Search

Safety and security operations at Appalachian State's Belk Library & Information Commons have evolved and improved over the past 15 years with a focused access services oriented team. Improvements have focused on the challenges posed in four primary areas: understanding the customer base and the challenges posed therein; improving the skills and expanding the pool of library personnel capable of handling security incidents; allowing effective outside security operations and personnel to improve over time; and acting on multiple access issues. The authors of this case study provide insight and recommendations on the challenges faced and actions taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note outlines the estimation methodology of the degree of over- or under-pricing for a given housing market relative to its long-term pricing trend. The purpose of this effort is to provide buyers, sellers, real estate professionals, and policy makers a tool that estimates the premium (over-pricing) or discount (under-pricing) a local market is experiencing at a given moment. In general, this model is designed more for greater public rather than academic consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether and to what extent the Beracha, Hardin, and Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index (BH&J Index) is able to anticipate future housing price movements. The BH&J Index is based on a model introduced by Beracha and Johnson (2012) in which a low index value is associated with a buy recommendation and a high index value is associated with a rent recommendation. The results of our analysis reveal a negative relation between the BH&J Index value and future housing price changes at the metropolitan level, which is consistent with the buy or rent recommendation of the index. The negative relation between the BH&J Index value and future housing price changes is statistically significant, economically meaningful, and is particularly relevant for medium-term holding periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is well documented that homeowners have greater total wealth than renters, it is not clear that homeownership causes this wealth differential. We consider the buy versus rent decision in the framework of household portfolio choice. This allows us to determine whether owning a home increases the utility of households by improving the performance of their portfolio compared with households that rent. We determine that while renting is superior to ownership in isolation, homeownership as a part of the household portfolio often improves wealth creation on a risk-adjusted basis. Our findings suggest significant policy changes that currently favor levered homeownership strategies for households with minimal wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well accepted that homeowners, on average, have greater total wealth than renters. However, Beracha and Johnson (2012) show that in a strict "horserace" comparison, renting creates higher wealth than ownership in the majority of cases. In this paper, we revisit Beracha and Johnson's buy versus rent model to investigate factors affecting the wealth outcomes of the buy versus rent decision. Three key findings emerge: (1) the difference in wealth between renting and owning can be most affected by choices within the scope of the individual rather than through the impact of exogenous market variables; (2) households that fail to reinvest buy-rent cash flow differentials accumulate less wealth; and (3) property appreciation plays only a minor role in the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 24-hour/5-days-per-week (24/5) model at Belk Library & Information Commons has experienced multiple changes since first implemented in 2006. First the library started small, then expanded, then reduced, and finally expanded again. This article tells the story of a library's 24/5 evolution within the assessment cycle framework, describes how data and perspective played a role in decisions, provides data on overnight head counts, offers a glimpse into the types of activities engaged in by students during overnight hours, describes student led advocacy efforts to reinstate library hours, and provides an overview of operations and security officer protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The property price–marketing duration relationship is an important component of many real estate studies. However, contrary to theories, and widely-held notions of many researchers, the relationship is not as straightforward as generally assumed. In this paper, we summarize the literature and model price and marketing time to highlight the nature of the property price–marketing time tradeoff. As defined in this work, "simultaneous modeling" includes studies in which marketing time appears as a control in pricing models, as well as studies in which property price is used as a control in time-on-market models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work empirically investigates the effect of the amount of time provided the broker to market property (listing contract length) on the likelihood of a successful marketing attempt. Do shorter listing contracts increase broker motivation or can contracts be so short that marketing efforts are unlikely to result in a successful transaction? The empirical results demonstrate that when the broker is provided a longer listing contract, the likelihood of a successful transaction increases but at a decreasing rate. This result suggests that home sellers face a tradeoff when choosing contract length. Longer contracts provide more time to arrange a successful sale, but reduction in broker motivation reduces the probability of sale as contracts lengthen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2008, the Belk Library & Information Commons at Appalachian State University combined the Access Services staff members of the Circulation and Lower Level Service Desks with the Reference and Instruction team as part of a library-wide reorganization effort. The new team balanced what had been a staff-dominated Access Services team with a library faculty-dominated Reference and Instruction team. This article describes Belk Library's efforts to end the turf war between circulation and reference service models and is based on a presentation given by Johnson and Jennings at the 2010 Access Services Conference in Atlanta, GA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the effect of uncertainty over a property's flood zone status and the probability of a transaction for residential property during a given marketing period. While the impact on property price from flood zone delineation is well documented, the effect of any uncertainty over the location of property with respect to the 100-year flood pool on the probability of a transaction has yet to be determined. Findings suggest that uncertainty of flood zone status leads to a statistically lower probability of transaction, ceteris paribus. These results have implications for property sellers, real estate professionals, and government regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is one of the first to investigate brokerage intermediation effects in the income-producing commercial property market. Employing multifamily sales data from the Atlanta and Phoenix markets under alternative brokerage specifications, little evidence to support the existence of systematic, differential transaction pricing outcomes due to the presence of brokers is found. The results suggest that the existence of brokerage intermediation effects is likely minimal in commercial markets that are relatively transparent, that have participants who are knowledgeable, and where value and price are typically determined based on a property's income-generating capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research seeks to determine what factors are decisive when an agent chooses between a 100% payout and the more traditional split-commission arrangement. In addition to the expected positive relationship between income and the 100% payout election, a tolerance for risk, a complementary sales force, and experience also influence the choice of compensation arrangement of agents. These finding suggest that compensation arrangements may not always be effective markers of agent productivity and that compensation incentives alone may not elicit greater effort and output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a paper that investigates the impact of architectural review boards on the price of the property, marketing time, and financial effectiveness. It acquaints the usefulness of two-stage least squares regression as the modeling technique to show the concurrent determination of the property's price and marketing time. It concludes that the properties subjected to architectural review board has a significant higher selling price and less marketing time.

This paper seeks to empirically determine whether more skilled and productive real estate salespeople, identified as fulI-payout or 100% commission agents, have a discernable, systematic effect on property selling price and its marketing time. Two types of agents, 100%ers and split-commission agents, are identified and controlled for in hedonic pricing and duration models in order to examine the relationship between incentives and agent performance. The results reveal that 100% agents sell their listed properties faster and at premiums. This paper may also help explain the contradictory findings of earlier research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of 1031 exchanges in the commercial office market using transaction level data from a national sample of recent sales. Properties that are bought or sold under the conditions of a 1031 exchange are found to price at significant premiums relative to comparables. Additionally, although current regulation requires sellers to locate an exchange property within 45 days, this study finds no evidence to indicate any difference in marketing times for these properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study documents the relationship between commercial property price and its marketing time. Findings indicate that extended marketing times induce lower transaction prices and that higher priced properties sell in relatively shorter marketing spans. These results are suggestive of a "shopworn" pricing effect and the existence of liquidity premiums in varying pricing segments of the market. Additionally, these results provide guidance to portfolio managers in the acquisition and disposition of commercial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A framework is established in which an investor (the real estate broker) must form a portfolio of two assets (two types of agents), each represented by their returns to the broker. The very risky asset (corresponding to the agent type that has negotiated a split commission contract with the broker) is shown in contrast to the less risky asset (corresponding to the agent type that has negotiated for 100% of the earned commissions in exchange for a periodic fee paid to the broker). Within this framework, the optimal makeup of the real estate brokerage firm is established, thereby providing a comprehensive theory for the existence of real estate brokerage firms based on agent compensation arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of several recently published doctoral dissertations related to real estate issues and provides summaries and abstracts. Recai Aydin of the University of Houston wrote "Long-run Effects of E.P.A. Designations of Superfund Sites on Housing Values in Houston." Justin Benefield of the University of Alabama wrote "Performance Differences in Property-Type Diversified Versus Specialized Real Estate Investment Trusts: A Portfolio Approach." Paul Ernesto Carrillo of the University of Virginia wrote "An Equilibrium Search Model for Buyers and Sellers and an Empirical Application for the Real Estate Market."

Presents abstracts of dissertations related to a broad cross-section of real estate issues. "Does Increasing Black Homeownership Decrease Residential Segregation?," by Carolyn B. Bond; "Three Essays on Strategic Trading in Oligopolistic Economies," by Alexei Boulatov; "Stigma-Induced Property Value Diminution from Nuclear Waste Transportation," by Sheila Conway.

This paper reports on the views of a community sample of 428 parents with primary school-aged children. In a previous study parents had identified that they needed ‘support’. This study was designed to try to understand what types of support parents already have and what support they think needs to be available to them. Most parents use informal support of family and friends and have limited awareness of what is available to them in the way of locally based services. They propose services which are already available, like Parentline, but of which they are unaware. There seems to be a need for universal, non-stigmatising services which design their programmes with parents and can refer to more specialised services, e.g. Social Services or Family Centres. These services need to be located in agencies which parents frequent and are comfortable with, such as schools and health settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section focuses on several abstracts of dissertations related to real estate issues. In 'Determinants of Adverse Departures from Supported Housing', supported housing includes occupants with a diagnosis of a serious mental illness, substance abuse, having HIV-positive status or being at risk of becoming homeless. Adverse departures are defined as evictions or abandonment of property. The findings indicate that being African-American, having a history of prior homelessness and reporting doing very well at being independent/self reliant prior to entry into the program increased the likelihood of an adverse departure. Meanwhile, the second essay in the 'Empirical Studies in Consumption', 'House Prices and the Accuracy of European Growth and Inflation Forecasts' is devoted to the private housing stock in Sweden. In this essay, a demand-supply econometric model for residential housing is developed. A stock-flow model serves as the theoretical basis for the fundamental determinants of real estate construction and prices. 'The Credit Supply Effect on Commercial Real Estate Loans in Commercial Banks' are generally employed to explain loan default. This dissertation seeks to determine if the credit supply effect is present in commercial real estate lending.

Governments are concerned to promote positive parenting but it is difficult to know how and where to target the necessary support. How should we listen to the concerns expressed by parents themselves? Social work and health care professionals and those involved in developing parenting programmes tend to base their interventions on their experiences with families already in crisis. This paper reports on a survey of the views of two groups of parents: a community sample and a small group of parents involved in a young parent's project. Issues, which concern the parents, are identified as well as consideration of which agencies might be best placed to address these. Parents were most likely to approach their children's school or doctor for information, advice, or support. Parents were found to be reluctant to approach social work agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the scope and nature of problems associated with indoor mold faced by portfolio and property managers in the U.S. Health effects of indoor mold; Causes of indoor mold; Remediation issues.

What are the concerns of parents using Home-Start? Do they differ from a community sample of parents with similar age children? This study explored their experience of using Home-Start and whether it met their needs. It also considers the task for agencies involved in promoting better parenting in relation to parents' own views of what they need. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents Web sites for consumer protection, advocacy and awareness in the U.S. Web sites which review specific products and services; Highlights on each Web site; Web site which provide free copies of articles related to consumer protection.

This research sets out to examine the perceptions and attitudes of a cohort of early years specialist teacher trainees with regard to child protection issues as they prepare to enter the teaching profession. The trainees were at the end of a three-year Primary Initial Teacher Training Course in the north of England. We had set out within the course to present a paradigm to the trainees of the newly qualified early years teacher as not only an effective agent in preventing child abuse but also the 'advocates for the structural changes in society which would aim to eradicate child abuse' (David, 1993, p. 84). We were particularly concerned with exploring whether our course had gone beyond the mechanistic and legal framework of the Standards to produce reflective and effective early years practitioners able both to discuss their feelings and perceptions of child protection issues and to articulate their concerns (Braun & Schonveld, 1994, p. 92). The research found that the trainees feel anxious both about making decisions on issues concerning child abuse and working with members of families who could be abusers. Furthermore, they were extremely anxious concerning the whole area of inter-agency working in the early years. Nevertheless they have developed strong and sophisticated levels of thinking in this area and are universal in their willingness to become advocates for the young child with regard to child protection issues. They hold firmly onto their ideological aspirations of the young child as the centre of the classroom and are willing to encompass the role of the teacher/social worker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the extension of the services of the W. W. Hagerty Library to the distance learning programs at LeBow College of Business of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Discussion of the library services provided; Information on the awareness and instruction initiative of the business librarian; Discussion of issues on funding, time commitment and measures of use in serving distance learning programs.

Brokers have long believed that difficult to show properties sell at lower prices and take longer to sell. Where difficult to show properties are defined as those properties that present extraordinary difficulties for a broker in arranging or showing the listing to a particular buyer. Buyers' recent access to online real estate applications may make the cost of avoiding these properties prohibitive to brokers. Employing a hedonic pricing model and duration modeling techniques, this study finds that property price and marketing time are not significantly affected for these properties. The results suggest that brokers possess limited market power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the use of artificial stucco (formally known as Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems, or EIFS) on residential real estate properties has been a topic of much debate. This article discusses the issues surrounding EIFS use. Hypotheses are developed and tested regarding the impact of EIFS on property value and marketing time. The results indicate that the market is not discounting EIFS clad homes, but that the presence of EIFS significantly extends a property's marketing time. These findings are consistent with the theoretical framework and are compatible with inefficient local real estate markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a hedonic pricing model, we analyze the capitalization of total seller paid discount points and closing costs into the price of a house. We hypothesize that sellers are concerned about the sales price net of total seller paid concessions (SPNC), rather than the exact terms of the transaction. Since the SPNC is easily ascertained in the negotiation process, we further hypothesize that total seller paid concessions (TSPC) are fully capitalized into the sales price. To test this hypothesis, sales price is regressed on a set of control variables including TSPC. In this framework, TSPC will be positive and not significantly different from one if concessions are fully capitalized. The empirical results provide support for the capitalization hypothesis. Negotiation strategies and study limitations follow from the empirical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]