Expected Return of Housing and Mortgage Termination

The prepayment risk of adjustable rate mortgages, unlike that of fixed rate mortgages, greatly depends on the decision of mortgagors to move. Given that housing also serves as an investment asset for the owner, it is hypothesised that the expected capital returns of housing are likely to affect his decision to move and hence, prepay. This paper aims to test the capital gains hypothesis using Singapore’s housing market as a case study. In addition, this paper also explores how the expected returns from alternative types of housing affect the decision of households to move/prepay. The expected returns of housing are computed in accordance with the definitions of the Rational Expectation Hypothesis, Adaptive Expectation Hypothesis, and Exogenous Expectation Hypothesis, which are well established in macroeconomic literature and the explanation of cycles. The results showed that the expected returns of public housing formed under the assumptions of rational and adaptive expectation hypothesis are significant. The rational expected return for private housing, however, does not have a significant relationship with the decision of mortgagors to move/prepay, although the adapted expected return for private housing is not significantly related to the households’ length of stay.Expected Returns, Prepayment

Property Taxes Under "Classificiation:" Why Do Firms pay More?

This paper examines how communities will behave if they are given the option of taxing the property of commercial establishments (factories, shopping centers, office buildings, etc) at different rates from residential housing. In the last 2 decades many states have enacted legislation which allows communities to discriminate in this manner – called “classification”. We build a simple model wherein firms provide tax revenue without using local services and also create a valuable local job base. Towns thus confront a well defined choice: raise commercial taxes and gain revenue but risk loosing jobs. Firms in turn need to choose a community to locate in but do so with a (finite) negative elasticity with respect to the town taxes. The model yields two schedules between commercial tax rates and firm concentration in a community. A “demand” schedule has greater firm concentration leading a town to select higher commercial taxes, while a “supply” schedule has higher taxes leading to less firm concentration. The model comparative statics suggest that smaller and wealthier communities will encourage firms by keeping taxes low and rely less on their tax subsidy. Empirically we create a panel of towns in Massachusetts that covers the years prior to and after the state allowed such tax discrimination. With this data we find that towns with more pre-existing commerce chose to discriminate most, that such higher taxes gradually do discourage firm location, and that smaller and wealthier towns tend not to engage in tax discrimination

The Co-movement of housing sales and housing prices : empirics and theory

March 1, 200

Price fluctuations in housing market and homeowners' options to move

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENCE (ESTATE MANAGEMENT

Panel data analyses of urban economics and housing markets

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-100).The thesis looks three pertinent issues in Housing Market and Urban Economics literature with panel data- home sales and house price relationship, efficiency of housing market and commercial property taxation. For the first part, I examine the strong positive correlation that exists between the volume of housing sales and housing prices. I develop a simple model of these flows which suggests they generate a negative price-to-sales relationship. This runs contrary to a different literature on liquidity constraints and loss aversion. Our results from both are strong and robust. Higher sales "Granger cause" higher prices, but higher prices "Granger cause" both lower sales and a growing inventory of units-for-sale. These relationships together provide a more complete picture of the housing market - suggesting the strong positive correlation in the data results from frequent shifts in the negative price-to-sales schedule. For the second part, I tested the hypothesis whether the housing market is efficient and whether "bargains" can be found in the market or not. According to the User cost model, house price appreciation is positively correlated to price. Nevertheless, such correlation between price and appreciation can be caused by productivity differences, behavioral reasons or high transaction costs. Using 4 unique sets of panel data at zip code level, I am able to test the efficiency hypothesis without worrying about productivity reasons and transaction costs. In addition, I tested the efficiency hypothesis by removing influences caused by changes in buyers' preferences over time. The results show that appreciation and house price is positively correlated in San Diego, Boston and Phoenix.(cont.) However, appreciation and house price is negatively correlated in Chicago. For the last part, I examine an unusual phenomenon in Massachusetts, where some municipals impose a high property tax on commercial properties and low tax on residential properties. Unlike past studies, we treat the tax on firms as an entrance fee or compensation for the negative externalities the firms generate. This approach fits our context better because we are dealing with municipals- most of the individuals don't work where they live, and the firms are unlikely to provide them employment or other benefits. I develop a simple model to capture the firms' location decision and residents' demand for services and aversion to firms. The model suggests that rich neighborhoods tend to impose high commercial and residential property tax, as they try to reduce their reliance on firms for services. In addition, the municipals will impose a high commercial property tax rate if the number of firms in municipal is large. I assembled a panel data base covering 351 municipals over a period from 1975-2007. The empirical results strongly support the model, suggesting rich municipals rely less on firms.by Nai Jia Lee.Ph.D

Dynamics of Oxygen-Independent Photocleavage of Blebbistatin as a One-Photon Blue or Two-Photon Near-Infrared Light-Gated Hydroxyl Radical Photocage

Development of versatile, chemically tunable photocages for photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) represents an excellent opportunity to address the technical drawbacks of conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT) whose oxygen-dependent nature renders it inadequate in certain therapy contexts such as hypoxic tumors. As an alternative to PDT, oxygen free mechanisms to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by visible light cleavable photocages are in demand. Here, we report the detailed mechanisms by which the small molecule blebbistatin acts as a one-photon blue light-gated or two-photon near-infrared light-gated photocage to directly release a hydroxyl radical (•OH) in the absence of oxygen. By using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and chemoselective ROS fluorescent probes, we analyze the dynamics and fate of blebbistatin during photolysis under blue light. Water-dependent photochemistry reveals a critical process of water-assisted protonation and excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) that drives the formation of short-lived intermediates, which surprisingly culminates in the release of •OH but not superoxide or singlet oxygen from blebbistatin. CASPT2//CASSCF calculations confirm that hydrogen bonding between water and blebbistatin underpins this process. We further determine that blue light enables blebbistatin to induce mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, an attribute conducive to PACT development. Our work demonstrates blebbistatin as a controllable photocage for •OH generation and provides insight into the potential development of novel PACT agents

Comparative efficacy and safety of the fixed versus unfixed combination of latanoprost and timolol in Chinese patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A noninferiority trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a single evening dose of fixed-combination latanoprost 50 μg/mL and timolol 0.5 mg/mL (Xalacom^®; LTFC), in Chinese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or ocular hypertension (OH) who were insufficiently controlled on β-blocker monotherapy or β-blocker-based dual therapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This 8-week, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, noninferiority study compared once-daily evening dosing of LTFC with the unfixed combination of latanoprost, one drop in the evening, and timolol, one drop in the morning (LTuFC). The primary efficacy endpoint was the mean change from baseline to week 8 in diurnal intraocular pressure (IOP; mean of 8 AM, 10 AM, 2 PM, 4 PM IOPs). LTFC was considered noninferior to LTuFC if the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the difference was < 1.5 mmHg (analysis of covariance).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Baseline characteristics were similar for LTFC (N = 125; POAG, 70%; mean IOP, 25.8 mmHg) and LTuFC (N = 125; POAG, 69%; mean IOP, 26.0 mmHg). Mean diurnal IOP changes from baseline to week 8 were -8.6 mmHg with LTFC and -8.9 mmHg with LTuFC (between-treatment difference: 0.3 mmHg; 95%-CI, -0.3 to 1.0). Both treatments were well tolerated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A single evening dose of LTFC was at least as effective as the unfixed combination of latanoprost in the PM and timolol in the AM in reducing IOP in Chinese subjects with POAG or OH whose IOP was insufficiently reduced with β-blocker monotherapy or β-blocker-based dual therapy. LTFC is an effective and well tolerated once-daily treatment for POAG and OH.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Clinicaltrials.gov registration: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00219596">NCT00219596</a></p

PREPAYMENT RISK FOR HDB MORTGAGES IN SINGAPORE

Bachelor'sBACHELOR OF SCIENCE (REAL ESTATE

Do housing sales drive prices or the converse?

January 28, 200