Where Energy Bills are Highest

Where Energy Bills are Highest. Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In some states, homeowners are paying nearly twice as much as the national average for electricity. That’s according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the government agency responsible for the collection and dissemination of energy information, which released its most recent “Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price” report last month.

The report found that the average monthly electric bill nationwide was $107.28 last year, up from $78.24 a decade ago. The highest energy bills across the country were in these five states:

1. Hawaii, where the average monthly electric bill is $203.15
2. Alabama: $135.26
3. South Carolina: $131.64
4. Maryland: $129.00
5. Texas: $128.27

Conversely, the places where homeowners paid the least to burn the midnight oil were the following states:

1. New Mexico: $74.62
2. Maine: $77.77
3. Utah: $78.70
4. Colorado: $80.94
5. Montana: $84.88

Besides Hawaii, which had the second lowest consumption levels after Maine, high energy bills don’t seem to correlate with higher rates of energy conservation. The three regions that cover the south and southwest from Texas east to Florida and up to the mid-Atlantic region were the highest users of energy, while many of the states within these regions also paid the highest energy bills each month.

Sources: “Shocking: Average Residential Electricity Bills in the U.S.,” Builder Online (Dec. 4, 2013) and Average Monthly Electric Bill by State, National Association of Home Builders (Dec. 2, 2013).

Mortgage Rates Dip Slightly This Week

Mortgage Rates Dip Slightly This Week. Image courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Fixed-rate mortgages changed little this week, but remain near its highs in recent months.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Dec. 12:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.42 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 4.46 average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.32 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.43 percent, with an average 0.7 point, falling from last week’s 3.47 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.66 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.94 percent, with an average 0.4 point, also dropping from last week’s 2.99 percent average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.70 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.51 percent, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 2.59 percent average. A year ago at this time, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.53 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

U.S. Sees Record Low Natural-Disaster Activity in 2013

U.S. Sees Record Low Natural-Disaster Activity in 2013. Image courtesy of SGualberto107 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This year saw a record low number of natural-disaster events in the U.S., despite a few highly publicized storms — such as the twisters that ravaged Central Illinois — according to CoreLogic’s annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis. The report covers hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and sinkholes over the past year.

“Many predicted that 2013 would be a record year of catastrophic destruction, but the number of natural disasters that typically cause widespread destruction — mainly hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes — were far less than anticipated in comparison to last year’s record-setting hazard seasons,” says Thomas Jeffery, senior principal scientist for CoreLogic. “Interestingly, one natural hazard that tends to receive very little attention took center stage in 2013, as three separate sinkhole catastrophes took place in Florida. Though massive damage and loss of life from sinkholes is uncommon, this year’s events were large enough disasters to draw significant media coverage, raising public awareness of the true risk associated with this often-overlooked hazard.”

Here’s an overview of natural disasters in the U.S. in the past year:

• Hurricanes: Hurricane threats were minor this year, with only 13 named storms and two that reached hurricane classification (none of which hit the U.S.), CoreLogic reports.
• Floods: Flood damages totaled about $2 billion for the year, more moderate compared to recent years. The most significant flooding events were in Boulder, Colo., in September, which caused damage to more than 19,000 homes.
• Tornadoes: Tornado activity this year hit a record low, with 229 fewer tornadoes than any other year in the past decade. However, the tornadoes that did touch down were “unusually violent,” CoreLogic notes. A tornado in Moore, Okla., that struck May 20 caused an estimated $2 billion in damage and resulted in 23 deaths. The widest tornado ever recorded — 2.6 miles at its widest point — struck El Reno, Okla., in early June.
• Wildfires: The number of wildfires this year was lower than 2012, and western states saw “dramatically lower wildfire activity than in recent years,” CoreLogic notes. The most destruction this year came with Arizona’s Yarnell Hill Fire, which destroyed 8,400 acres and 129 homes, as well as Colorado’s Black Forest Fire, which burned 14,000 acres and damaged more than 500 homes. The Rim Fire, about 100 miles east of San Francisco, was the third-largest fire in California’s history and burned more than 257,000 acres — but destroyed only 11 homes. Persisting drought conditions and a likely increase in fuel load in wildfire areas has prompted CoreLogic to predict increased wildfire risk in 2014 for California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Colorado.
• Sinkholes: Three rare, extreme examples of sinkholes in Florida captured media attention this year. In Seffner, Fla., a sinkhole that formed under a home resulted in a man’s death. CoreLogic has a database of 23,000 identified sinkholes. It predicts that sinkhole property damage will continue to be a “substantial risk across the nation and for Florida residents in particular.”

“Going into 2014, it’s important to remember that hazard-driven property damage and loss can and does occur each year, and with the cyclical nature of some of these events, this year should be considered fair warning that next year will likely see a return to the higher average numbers of damaging natural disasters,” says Jeffery.

Source: CoreLogic

Lenders Urged to Improve Foreclosure Efforts

Lenders Urged to Improve Foreclosure Efforts. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Obama administration urged banks to improve their service of the government’s anti-foreclosure efforts through the Making Home Affordable Program and to use federal funds more effectively in helping to save struggling home owners from foreclosure.

The U.S. Treasury singled out CitiMortgage Inc., telling the bank it needed to make “substantial improvement” in its loan modification efforts through the Home Affordable Modification Program and to reach out to more home owners who are eligible to receive assistance.

The Treasury provides financial incentives to mortgage servicers under HAMP, which aims to encourage servicers to change the terms of struggling borrowers’ mortgages and lower their monthly payments. The Treasury routinely evaluates servicers’ actions on implementing the program, identifying and contacting home owners, home owner evaluation and assistance, and program management and reporting.

“There is still room for improvement for servicers, and the Treasury is committed to applying pressure on the mortgage servicing industry to improve servicer behavior,” says Tim Bowler, Treasury deputy assistant secretary.

The Treasury’s report also singled out Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, Selecting Portfolio Servicing Inc., and Wells Fargo & Co. for needing “moderate improvement” in servicing struggling home owners through HAMP. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. need to make only “minor improvement,” the Treasury noted.

By the end of October, 1.5 million home owners had received permanent loan modifications through HAMP. That’s only about half of the number of home owners President Obama had first predicted would be helped by the program. When the program started in 2009, President Obama had predicted 3 million to 4 million would receive aid through HAMP.

Source: “U.S. Treasury prods mortgage servicers to perform better,” Reuters (Dec. 9, 2013)

5 Tech Upgrades for Your Marketing

5 Tech Upgrades for Your Marketing. Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With more consumers seeking out listing photos or virtual tours, there are several technologies that could help real estate agents jazz up their marketing now — and in the future.

• Matterport’s $4,500 camera allows agents to take photos of a room and transform them into a 3-D rendering that lets users walk through or fly above the floor plan.
• InFORM’s Dynamic Shape Display will allow people to literally touch objects and market statistics.
• 3-D printers will make it easier for architects, interior designers, and others to better view spaces before they are built at full scale.
• MagicPlan automatically calculates the size of each wall with 95 percent accuracy using an agent’s phone camera, with exact measurements calculated when paired with a Bluetooth laser meter.  The 2-D model can then be uploaded to FloorPlanner to create a 3-D model at a cost of just $3 per floor plan.
• Google could one day apply the 3-D rendering of a home’s interior on a map, letting users virtually sit in the living room.

Source: “5 Technologies That Push the Boundaries of Real Estate Marketing,” Inman News (Dec. 9, 2013)

The Closer to Campus, the Higher the Rent

The Closer to Campus, the Higher the Rent. Image courtesy of Gualberto107 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Multifamily properties near college campuses often can equate to higher returns, and investors haven’t overlooked this sector for steady profits. But how close do you have to be to the college campus to see the highest returns?

CoStar evaluated multifamily data of 10 college campuses to find the relationship between rents and campus proximity.

Researchers found that properties less than 1.5 miles away from one of the 10 college campuses evaluated saw average rents that were higher than rents five miles away. However, the rent premiums were modest up to three quarters of mile away, CoStar reports.

Within a half mile and quarter-mile from campus, the average rent commands a 40 percent premium compared to a five-mile radius.

Therefore, students who are wanting to have a walking commute to school of 13.6 minutes or less will need to expect to pay a premium on rents, notes Brian Kerschner, a real estate economist with CoStar Group.

Source: “Searching for Higher Rents Near Higher Education,” CoStar Group (Dec. 9, 2013)