REAL ESTATE NEWS About 20 percent of households who would benefit from refinancing are not doing it — and they could be losing out on lessening their mortgage payments by thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, according to a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. In analyzing a large random sample of outstanding home loans from December 2010, researchers found that the median household could save $160 per month over the remaining life of the loan, amounting to a total savings of about $11,500. Despite the large stakes, anecdotal evidence suggests that many households may fail to refinance when they otherwise should, according to the report. Failing to refinance is puzzling due to the large financial incentives involved. The report found that borrowers may fail to refinance because they are unable to calculate the full financial benefit to them, they fail to see the benefits over time, or the high amount of upfront costs may deter them. Our results suggest the presence of information barriers regarding the potential benefits and costs of refinancing, according to the NBER report. Expanding and developing partnerships with certified housing counseling agencies to offer more targeted and in-depth workshops and counseling surrounding the refinancing decision is a potential direction for policy to alleviate these barriers for the population most in need of financial education. Source: HousingWire While it doesnt look like well get our flying cars too soon, your clients may yet park their normal old cars in driveways attached to homes and buildings of a very different sort. Popular culture blog Gizmodo identified seven new materials and techniques that could lead to everything from taller high-rises to wallpaper that could charge your smartphone. A company called uBeam is heading the latter effort. Taking its cue from current wireless charging techniques, uBeam is working on techniques that use an ultrasonic sound transmitter to fill a room with inaudible energy. A receiver inside a wireless device can pick up the sound and convert it back to energy, letting you charge your devices while theyre anywhere in the home -- even in your pocket. The transmitters can be placed around a home to provide full coverage. Also in the energy realm, researchers at Michigan State have created solar cells that should help to make the energy collectors more pleasing to the eye -- by vanishing. Everyone has seen the large black panels that sit on roofs, and you may have encountered photovoltaic panels on windows that shimmer with rainbows, but Michigan States new solar concentrators are transparent. This material can be used in windows and doors to create solar power. Building materials themselves are also being upgraded. A team at MIT, for example, has studied bamboos structural power to apply it to other materials. Even plywood could soon be stronger and cheaper and have less environmental impact, says Gizmodo writer Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan. And a company called Kite Bricks has developed bricks reminiscent of Lego blocks that snap together, but the holes can serve as conduits for the homes wiring and plumbing, allowing easy access for repairs and upgrades. Source: Gizmodo Cash sales made up 33% of total home sales in June 2014, the lowest share since September 2008, and down from 36.3% in June 2013, CoreLogic reports. The cash sales share also fell month over month from the 34.4% reported in May 2014. The share has fallen year over year each month since January 2013. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25%. The peak occurred in January 2011, when cash transactions made up 46.2% of total home sales. Real estate owned, or REO, sales had the largest cash sales share in June at 55.3%, followed by re-sales (32.5%), short sales (31.8%) and newly constructed homes (16.2%). While the percentage of REO sales that were cash transactions remained high, REO transactions made up only 7.2% of total sales in June and, therefore, did not have a large influence on the overall cash sales share. In January 2011, when the cash sales share was at its peak, REO sales made up 24% of total sales. NMP Daily
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 12:00:15 +0000
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