. has received about $1 billion plus nearly $5 million in interest from Constellation Energy Inc., which rejected a takeover bid by MidAmerican, the Associated Press reported. Baltimore-based Constellation said in a filing with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission that the payment was made Monday to MidAmerican, which offered $4.7 billion in September for the energy wholesaler. Constellation was struggling with liquidity concerns at the time, but shareholders later complained about the price, including Electricite de France SA, which eventually increased its holdings by buying half of Constellation’s lucrative nuclear energy business. That move scuttled the deal with Des Moines-based MidAmerican, which is a unit of Omaha investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The U.S. Treasury Department yesterday released the term sheet detailing how S corporation financial institutions can apply for funds under the Capital Purchase Program. The term sheet provides for issuances of debt instead of stock, unlike other term sheets for the Capital Purchase Program, because S corporations cannot issue preferred stock. Participating institutions will issue senior securities paying an annual interest rate of 13.8 percent. S corporations will have until Feb. 13 to apply with their federal banking agency using forms on the Treasury’s Troubled Assets Relief Program Web site, www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa.

General Growth Properties Inc.’s shares fell 15 cents, or 10.3 percent, to close at $1.31 yesterday after the mall operator said it asked two lenders to extend payment deadlines on its debts, the Associated Press reported. According to unnamed sources cited in The Wall Street Journal, the owner and operator of Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines has asked for an extension on payment deadlines for a $2.6 billion credit line and a $900 million mortgage on two Las Vegas malls. The company already has received an extension on the two loans, with one due Jan. 30 and the other Feb. 12.

Wholesale prices fell 1.9 percent in December and 0.9 percent for the entire year, the Labor Department said. It is the first annual decline since 2001 and represents a dramatic change from 2007, when wholesale prices soared 6.2 percent, the Associated Press reported. Excluding food and energy, core inflation rose 0.2 percent last month and was up 4.3 percent for the year, the biggest annual increase since 1988. Meanwhile, energy prices plummeted 9.3 percent last month and food costs dropped 1.5 percent.

Mercy Foundation has named Jonathan and Amanda Fletcher as chairs for its fourth annual “Helping Lives Bloom, A Garden Gala” fund-raiser to benefit House of Mercy. Jonathan Fletcher is managing director of BTC Capital Management and a grandson of John Ruan. Amanda Fletcher is active in the community, most recently serving on the Iowa Historical Foundation board of directors. The Helping Lives Bloom gala is scheduled for April 24 at the Embassy Suites on the River. Last year the event raised more than $170,000. To learn more, call 247-3248.