Delay in Reporting

That is definitely the sound of paper shuffling at area banks, savings and loans and mortgage banking firms--the result, of course, of loan applications from potential homeowners spurred by plunging interest rates.

Financial institutions report that applications for financing and refinancing are at record highs.

So why did last week’s chart in The Times report that March home sales in San Diego County are down nearly 38%?

We went to the source--Safeco Title Insurance, which monthly calculates county home sales for our chart. The figures are for escrows that actually closed in March, not for sales that opened escrow, according to Dennis Rottler, vice president and county manager at Safeco.

“These transactions in March were sales that went into escrow in January, (when) there wasn’t a lot of activity in the real estate market,� he said.

Escrows take an average of 60 days to clear, so future charts will reflect the dramatic, record upswing in home sales, Rottler said.

Sweating It Out

Today is the final chance for members of Pro-Fitness to pump iron, boost their heart rates and vent lactic acid before the downtown health club closes shop, the victim of ambitious plans to build a $149-million office and hotel complex enveloping San Diego Symphony Hall and the building housing the health club.

But Pro-Fitness and its owner, former San Diego State University basketball coach Tim Vezie, will reemerge later this week across the street as manager of the San Diego Athletic Club, the upscale workout facility in the basement of the Imperial Bank building. SDAC’s current manager, Trammel Crow, reportedly wants out of the health club management business.

The rub is that SDAC has room for only 750 members and already has 650 members, according to a spokeswoman. That means that only 100 of Pro-Fitness’ 700 members will be able to immediately join the more expensive SDAC, if they choose.

After the SDAC fills to capacity, Vezie will “look into restructuring� the facility, perhaps expanding to 1,200 members, he said.

Vezie acknowledges that “there will be a period of transition,� during which some members will transfer to other facilities or be scared off by SDAC’s higher fees. (Initial membership is $350 for men, $300 for women, with monthly fees of $60 for men, $45 for women. Corporate, lifetime and Imperial Bank tenant memberships are slightly less expensive.)

But he nonetheless insists that this is an “all-win proposition for everybody.�

Pro-Fitness members will receive some rebate on prepaid fees, and fees can be applied to the new dues at SDAC. In addition, Pro-Fitness members will be given “top priority� for any new memberships at SDAC down the road, according to a letter written to Pro-Fitness members by Vezie on Friday.

Vezie’s own win-win potential: He hopes to take over ownership of the facility from Trammel Crow.

Better Late Than Never

Oak Industries’ long-delayed, long-awaited and much-needed capital infusion from Allied-Signal appears to be final. The $166.7-million equity investment will give Oak, the Rancho Bernardo media concern, a chance to reorganize and, most importantly, avoid an almost-certain bankruptcy.

But securing the investment was anything but smooth sailing, and Oak nearly found itself in irons in the three months since it proposed the capital infusion to shareholders.

In fact, there were so many stalls that even Oak officials lost track.

“I’ll have to count the press releases,� sighed spokeswoman Mary Lou Coburn, when asked the number of the delays in the deal.

Final count: eight postponements.

VIP Hangar

Yes, that was Air Force Two hanging out at Pacific Southwest Airlines’ hangar Monday, waiting for Vice President George Bush to finish his brief stop here.

But playing host to visiting dignitaries’ aircraft is old hat to PSA. “It’s a courtesy thing we do for all the politicians,� PSA spokesman Bill Hastings said. “The hangar is a secure place to deplane and enplane.�

Hastings said PSA’s plane-sitting activity generally picks up during campaign years, and he advises local political wags to “get ready to see (jetliners from the nation’s VIP fleet) a bit more during the coming year.�

The Plane Truth

Dr. Sidney Karin his staff need to raise $40 million over the next five years to operatetheir new San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego.

That’s a lot of money, but Karin, the center’s director, puts it all in perspective for visitors.

When F-14s jet fighters from nearby Miramar Naval Air Station roar past, Karin notes that each aircraft costs more than the $14-million Supercomputer Center.

“And they usually fly over in pairs,� he offers.

That’s a good way, he says, to impress bureaucrats.