text:
Page 1
Over the past decade, households'
housing debt has increased in most euro
area countries. The rise in the number
of mortgage loans was supported by
several factors: comparatively low in-
terest rates, increasing disposable in-
comes, growing population figures,
and deregulation and liberalization
trends that pushed up the number of
providers, and widened the range, of
housing finance products. With inter-
est rates at a historical low, households'
interest rate burden remained under
control despite the rise in debt, though.
Real estate debt accounts for the
lion's share of household debt. Financial
accounts data show that in 2007 hous-
ing loans accounted for some 61.5% of
households' credit liabilities, while
consumer loans accounted for 17.5%
and "other lending" (e.g. loans to self-
employed persons) for 21%. Therefore,
data on real estate holdings and housing
finance offer important information for
the assessment of a country's housing
market, while at the same time provid-
ing valuable insights into numerous
monetary and economic policy issues
(e.g. monetary policy transmission, on
consumption and investment, forma-
tion of a real estate bubble).1
The particular way in which house-
holds finance real estate can have a
strong impact on the speed and inten-
sity of the transmission of a shock to
the economy. The higher e.g. household
debt is, the stronger the effects of mon-
etary shocks are, because the pressure
on disposable income – and thus also
on consumer spending – is higher. The
type of interest rate is another factor:
Compared with fixed rate loans, vari-
Refereed by:
Josef Schmidinger,
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
This study presents a first summary of the housing finance results of the OeNB's Household This study presents a first summary of the housing finance results of the OeNB's Household This study
Survey on Housing Wealth in Austria. 22% of Austrian households have taken out debt to fi-
nance housing. The probability of holding such debt is significantly higher for younger and hig-
her-income households than for others. High-income households are much more likely to have
a variable rate loan or a foreign currency loan, but at the same time they also have lower loan-
to-value (LTV) ratios than the other groups. Regional differences – or more specifically, a
west-east pattern – were identified regarding the type and amount of debt incurred: Austrian
households in the western provinces tend to have higher debt and higher LTV ratios than those
in the eastern provinces. Housing assistance funds and alternative forms of financing, such as
inheritances or inter vivos gifts (money), play quite a significant role in housing finance. Aus-
trian households use their property mainly for residential purposes rather than as an invest-
ment instrument: Of the households with outstanding housing loans, 74% used (at least part
of) the money to purchase their primary residence, 12% used it to finance the deposit they
had to make for their housing association apartment, and 17% purchased a second home.
52% of the households that took out a loan to purchase a second property use it for residential
or similar purposes, while 26% of them offer it for rent and the remaining households (roughly
one-quarter) use it as a store of value. These facts and the existence of a strongly subsidized
rental market seem to have contributed to the rather low ownership ratio and the moderate
development of Austrian real estate and rental prices by international standards. The diffe-
rences identified in the structure of housing finance of Austrian households suggest that the
impact of monetary policy on wealth (and hence on household consumption and investment)
will also differ markedly.
JEL classification: D14, D31, R21, R31, E52
Keywords: household's wealth, real assets, housing finance
Nicolás Albacete,
Karin Wagner1
1 firstname.lastname@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com. The authors thank Pirmin Fessler, Martin Schürz and
Siegfried Zottel for their valuable comments and for statistical support.
Page 2
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
2 Upon termination of the rental agreement, tenants receive back the deposit they paid made minus 1% per year.
able rate loans can also accelerate the
transmission of monetary shocks to
disposable income. Long repayment
periods can have the opposite effect, as
borrowers can cushion the impact of
such shocks on disposable income and
thus limit or at least delay the effects of
monetary policy decisions. This contri-
bution highlights aspects like risk ori-
entation, collateral for housing loans
and possible consequences for the
stability of the real estate market and
financial stability in Austria at large.
Such analyses are, however, incon-
clusive without disaggregated data on
various household
Especially the current economic crisis
and the developments on the U.S. hous-
ing and housing finance market in sum-
mer and fall 2007 have underscored the
significance of microdata, which provide
valuable information e.g. on the distri-
bution and repayment of debt by income
groups, thus allowing for more detailed
and refined analyses of households'
vulnerability than aggregated data do.
This is the first study to evaluate
Austrian data on real estate financing at
the household level, while at the same
time looking into data on loans
extended by employers and households
to households, which are not covered in
the financial accounts. The analysis is
based on data compiled from the
Household Survey on Housing Wealth
(HSHW) commissioned by the OeNB
in 2008.
This paper is organized as follows:
Section 1 presents the data and defines
key variables, while section 2 highlights
two aspects of household debt, the
determinants of debt and its size on the
one hand, and households' associated
vulnerability on the other. Section 3
analyzes the characteristics of housing
loans taken out by Austrian households
and their relevance for monetary and
economic policy. Section 4 provides a
brief overview and some evaluations of
alternative forms of housing finance.
Section 5 discusses the role of taxes and
subsidies in the real estate sector, and
section 6 provides a summary and
draws conclusions.
1 Data and Definitions
We use data from the OeNB's 2008
HSHW. The sample covers 2,081 re-
spondents who answered up to 168
questions about their housing wealth
and finance, among other things. For
general information on the data, see
Fessler et al. (2009). Methodological
aspects of e.g. sample design and weight-
ing can be found in Wagner and Zottel
(2009), and the multiple imputation
method we used is presented in Albacete
et al. (2009).
In the following, the terms "debt,"
"loans" and "housing loans" are used
synonymously to refer to the sum of all
housing loans of Austrian households
that were still outstanding as of De-
cember 31, 2007. This definition cov-
ers loans taken out to finance deposits
that were made to housing associations
(Genossenschaftsbeitrag)2 as well as credit
to purchase land, which are both cap-
tured in the financial accounts. It also
covers loans extended by employers or
by family or friends, which are not cap-
tured in the financial accounts. These
data have thus been compiled for the
first time for Austria. Loans taken out
to finance home improvements and
maintenance are not included, as they
were not considered in the OeNB's
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Housing Finance of Austrian Households
A household's housing wealth is de-
fined as the sum of any real estate3 the
household (co)owns; its value is based
on the owners' sales price estimate as
of December 31, 2007.
For some evaluations, the wealth
and debt definitions mentioned above
refer only to primary residences or ex-
clude the financing of deposits for hous-
ing association apartments, as no de-
tailed credit data were available for the
other categories. Restrictions will be
indicated in the individual subsections
whenever they apply.
2 Households' Housing Debt
Which households are indebted, which
are not? Which households are more
heavily indebted than others? Does
household debt pose a risk for financial
stability? Section 2.1 addresses the first
two questions; section 2.2 tackles the
last one.
2.1 Determinants of Housing Debt
2.1.1 Debt Rate
The second column in table A1 shows
that 22% of Austrian households had
outstanding housing loans in 2007. An
above-average debt rate is reported for
the following households: age group
from 30 to 39 years, married, em-
ployed, higher education or above-aver-
age income level. A breakdown by pro-
fessions shows that the housing debt
rate is highest among civil servants
(39%), followed by business owners
and self-employed persons, and lowest
for farmers, pensioners and nonem-
ployed people. A breakdown by prov-
inces indicates that the number of in-
debted households is relatively low in
Carinthia and Styria and comparatively
high in Vorarlberg and Burgenland.
The wealthier (as measured by the in-
terviewers' assessment of the standard
of living at the respondents' primary
residence) a household seems to be, the
more likely it is to have taken out (hous-
ing) loans. A look at the various forms
of financial investment undertaken by
Austrian households substantiates this
impression: The highest debt rates are
reported for households that hold
equity (44%), bonds and mutual fund
shares. Households without any com-
mon financial assets are indebted rather
rarely (13%). As expected, the lowest
debt rates are reported for housing
association tenants who did not have to
make a deposit for their primary resi-
dence (5%) and homeowners who in-
herited their primary residence (14%),
while relatively high debt rates are ob-
served for homeowners who purchased
their primary residence (46%).
Purchasing a home requires that
people are willing and able to incur
debt: Our data show that credit seems
to be one of the main reasons for people
to rent instead of buying: When asked
why they did not own their apartment
or house, 8% of tenants replied that to
do so, they would have to take out a
loan but did not want to, and 7% of
respondents claimed that banks would
not give them a loan.
We use a logit model to estimate
the probability of holding debt. Unlike
the statistics in table A1, this allows us
to control for several variables at the
same time and thus identify important
determinants of household debt. Table
A3 shows that the probability of hold-
ing debt rises significantly with income.
Age and the square of age have a highly
3 Coownership is allocated to the respective household on a proportionate basis. In the survey, "property" denotes all
types of real property, i.e. apartments, houses, plots of land, fields, forests, etc., including real estate abroad.
Private foundations are not covered, but it is highly unlikely that the survey sample contains such a household, as
wealthy households tend to be underrepresented in such surveys.
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Housing Finance of Austrian Households
4 The same goes for inter vivos gifts.
5 In this contribution, "government loans" are loans granted by the provincial government or other public institutions.
significant influence, and the probabil-
ity of holding debt also rises with the
education level. Interestingly, house-
holds that never received an inheritance
are more likely than others to take on
debt. The probability of holding debt is
much higher for married couple house-
holds than for single households.
2.1.2 Size of Debt
The third column of table A1 presents
the reported mean and median amounts
of household debt, which for many
household characteristics follow a pat-
tern similar to that of debt rates: Young,
married couple households with high
education and income levels hold above-
average amounts of debt. The mean
value of household debt in Austria is
around EUR 77,500. The median
value, at EUR 43,000, is much lower,
which points to a very uneven distribu-
tion of debt amounts (section 2.2).
For some household characteristics,
the distribution patterns of debt amounts
are different from those of debt rates. A
case in point is the breakdown by prov-
inces: In Burgenland, debt amounts are
at the lower end of the spectrum, while
debt rates are among the highest in
Austria; it is the other way round in Ty-
rol. Another case in point is the type of
rental agreement: As expected, house-
holds that did not have to pay a deposit
for a housing association apartment are
indebted markedly less often than those
who did (5% as opposed to 20%). At
the same time, the first group tends to
have larger debt for the purchase of sec-
ond properties. Another interesting
pattern emerges for inheritances:
While the debt rate is below average for
households that inherited at least (part
of) one property (17%) – and thus
much lower than for homeowners who
did not inherit a property (43%) – debt
amounts are much higher for the heirs
group than for the other group (EUR
91,132 compared with EUR 83,114).4
Upon closer examination, it turns out
that the heirs group has above-average
incomes, which probably increases
their borrowing capacity.
We also found differences in the
households' debt amounts depending
on the type of loans they took out. Debt
amounts are above average for house-
holds with at least one foreign currency
loan (as most of these loans are bullet
loans, see section 3.7) and households
with at least one loan granted by a
building and loan association or one
bank loan (table A2). By contrast, the
amounts are below average for those
who have at least one government loan5.
The choice of loan type, in turn, is cor-
related with particular sociodemo-
graphic characteristics of borrowers
(section 3).
In a next step, we conduct a linear
regression analysis to estimate the
determinants of debt amounts (table
A3). It is noteworthy that, after con-
trolling for the specified regressors,
neither income, nor education, nor age,
nor inheritance turned out to have an
impact on debt amounts that is signifi-
cantly different from zero. In addition,
we found that business owners and self-
employed people hold significantly
higher amounts of debt than nonem-
ployed people, as do households in
Vorarlberg compared with those in the
other Austrian provinces.
2.2 Financial Situation
of Households
Over recent years, the development of
household debt and, above all, housing-
related debt has raised many questions
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Housing Finance of Austrian Households
about the credit risk associated with
housing finance and about financial sta-
bility. These issues have become all the
more urgent in the context of the finan-
cial crisis. Microdata have turned out
to be especially useful to answer these
questions, as they provide information
on the distribution and repayment of
debt and thus allow more detailed and
refined analyses of the household sec-
tor's vulnerability6, 7.
In line with Johansson and Persson
(2006), we assign each household in
the data set to one of four equally sized
income categories. For the further
analysis, however, only indebted house-
holds are taken into account, as the
others cannot cause housing loan losses
and thus do not pose the associated
risk.8 Table 1 shows some descriptive
statistics for the four income catego-
ries. It turns out that income, housing
wealth and debt size tend to move in
tandem.9 The correlation coefficients
between these three variables show
that the correlation of housing wealth
with debt amounts is strongest, fol-
lowed by housing wealth with income.
The correlation of debt amounts with
income is weakest. Still, all correla-
tions are statistically significant at least
at the 5% level.10 The number of house-
6 Vulnerability refers to households that are not able to repay outstanding debt.
7 A comprehensive vulnerability analysis of the household sector has to be based on data on the households' total net
assets (financial assets, real estate assets, other assets and total liabilities). As our data capture only part of total
net assets, the following analysis should be interpreted with caution.
8 The default risk for other types of loans, e.g. home improvement loans, consumer loans or loans taken out by
self-employed persons, is not included here owing to a lack of data.
9 Especially the median values.
10 These correlations should be regarded as approximations, as they consider only the within variance, but not the
between variance of the multiple imputed data set. See Albacete et al. (2009) for further details on the imputa-
tions we used in this contribution.
Table 1
Income, Housing Wealth and Housing Debt of Austrian Indebted Households in 20071
Income quartile
MeanMedian MeanMedian MeanMedian MeanMedian MeanMedian
Annual income (EUR)
Housing wealth (EUR)
Debt amounts (EUR)
Debt ratio (in % of income)
Value-to-loan ratio (in % of debt amounts)
Share of indebted households (in %)
Correlation of housing wealth and debt
Pearson correlation: 0.252
Kendall's tau: 0.252
Correlation of housing wealth and income
Pearson correlation: 0.082
Kendall's tau: 0.172
Correlation of debt amounts and income
Pearson correlation: 0.052
Kendall's tau: 0.062
9,166 10,468
260,311 200,000
90 1800 3300
Source: OeNB 2008 HSHW.
1 Only households with outstanding housing loans.
2 Significant at the 5% level or below.
Page 6
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
Distribution of Debt by Income Groups
Chart 1
Source: OeNB 2008 HSHW Source: OeNB 2008 HSHWSource: OeNB 2008 HSHW. OeNB 2008 HSHW
Housing Wealth and Housing Debt bWealth and Housing Debt bW
Income Quartiles in 2007
Share in Austrian households' total housing debt ian households' total housing debtian households'
Share in Austrian households' housing w ian households' housing wian households'ealth
1st quartile2nd quartile3rd quartile4th quartile
holds varies across income quartiles, as
the analysis only considers households
with outstanding debt. In the lowest
income category, the share of indebted
households is 9%. It rises across income
categories and stands at 33% in the
highest quartile. The value-to-loan
ratio11 in table 1 shows that the real
estate assets held by the household
sector seem sufficient to collateralize
its debt: The mean household in each
income category has assets worth more
than twice as much as the underlying
We use two indicators commonly
found in the literature12 for a better
assessment of households' vulnerabil-
ity: (1) the distribution of debt across
income categories, and (2) the debt-
servicing ratios.
(1) Distribution of Debt and Income
Chart 1 shows the distribution of
Austrian households' total debt across
income categories and these income
groups' respective shares in total hous-
ing assets. Housing assets are an impor-
tant constituent of individual house-
holds' financial situation, as these assets
can be sold to repay debt, if necessary.
Indebted households in the highest in-
come quartile account for 39% of the
total volume of Austrian households'
outstanding housing loans (blue bars).
At the same time, they also hold 15% of
all real estate assets (red bars). Please
note that while the debt shares across
all income categories add up to 100%,
the shares in housing assets do not, as
not all homeowners are indebted. All in
all, indebted households own 36% of
housing wealth.13 The distribution of
debt is rather strongly left-skewed.
Low-income households account for a
small share of total debt, which means
that the associated risks for the banking
sector are relatively small. It also im-
plies, however, that these households
may have only limited access to loans,
which can, in fact, give rise to welfare
costs owing to lower consumption and
(2) Debt-Servicing Ratios14
An alternative approach to assessing the
vulnerability of an indebted household
is to measure the share in disposable
income it uses to repay debt. A large
share would imply that a household's
sensitivity to interest rate and income
11 This ratio refers to the households' housing wealth and loans outstanding.
12 See Gyntelberg et al. (2007).
13 This share is perhaps smaller than expected, which is attributable to the fact that this study only considers the
most important debt category, namely debt incurred to purchase housing. Still, including households that hold
other types of debt (e.g. consumer loans) would lead to a manifold increase in the housing wealth of all indebted
households and would thus also boost the share in total real estate assets held by indebted households.
14 The figures indicated below refer exclusively to primary residence owners, as this is the only group for which data
on debt service are available.
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Housing Finance of Austrian Households
fluctuations will be rather high. Chart
2 shows the share in disposable income
the median indebted household of each
income category use to repay the loans
they took out to purchase their primary
residence. This share, which is 50% in
the lowest income quartile (chart 2),
declines continuously in each higher
category and comes to 12% in the
highest quartile. Accordingly, the dis-
tribution of debt-servicing ratios is very
strongly right-skewed toward the lowest-
income households. A comparison with
other countries15 shows that the values
for the lowest-income quartile in Aus-
tria are above the 35% mean16 and
roughly equal to the values observed
e.g. in Spain (48%) or the Netherlands
(54%) in 2005.
In addition to servicing debt, house-
holds have to pay for other housing
costs, e.g. for electricity or heating.
When asked if they had to limit house-
hold spending for food, clothing, vaca-
tions, etc. to be able to afford all hous-
ing costs, 34% of respondents answered
in the affirmative. Chart 2 shows that
this reply was given not only by house-
holds in the first (lowest) income quar-
tile but also by a disproportionately
large number from the second and third
quartiles, which suggests that there are
vulnerable households also in these in-
come groups. Detailed statements on
this issue would, however, require
more in-depth information on how
much each household spends on hous-
ing and its ability to meet its daily
3 Loan Characteristics18
In addition to the outstanding loan
amounts, several loan characteristics
are also highly relevant for the mone-
tary transmission mechanism and for
the associated risks for financial stabil-
ity. We will focus on the following as-
pects: type of loan, lender, purpose of
the loan, collateralization, maturity, in-
terest rates, repayment and loan-to-
value ratios.
Given that one household can have
several outstanding loans (chart A1),
the figures for individual loan charac-
teristics always refer to households that
have at least one such loan. This is why
the household percentage shares do not
necessarily add up to 100% unless a
household has only one outstanding
3.1 Type of Loan
The available data allow us to distin-
guish between loans in terms of collat-
eralization (mortgage-backed loans and
15 See ECB (2009) for the results of household surveys for Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal.
16 We calculated the mean value for the countries listed in footnote 15 using data from ECB (2009).
17 See Albacete and Fessler (2010).
18 If not indicated otherwise, the figures in this section always refer to loans taken out to purchase the primary resi-
dence, as no detailed information was available on the characteristics of any other type of loan.
Housing Debt-Servicing Ratio of
Austrian Households by Income Groups
Chart 2
Source: OeNB 2008 HSHW Source: OeNB 2008 HSHWSource: OeNB 2008 HSHW. OeNB 2008 HSHW
Debt Service in Relation to Disposable Income by
Income Quartiles in 2007
Debt-servicing ratio of the median indebted household
HavHavHa e to limit spending to afford housing costs
1st quartile2nd quartile3rd quartile4th quartile
Page 8
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
loans that are not secured by a mort-
gage) and currency (foreign currency
and euro loans). Within the mortgage-
backed loans group, we can further
distinguish between loans granted by
building and loan associations and hous-
ing loans granted by the government.
In the following, we will examine both
types of mortgage-backed loans. The
other loan types will be discussed in
section 3.4 (mortgage-backed loans)
and section 5 (government loans).
Despite the risks involved, foreign
currency loans have become very popu-
lar in Austria: 29% of all indebted Aus-
trian households have at least one out-
standing foreign currency loan. In the
fourth quarter of 200719 28% of the
volume of outstanding loans to house-
holds was in a foreign currency (Swiss
franc, Japanese yen) according to the
ECB's money and banking statistics.
The risks associated with foreign cur-
rency loans include (1) exchange rate
risk, which means that borrowers have
to pay back a higher amount than they
received initially if the foreign currency
in which the loan was taken out appre-
ciates, and (2) interest rate risk, which
means that changes in the economic en-
vironment may quickly erode the inter-
est rate advantage of a foreign currency
loan against a euro loan or even turn it
into a disadvantage. Considering that
most foreign currency loans are bullet
loans linked to repayment vehicles,
performance risk is another factor that
is incidentally also relevant for other
types of loans (section 3.7). 73% of
Austrian households with a bullet loan
have at least also one foreign currency
loan (table A5).
Table A4 shows that foreign cur-
rency loans are especially popular
among young households: In the age
group 18 to 29 years, 42% of respon-
dents say their household has at least
one foreign currency loan, which is far
above the 29% mean. A breakdown by
income groups shows that high-income
households are much more likely than
others to have at least one foreign cur-
rency loan (35% in the highest income
quartile). Young and rich people seem
to be least averse to the risks associated
with foreign currency loans. A break-
down by provinces reveals that the
share of foreign currency borrowers is
by far highest (64%) in the western-
most province, Vorarlberg, which is
probably due to the geographical and
currency proximity to Switzerland, fol-
lowed by Upper Austria (46%).
The results of a logit estimation
substantiate this outcome: The proba-
bility of holding a foreign currency loan
increases significantly with rising in-
come and education levels. Employees,
civil servants and nonemployed people
are significantly less likely to hold a for-
eign currency loan than business own-
ers. The same is true of single house-
holds compared with (married) couple
households. A breakdown by provinces
shows that households in Tyrol, Salz-
burg, Lower Austria and Vienna are
significantly less likely to have a foreign
currency loan than those in Vorarlberg
(table A3).
57% of all indebted Austrian house-
holds have loans that were granted by a
building and loan association. Such
loans are highly popular in the youngest
age group (18 to 29 years). 89% of
debtors in this category have at least
one such loan (table A4). No clear
pattern was observed for income,
though – it seems that (unlike foreign
currency loans) this type of loan is also
attractive for more risk-averse house-
19 This was the time when the respondents of the OeNB's 2008 HSHW were asked about their outstanding loans.
Page 9
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
holds, as it does not involve exchange
rate risk and reduces interest rate risk.
Among the Austrian provinces, house-
holds from Vorarlberg and Upper Aus-
tria again rank first at 76% and 72%,
respectively, followed by Vienna, which
at 63% is also markedly above the mean
value of 57%. Table A5 shows that
many households have both types of
loans at the same time: 85% of house-
holds with a foreign currency loan have
also taken out at least one loan from a
building and loan association.
3.2 Lender
So far, no data has been available on
loans extended to households by em-
ployers or other households in Austria,
as the financial accounts cover only
bank loans and loans granted by the
government. This is the first study to
present such data.
The survey results show that these
alternative lenders play a rather minor
role in lending to Austrian households
(table A4). A mere 4% of all homeown-
ing households with outstanding debt
have at least one outstanding loan that
was granted by their employer (e.g. ad-
vances on salary) or by another house-
hold (e.g. family or friends). This com-
pares with 77% holding bank loans20
and 38% government loans. The pic-
ture is similar for the total volume of
loans outstanding: Bank loans account
for 79%, government loans for 17%
and loans extended by employers or
households for 4%. Taking out loans
from employers or households is more
customary among homeowners with
high education levels, civil servants and
farmers, households in rather low in-
come categories, and households in
Carinthia, Tyrol and Vienna.
Government loans are more com-
mon among older households, while
bank loans are more customary among
younger ones. Regarding income cate-
gories, government loans are more fre-
quently taken out by high-income
households, but no specific pattern
emerges for bank loans. A breakdown
by professions reveals that only 55% of
civil servants with outstanding debt
have at least one outstanding bank loan.
This group seems to finance housing
primarily via government loans (67%).
The latter type of loans seems to be
more common in small municipalities
and rural areas, while bank loans seem
to be more customary in bigger munic-
ipalities and urban areas. Of the
Austrian households with outstanding
debt, those living in Burgenland and
Lower Austria account for an above-
average share of government loans,
while those in Vorarlberg and Vienna
account for an above-average share of
bank loans.
3.3 Purpose21
According to the survey results, 74% of
all Austrian households with outstand-
ing loans took out housing loans to pur-
chase at least one primary residence.22
Households in the age group 30 to 49
years make up an above-average share
of these borrowers (table A4). This
purpose is far more common in rural
areas than it is in cities: The larger a
municipality is, the smaller the share of
primary residence borrowers among
indebted households is. In the capital
city, Vienna, for instance, just 37% of
20 Including loans extended by credit institutions like e.g. building and loan associations.
21 In this section, we refer to all indebted households (including those who have taken out a housing loan to finance
a housing association deposit or to purchase a second property).
22 By comparison, an OeNB housing finance survey conducted among Austrian commercial banks in summer 2008
shows that 83% of new mortgage loans taken out in 2007 were used to finance owner-occupied housing.
Page 10
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
indebted households have such a loan.
The size of the property also plays an
important role: Only 37% of the house-
holds with a primary residence up to
65m2 took out a loan, while it is 93% of
those with housing of 130m2 or larger.
12% of indebted households took
out a loan to finance a deposit for their
housing association apartment. These
households tend to be younger than
those with a loan to purchase a primary
residence, or they have rather lower ed-
ucation levels. Nonemployed people,
blue-collar workers or rather low-in-
come earners make up an above-aver-
age share, as do people living in large
municipalities and urban areas: 28% of
households in Vienna and 30% of
households in Carinthian municipalities
hold such a loan. An above-average
share of them live in rather small homes
and would like to move somewhere
17% of indebted households used at
least one of their loans to purchase one
or more additional properties. People
aged 50+ are especially likely to have
taken out a loan for this purpose. In
terms of education levels and profes-
sions, it is 21% in the group with the
highest education level, 29% of civil
servants, 25% of self-employed persons
and business owners, and 24% of pen-
sioners. As expected, also households
with the following characteristics make
up an above-average share of second
property buyers among households
with outstanding loans: highest income
quartile, living in Vienna or other ur-
ban areas and living in apartments
smaller than 65m2. Of the households
that took out a loan to purchase a sec-
ond property, 52% use the property for
residential or similar purposes23, only
26% offer it for rent and 25% use it as
an investment.24
Households can secure a loan
against their primary residence and use
it for purposes other than purchasing
real estate. At the time of the survey,
this was the case with 24% of home-
owners who had taken out a loan at
some point in time to purchase their
primary residence.25 Such loans can be
used to finance e.g. consumption, home
improvements, investment or repay-
ment of other debt. Mortgage equity
withdrawal, or equity extraction, as
this type of financing is also called, is
very popular in the U.S.A. Extracting
home equity is only possible as long as
the current market value of the prop-
erty is higher than the mortgage debt.
Mortgage equity withdrawals increase
the liquidity of households' real estate
assets, but they also lead to stronger
wealth effects caused by interest rate
changes. Table A4 shows that an above-
average share of young households (51%
in the age group 18 to 29 years) and
high-income households (28% of the
highest income quartile) rely on this
type of financing. Salzburg (39%) and
Lower Austria (31%) are the two prov-
inces with the highest share of house-
holds holding such loans.
3.4 Collateralization
The OeNB's HSHW addressed two
types of loans that help increase the
probability that lenders' claims are
paid: mortgage-backed loans and guar-
antor loans.
Mortgage loans are very customary
in Austria. An overwhelming majority
of homeowning households with out-
23 Residential real property: used as vacation home, relatives live there; plots of land: (additional) usable space,
building a house for family or children later on.
24 The sum of all indicated purposes does not add up to 100%, as respondents could select multiple responses.
25 The respective figure for all homeowning households is unfortunately not available.
Page 11
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
standing debt (90% of them accounting
for 86% of the outstanding loan vol-
ume) have at least one such loan. Single
or divorced homeowners are less likely
than the other groups to hold such a
loan (table A4).
Guarantor loans – where a third
party (usually a family member) under-
takes to repay the loan should the bor-
rower fail to do so – are less common,
but still relevant. 44% of Austrian
households with outstanding loans
(representing 50% of the total out-
standing loan volume) have such a loan.
The younger a household, the more
likely it is to hold such a loan. 70% of
Rental Market in Austria
A 50% ratio of primary homeowners shows that a strong rental market exists in Austria. It
comprises government-subsidized housing and apartments as well as housing rented out by
private landlords.
In the following, we will look into the survey data on tenancy arrangements (see also sec-
tion 5). As many as 30% of all survey respondents (i.e. including those who are not indebted)
live in subsidized rental apartments: public housing apartments (Gemeindewohnung) or hous-
ing association apartments (Genossenschaftswohnung). Only 13% of respondents are tenants
or subtenants of property rented out by private landlords.
We will focus on homeowners of primary residences and other residential real estate (i.e.
excluding land, fields, forests, office space, hotels, business premises, etc.). 56% of all house-
holds surveyed own residential property, but how many of them actually live in the houses they
own? While 88% of homeowning respondents indicate that they live in one of the properties
they own, 7% of homeowners live in government-subsidized buildings or housing association
apartments, even though they own a place. The households in our data set own a total of
2,220 residential units. 79% of them are used as a primary residence, 7% are vacation homes,
and 4% are inhabited by the homeowners' relatives. Only 5% of residential real estate holdings
are rented out. Who are these (comparatively) few private landlords? 43% of them are em-
ployees, 22% are civil servants, and 6% are contract employees. The mean age of landlords is
47 years; the other homeowners are slightly older (50 years).
A closer look at the survey data on tenants shows that 34% of tenants have a housing as-
sociation apartment, and another 26% have a public housing apartment, so that 60% of ten-
ants in Austria live in government-subsidized apartments or houses. Only 30% are tenants or
subtenants of homes rented out by private landlords,1 and 8% of tenants are usufruct holders.
The data from the OeNB's HSHW provide an accurate reflection of the situation in the
Austrian rental market. The share of government-subsidized housing is high by European stan-
dards. While the eligibility of future tenants is rigorously reviewed before the conclusion of
rental agreements, less strict criteria apply when such an apartment is passed down to the
next generation.
To sum up, Austrian households purchase and own residential property mainly for their
own use, and less for the purpose of renting out or as an investment. There are two main rea-
sons why renting out is not as attractive in Austria as it is in other countries: First, tenant pro-
tection laws are rather strict in Austria (e.g. Landlord and Tenant Act – Mietrechtsgesetz –
and a law cushioning the impact of inflation on housing costs – Mietrechtliches Inflationslinde-
rungsgesetz), and second, landlords do not benefit that much from tax relief (e.g. deductibility
of mortgage interest payments from taxable income) that apply in several other European
countries (e.g. the Netherlands or Spain). These two factors are among the reasons why real
estate and rental prices in Austria have developed modestly by European standards. The
emergence of a real estate bubble is thus rather unlikely in Austria.
1 According to 2007 data of residential building statistics by Statistics Austria 46% of apartments or houses are rented
out by private landlords and 54% are housing association apartments or public housing apartments. These differences
in the data partly reflect different definitions of tenancy types (private, government-subsidized, usufruct rights).
Page 12
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
26 This result is not very robust, though, as it is based on only 30 respondents from Vorarlberg.
27 49 households with negative residual maturity were not taken into account. Negative residual maturities can
occur when respondents did not consider later extensions of maturity in their replies regarding the overall term of
the loan and when the date of maturity as originally agreed had already passed at the time of the interview.
28 According to the OeNB's housing finance survey, which was conducted among Austrian banks in summer 2008,
the maximum maturity of new mortgage loans was 25 to 30 years in 2007.
29 Maximum values are indicated because one household can have more than one loan.
guarantors for such loans are the bor-
rowers' partners, 22% are parents, 6%
are other relatives and 2% are other
people. Married couple homeowners
and nonemployed persons make up an
above-average share of guarantor loan
borrowers, as do low-income groups. A
breakdown by provinces shows that
Vorarlberg ranks first in this category:
A huge share – 83% – of indebted home-
owning households has at least one such
3.5 Maturity
Since the start of Stage Three of EMU,
the average maturity of new loans has
climbed steadily in the euro area. This
development reflects a rise in real estate
prices and the associated increase in
debt, but also longer life expectancy
and a higher retirement age. Other
contributing factors are stronger com-
petition and better long-term financing
conditions by banks. The longer aver-
age maturity of new loans is important
in that it can balance the effects of
rising debt levels: While the latter raise
households' vulnerability to monetary
shocks (and thus amplify the effects of
such shocks), longer maturities can
reduce these risks and dampen these
Against this background, we will
examine the characteristics of house-
holds that have loans with especially
long maturities. Comparability is, how-
ever, limited based on the survey data,
as comparing maturities would make
sense only if we had a sample of house-
holds that took out their loans at the
same time. Our data cover households
that took out a loan between 1941 and
2008, though, and the sample would be
too small if we focused on one particu-
lar year (e.g. 2007). Alternatively, we
will compare data on residual maturity,
which for this purpose is defined as the
difference between the year in which
the loan will mature and the year in
which the interview took place (2008).27
The average total maturity period
of all loans outstanding as of 2007 was
between 22 and 25 years (for the aver-
age household's loan with the shortest
and longest maturity, respectively),
depending on how many outstanding
loans the household had.28 The average
residual maturity period of loans per
household was 14 to 16 years (table
A4). As expected, residual maturity
declines the older borrowers are: While
the minimum residual maturity for
borrowers aged 18 to 29 is on average
19 years, the maximum residual matu-
rity for those aged 60 to 69 years is
11 years. Maximum residual maturities
tend to be shorter for high-income
households than for low-income bor-
rowers, who probably simply take
l onger to repay their loans. A similar
picture emerges for debt amounts: The
higher a loan is, the longer the residual
maturity period. The longest average
residual maturity periods are observed
for borrowers from Vorarlberg (17
years) and Vienna (maximum29 19 years),
while the shortest periods are recorded
for Carinthia (maximum 11 years).
Page 13
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
3.6 Type of Interest Rate
The type of interest rate agreed for a
loan is relevant for how quickly mone-
tary shocks affect disposable income.
Financial accounts data show that the
bulk of loans in Austria are variable rate
loans: 61% of housing loans extended
in 2007 were variable rate loans, com-
pared with 43% in the euro area.30
Accordingly, the monetary transmis-
sion of interest rate changes to dispos-
able income can be expected to be
faster in Austria than on average in the
euro area. The factors leading to the
predominance of variable rate loans in
Austria are not clear and may be highly
varied. On the demand side, it may be
cultural characteristics and rather low
risk aversion. On the supply side, it
could be banks' short-term refinancing
practices or the historically strong bank
competition, which has led banks to
attract customers with low short-term
interest rates. Institutional factors such
as interest rate ceilings and floors have
also played a role. See ECB (2009) for
a more comprehensive discussion of
these issues.
In this study, the variable rate loan
category includes loans assigned to this
category by the borrowing household
as well as loans with a combination of
fixed and floating rates. The survey
data (table A4) indicate that 66% of
households holding loans have at least
one variable rate loan, 36% have at least
one fixed rate loan and only 6% have at
least one interest-free loan. These
results are broadly confirmed by the
aggregated data. Looking at house-
holds' characteristics, we find that the
share of variable rate borrowers is espe-
cially high among young homeowning
households (75% of those aged 18 to 29
years) and university graduates (79%).
In a breakdown by provinces, it turns
out that households from Vienna (82%),
Burgenland (77%) and Vorarlberg
(74%) rank first in this category. Fixed
rate housing loans, by contrast, are
more common among older households
(42% of those aged 60 to 69 years) and
civil servants (52%).31 Among the Aus-
trian provinces, Lower Austria has the
highest share of such loans (48%). Bor-
rowers with outstanding interest-free
loans32 tend to be in older age cohorts
(32% of those aged 70+). Regarding
income and regions, low-income groups
(16%) and households from Tyrol (15%)
are more likely to hold such loans than
the other groups.
In a next step, we use a logit model
to estimate the determinants of likeli-
hood of variable rate debt, controlling
for various sociodemographic variables
(table A3). An interaction term of edu-
cation and income shows that the likeli-
hood of holding variable rate debt in-
creases with income across all educa-
tion levels – with the exception of the
lowest education level: The term is sig-
nificantly different from zero for all
groups except graduates of secondary
academic and secondary vocational
schools. A decline in this likelihood
with rising income is only observed for
the group with the lowest education
level. One possible interpretation of
this outcome could be that households
with low (compulsory) education levels
tend to be more risk-averse and there-
30 In this context, variable rate loans include loans with a floating rate and loans with an initial rate fixation of up
to one year.
31 82% of farmers hold fixed rate housing loans, but the survey sample was too small (less than 50 households) to
yield robust results.
32 These results are not very robust, as the number of respondents holding interest-free loans was small in our sample
(less than 50 households).
Page 14
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
fore prefer to take out fixed rate or in-
terest-free loans.33 In addition, Lower
Austria is the only province with a sig-
nificantly lower prevalence of variable
rate loans than Vorarlberg, which con-
firms the descriptive data according to
which an above-average share of house-
holds from Lower Austria hold fixed
rate loans. Age has no significant im-
pact on the likelihood of holding vari-
able rate debt.
Two other interesting outcomes are
that 81% (i.e. a disproportionately large
share) of households with bullet loans
have at least one variable rate loan (ta-
ble A5), and that the share of variable
rate loans rises with average residual
maturity, so that a trend emerges to-
ward variable rate housing loans.
3.7 Repayment
The most common way for Austrian
private borrowers to repay a loan is
through regular installments of both in-
terest and principal. These installments
are higher in the beginning and decline
gradually as more of the principal is re-
paid. 60% of Austrian households with
outstanding housing loans in 2007 had
at least one such installment loan for
housing, which is by far the most com-
mon type of loan, accounting for 85%
of the total volume of outstanding
Another, less common way is bullet
loans, where the entire initial loan
amount is due at maturity (one-time
payment) and borrowers make only
monthly interest payments. A mere
12% of indebted households (account-
ing for 15% of the outstanding credit
volume) have at least one such loan (ta-
ble A4). Bullet loans are especially pop-
ular among high-income groups (17%)
and among households from Vorarlberg
(38%) and Burgenland (32%).34
Bullet loans are usually linked to re-
payment vehicles that borrowers use to
save the amount of money required to
redeem the loan at maturity. The higher
the assumed average yield that is gener-
ated by the repayment vehicle, the
lower the monthly saving amount that
is required to pay back the loan. In case
the interest yields fall behind expecta-
tions, however, borrowers may find it
difficult to pay back the full loan
amount. Our data indicate that most
indebted households that hold repay-
ment vehicles rely primarily on capital
market investment to achieve their re-
turns: 60% have a life insurance policy,
38% hold a mutual fund policy, and 4%
hold stocks. Building and loan contracts
(9%) and savings books (4%) play only
a minor role as repayment vehicles.35
This is why repayment vehicles involve
the same risk as other types of security
speculation: the higher the expected
return, the greater the associated risk.
The average amount repaid in 2007
was EUR 7,883. Repayment amounts
were especially high among university
graduates (EUR 11,207), self-employed
persons/business owners and civil ser-
vants (EUR 10.787 and EUR 10,077,
respectively) as well as among house-
holds from Tyrol, Upper Austria and
Vorarlberg (EUR 14,334, EUR 10,299
and EUR 9,969, respectively). The
breakdown by households' loan portfo-
lios in table A5 shows that repayment
33 We developed risk aversion indicators based on the households' financial investment portfolios and included them
as regressors. The impact of these variables on the likelihood of variable rate debt was, however, always insignifi-
cantly different from zero.
34 The results for households that have bullet loans are not very robust, though, as the sample included only few such
35 All figures in this sentence refer to households that hold at least one such instrument.
Page 15
Housing Finance of Austrian Households
obligations are particularly high for
households that have a foreign currency
loan (EUR 9,594 per year), even though
this group also has an above-average
share of bullet loans. The longer the av-
erage residual maturity of a loan was
(based on 2007 data), the higher the
annual repayment amounts.
3.8 Loan-to-Value Ratio36
The trend toward longer loan terms
and new types of credit that allow for
delaying repayment has led to a rise in
the ratio of housing loans to housing
wealth in the euro area. In 2007, this
loan-to-value (LTV) ratio was on aver-
age 51% for Austrian households.37
While households with a high LTV
ratio can use a relatively larger share of
their income for consumption, high
LTV ratios also exacerbate potential
wealth effects on consumption (e.g.
through changes in real estate or secu-
rity prices), which would eventually
amplify the influence interest rate
changes have on aggregate demand.
Table A4 shows that LTV ratios are
higher the younger a household with
outstanding debt is (74% in the youngest
age group). It is the other way round
with income: The higher household
income, the lower the LTV ratio. While
the LTV ratio is 68% for indebted
households in the lowest income group,
it is just 42% for those in the highest.
The highest LTV ratios are reported for
Vorarlberg (85%) and Vienna (60%), the
lowest for Carinthia (37%), Burgen land
(40%) and Lower Austria (42%).
The breakdown by loan types in
table A5 shows that especially house-
holds with foreign currency loans or
bank loans tend to have above-average
LTV ratios (68% and 61%, respec-
tively). The lower the average interest
rate households pay for their loans, the
higher their LTV ratio (64% in the
lowest interest quartile).
4 Alternative Forms of
Housing Finance38
Taking out a loan is not the only way to
finance real estate – people can make
an inheritance or receive financial sup-
port from family or friends. These
alternative forms of housing finance are
important insofar as they are loan sub-
stitutes: If the amounts thus obtained
make up a substantial share of housing
finance, households will take out
smaller loan amounts (if at all), house-
hold debt will be lower (as people do
not have to pay back any money), and
the households' sensitivity to changes
in interest rates and income levels will
decline. In this section, we focus exclu-
sively on primary homeowners, as no
data on alternative forms of housing
finance are available for the other
Two-thirds of all homeowning
households in our data set had to rely
on third-party financing39 to purchase
their primary residence. Around one-
half of them financed their homes
through credits alone, while the other
half (at least also) used alternative forms
of finance (40% received financial sup-
36 In this section, we refer to all indebted households (including those who have taken out a housing loan to finance
a housing association deposit or to purchase a second property).
37 This share covers the entire stock of outstanding housing loans, not only new loans. According to the OeNB's hous-
ing finance survey, LTV ratios were between 70% and 96% for bank loans taken out in Austria in 2007.
38 Our analysis of the variables presented in sections 4 and 5 (loan taken out, inheritance, inter vivos gift from fam-
ily or friends and government-subsidized housing loan) is based on values at the time of the real estate purchase
and not on values as of December 31, 2007, like in the previous sections. The data on sociodemographic charac-
teristics, however, refer to the time of the interview. Our results should be interpreted in this light.
39 This includes loans, inheritances or money received as an inter vivos gift from family or friends.


text:
Lambert High School Homes For Sale
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South Forsyth Suwanee Georgia Neighborhood
Grand Cascades – Located in South Forsyth on the Chattahoochee River in the Lambert High School district
Olde Atlanta Club
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Railway platforms low
The height of the platforms in Tiruchi Town Railway station is too low and the height of the two island platforms at the station should be increased to a considerable level. As a result, passengers find it uncomfortable to board the trains.
K. Venkatesan,
Rockfort Agraharam.
The article "Srirangam's historic structures on the brink of collapse (April-15)" is timely. The rampant construction boom in the temple town is posing threat to its beauty and historic significance. The mushrooming of apartments in Srirangam is a definite cause for this degeneration. It is distressing to see mindless demolition of historic structures and unauthorised construction at several places. Flat promoters are persistently on the lookout for sites even in bylanes. A small island like Srirangam cannot withstand such a construction boom. It is time authorities took a strong stand against unauthorised and illegal construction besides putting a firm full stop to any new flat promotion venture by the realtors.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Ensure comfort at schools
Some educational institutions in the city use asbestos sheets as shelters and steel benches within the premises. Students bear the brunt of the heat and suffer from summer-relate diseases. Authorities from the education department should visit all schools and ensure a comfortable studying atmosphere for the children.
Palakkarai Main Road.
Delay in despatching RC books
When new vehicles are purchased, RC books reach the vehicle owners only after 10 to 15 days, causing much hardship. While new drivers may put off taking the vehicle during the interim period, it is difficult for those who are completely dependant on vehicles not to use their vehicles. Without registration number, if the vehicle is driven, the risks of being caught by the police are more. To overcome this issue, an SMS can be sent to the vehicle purchasers immediately on registration from the RTO office. This can be shown to the police, when asked for as being done in case of IRCTC tickets.
M. Gopalakrishnan,
Thillai Nagar.
Traffic regulation
The construction of bridge in Ariyamangalam and Tiruverumbur will take another three to four months. The public are facing difficulties while crossing the bridges, which takes more than half an hour during peak hours. Traffic should either be regulated or the road shouls be made as a 'one way'.
Food quality at hostels
The steps initiated by the district administration for improving the quality of noon meals under the scheme are mouth-watering. The Collector, similarly, should turn her attention towards hostels run by Backward Class and Adi Dravidar Welfare Department, where the quality of food served to the inmates is very poor. The food served to the patients at the government headquarters hospital is not of good quality.
Implementation of RTE Act in private schools
The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which provides for free and compulsory education to children between 6 and 14 years. Private schools are also required to set aside 25 per cent seat for the poor children. Though the government may compensate private schools for the arrangement, how far it will live up to the expectations of the schools is not known.
Private schools even after collecting admission fees, special, tuition, and miscellaneous fees, promptly collect charges for annual day function, school belt, and identity card and ask the parents to buy all type of charts. Can we expect such schools to reserve 25 per cent seats for the poor students?P. K. Raman,
Ayyappa Nagar.
Plea for vestibule bus services to Thuvakudi
Though there are an adequate number of city buses plying to Thuvakudi from Chathiram bus stand, there are no vestibule buses on the route. There is a vestibule service to Thuvakudi from Central Bus Stand. Public would stand to gain a lot if vestibule bus services are introduced to Thuvakudi from Chathiram bus stand.
S. Rajagopal,
Chinnakkadai street.
Content of TV serials
Discipline among young school students is a hard thing to come by these days. Nowadays, most of the educational institutions are not able to establish a congenial relationship between students and teachers.
The root cause for this changing educational scenario is serials played on televisions. The censor board should look into the content of these serials that showcase immoral behaviour, spoiling the minds of the younger generation.
R. Palanivelu,
Pudukottai Road.
Damaged electrical lamp posts
Most of the electrical lamp posts in the city are in a damaged condition and the people at the helm of affairs at TANGEDCO have turned a blind eye to this issue. Many electrical posts on thoroughfares warrant replacement, as they pose a big threat to public.
Even specific complaints are not being looked into by the officials. The residents of the Vignesh Nagar, Kattur, preferred a complaint to AEE, TANGEDCO, Kattur for shifting a damaged lamp post, which has been erected in a narrow lane. The TANGEDCO officials replaced the lamp post without shifting its location. The threat persists.
H. Ghouse Baig,
Crawford Colony.
Maintain pavements
Pedestrians' platforms at Main Guard Gate are not being properly maintained. The cement slabs on the platforms near the arch gate are broken, posing threat to pedestrians, particularly senior citizens, women and children. The situation turns worse during power cuts at the night hours.
Janakimaindan S. Raj,
Chinnakkadai street.
Hike in electricity tariff
The recent hike in electricity charges for usage of over 500 units for domestic consumers is quite exorbitant for bi-monthly billing. An average upper middle class family may definitely consume at least 10 units/day living in 800 sq.ft house using day-to-day gadgets such as television, refrigerator, grinder, mixers, computer.
The hike in electricity charges apart from milk, bus fare, has made it a tough call for many. People belonging to different enterprises such as textile merchants, shopping malls and others, may be imposed restriction on consumption instead of charging them higher rates . The Electricity Board can save electricity by using methods such as solar/wind energy, cost-effective CFL lights, instead of penalising consumers. I request consumer forums and other voluntary organisations to urge the government to resume monthly billing.B. Shyamala,
Kurunji Nagar.
Curtains in AC coaches
In AC 2 tier and 3 tier compartments in trains, a curtain is provided to ensure privacy of passengers using berths.
In AC 2 tier, this proves useful. With regard to 3 tier AC coaches, the provision of this curtain causes difficulty for the passengers who are allotted upper berths. The middle berth occupants somehow manage to take their berths. The curtain is hung on a small pipe below the roof of the coach, thus limiting the already reduced space available. The upper berth occupants find it difficult to climb to the upper berth as there is very little space to manoeuvre entry into the upper berth. The plight of aged passengers and women is awful. Further, the linen uses for the curtain is also not clean, often emanating foul smell. The curtain facility in 3 tier AC coaches should be dispensed with.
B. Kanagasabapathy,
Bharathidasan Salai.
Troublesome 'manja' kites
Use of 'manja' is no substitute for and original kite. When 'manja' is applied to the string of kites it has dangerous consequences. Youngsters should desist from using 'manja' while flying kites, as it is subject to punishment.
K. Aravind,
Re-lay road
The road near the Thuraiyur bus stand is in a bad condition. Driving on this road, particularly during the night hours is a difficult task. I request the Thuraiyur Municipality to re-lay the road immediately.
J. V. Vijayakumar,
Service lane debate
Negotiating the Thuvakudi-Palpannai stretch is a nightmare. The move to have service roads on either side is lauded by all road users.
Acquisition of land for development purposes may ultimately bring benefits to society but it is disruptive to people whose land is acquired. It displaces families from their homes, and businesses from their neighbourhoods and at times their means of livelihood. The emotional damage can hardly be compensated. A feasibility study and consultation from all segments and experts is sine qua non to explore for a viable alternate back road.
K. Suresh Babu,
Raja Colony.
No water in coach
During my travel to Chennai last month by the Mangalore Express, there was no water at the toilet or washbasin at the S1 coach. Even after complaining to the TTE, no attempt was made to fill water at the station. Of late, maintenance of coaches in trains is horrible. There should be a system to establish accountability on the part of Southern Railway, in this issue. Just publishing emails, phone numbers, and SMS complaint system without initiating any action will gain the displeasure of the public.
Familiarise people with jute, cloth bags
Shopping malls were giving plastic bags free of cost for carrying items purchased. Due to the ban on use of plastics, customers are expected to bring bags while shopping. Alternatively, if a customer needs a plastic bag, they charge Rs.2 to 5 per bag depending on its size . Many shoppers invariably come without a bag and do not pay the extra money for the plastic bag. Hence the object of inducing customers to avoid plastic is not fulfilled.
Also vegetables and rice purchased from malls are packed separately, item wise and price tag is fixed on each packet for payment at counter. Most of the items sold in the malls are packed in plastic bags and kept in racks for customers. This shows that the consumption of plastic cannot be brought down merely by charging customers. If the government is really interested in abolishing plastic bags, jute or cloth bags can be made available at a low price.
Kanagaraj Arthur,
Ramalinga Nagar South Extension.
Bus fare
Of late, many moffusil buses plying between Tiruchi and Thanjavur/Madurai/Salem have been running as express service overnight with a sticker 'Express' affixed in front. Passengers are forced to pay express bus fare for a rickety travel in buses that were collecting only ordinary bus fares till now. Already burdened with a steep bus fare hike, this proves to be a double whammy for hapless commuters. I appeal to transport corporations to put an end to this unfair practice.
A.V. Narayanan,
Thillai Nagar.
Encroachments bother vehicle users
Traffic woes of road users of Vayalur road are plenty. The already narrow road is plagued by discriminate encroachments at three points at least on the road, especially from the Uyyakondan bridge to the four-road junction. At Geetha Nagar, it is common to spot waiting construction labourers swelling into the middle of the road thus totally obstructing traffic. The bus stops on opposite directions at this point is ill-planned and can easily be shifted a few metres away where there is plenty of space which is occupied by mini lorries. The labourers should be advised to wait at the banks of the canal nearby where there is enough space. The second bottleneck is at the popular vegetable shop near Kumaran Nagar which has no parking area of its own. The police always turn a blind eye in this case, and do not urge vehicles to park away from the point . The third major hurdle is at the four- road junction. Here, the iron barricade placed by the police is an unwise idea, which hinders traffic flow towards the government hospital. Autos parked at the area and heaps of sand and gravel dumped at the point makes the stretch a narrow one. The eating joint at this point, where two wheeler riders have to wait for their turn to cross during red signal, proves to be an inconvenience. The heat from the open oven is irritating vehicle users.Dr. V. Raghuraman,
Rettai Vaikal.
Cheerleaders at IPL matches
Traditional dancers can be given an opportunity at the IPL matches to showcase their talents. Dancers from specific states can prove their footwork instead of cheerleaders thereby declaring to the world the diverse cultures of India. The move would also pay homage to dancers of traditional art forms who are economically poor. It is laudable that cheerleaders of Pune Warriors are traditional artistes. It would be impressive if all other teams followed this move.S.Niranjani


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Academic Enrichment
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Lights, Camera, Action!
Lights, Camera, Action for Kids uses drama techniques to build self-confidence and effective communication skills, while encouraging a child's creative and imaginary flair. Classes are broken down into ages 4-8 and 9-13, and are taken in two steps. The first course, "Acting Out," lasts 14 weeks and includes various forms of acting styles and methods. The second course, "Creative Dramatics," lasts 5-7 weeks and teaches students how to deal with life's obstacles through drama.
Currently, classes are Monday from 5pm-7pm for ages 9-13, and Thursdays from 5pm-7pm for ages 4-8. Monthly and bimonthly payment plans are available and the first class is FREE! "I want [kids] to use acting as yet another vehicle for positive expression," says director and instructor Joan Desir-Colas. Lights, Camera, Action for Kids is currently registering students until March for the Winter-Spring 2010 "Acting Out" course. Located at Thinkertots New Hyde Park, 1818 Jericho Turnpike in New Hyde Park (entrance is on Hoffman Street). For more information and/or to receive a registration packet, contact Joan at firstname.lastname@example.com or 516-505-5566. www.lightscameraaction4kids.yolasite.com.
Summer Fun
LuHi Summer Programs have provided a fun learning experience in a variety of sports, educational, and recreational programs since 1962. Located on the campus of Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School, there are 38 different programs for kids from preschool through 12th grade.
Programs include Golf, Kickline, Field Hockey, Tennis, Theater, Dance, Horsemanship, Soccer, Lacrosse, Computer school and much more. They each take place in two-week sessions and are directed by professionals in the field. Program hours are Monday through Friday 9:30am-3:45pm.
Buses arrive on campus between 9am and 9:25am, and depart from campus between 4pm and 4:15pm. If any of the activities occur off campus, transportation to and from the off-site facility is provided by shuttle bus from Brookville Road. In addition, Program Plus is an extended day program for working parents who need to drop off students early or pick them up late. LuHi Summer programs can be found at 131 Brookville Road, Brookville. 516-626-1100. www.luhi.com.
Parenting Ed.
Newly opened in October 2009, Parent Sense offers parenting classes, workshops, playgroups, and private consultations. They have developed feeding and sleeping schedules, which include tips to get your child sleeping through the night and instruction on how to introduce solid foods. Workshops are held on the second Thursday of each month from 11am-12pm.
On February 11th the topic will be "Sleeping Issues," and on March 11th the topic will be "Potty Training. " Additional classes include "We're Having a Baby," "We're Having Twins," "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" and "Discipline 101." Each class lasts two hours and they are held at The Cupcake Corner, 61 New Hyde Park Road in Garden City.
Playgroups are currently structured for twins and triplets and run for six consecutive weeks. For newborns through 12 months the playgroup is on Wednesdays from 12pm-12:45pm and for 1 to 3-year-olds it is on Saturdays from 9:15am-10:15am. Call 917-862-7644 for details about the February playgroups being held at Little Seeds of Garden City. For your convenience, classes can also be taught in the comfort of your own home. www.theparentsense.com.
Locust Valley Day Camp Adds Science Programs
My Spectrum School Offers Gifted & Talented Early Childhood Education
Portledge Summer Adventures Launches Two New Programs
Merrick Fashion Class Offers 'Sew' Many Options
LIU Post Youth Camp To Begin Cheerleading Program
local zones
Nassau cont.
Suffolk cont.
Westchester cont.
Rockland cont.
Queens cont.
Brooklyn cont.


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Megastar Amitabh Bachchan turned 71 Friday birthday and on the occasion of his birthday he announced that he has taken up an initiative to provide electricity to 3,000 houses in rural India using solar power.
Harivansh Rai Bachchan Memorial Trust and Urja Foundation have come together in the endeavour to provide solar-powered lights to small villages hitherto deprived of electricity.
"There is a trust in my father's name - Harivansh Rai Bachchan Trust - and whatever money we collect, we give it to some charitable cause. Urja Foundation will provide electricity to 3,000 houses in villages," Big B told reporters.
"This is just a beginning. We will start this by November. The electricity will be provided through solar energy free of cost to small villages," he said.
Do you like this article?
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just fantastic. Mr Bachchan u support a unique idea.
A host of veteran and young Bollywood directors are likely to attend a ...
R. Balki and Amitabh Bachchan's much anticipated third outing ...


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Market Price - what it is, and isn't
I found this list, and thought it was a good reminder of what Market Price is, and isn't:
The Market Value of your home IS NOT:
* What you have in it
* What you need out of it
* What it is appraised for
* What you heard your neighbor's house sold for
* What the tax office says it is worth
* What it is insured for
* Based on memories and treasures
* Based on prices of homes where you are moving
The True Market Value of your home IS:
* What a buyer is willing to pay for the property - TODAY
* Based on today's market
* Based on today's competition
* Based on today's financing
* Based on today's economic conditions
* Based on the buyer's perception of property condition
* Based on location
* Based on normal marketing time
As a Seller you control:
* The price you ask
* The condition of the property
* Access to the property
As a Seller you do not control:
* Market conditions
* The motivation of your competition
* Value
I don't know. The things is the list are, well, basic. I certainly knew them well before I listed my current house, or the house before, or the house before that. I've never had much difficulty before last year of figuring out the market price. It has been much more difficult in the past year even when efforts are made to apply the above.
Knowing this in your head and actually applying it are two different things. People need to see it in black and white so it goes from the back of their mind to the front. Having been apart of this forum for awhile I've seen a large number of folks who come thru who just don't get it. They truly believe that they should get out of their house every nickel they put into it and then some. They come here thinking the bad ol' RA is the problem when really it's them. They aren't looking at selling as a business deal. They get caught up in out dated thinking.
I would change one word.
"Based on the buyer's perception of property condition"
"Based on the buyer's perception of property desirability"
A home in poor condition can be very desirable. A perfectly maintained house with unused appliances can leave a buyer cold.
I mean that a house can be in perfect condition, with brand new appliances and granite counters etc, etc, but if buyer just doesn't like the floor plan, or if the perfectly painted ceilings just aren't high enough or if there is no perfect lovely corner in which to place the piano, or -- well, you get the picture. I didn't mean to say that new appliances or perfect maintenance are a negative. Only that a home can have them and still not be desireable to a given buyer.
Or, to see it another way, a poorly maintained addition could be desireable for a buyer who wanted to tear it down to make room for a patio and pool. In this case, poor condition would be more desirable.


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Jerusalem Tower Hotel
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Israel Day 7
... visiting the museum we headed to the Jewish Quarter of the Old
City and had lunch. Most of the group went to a sit down restaurant, but
my brother and I went to the local fast food joint. Schwarma, kebabs,
felafel, grilled chicken and more served on a pita or a bigger flatbread
that looked very similar to a burrito back home. I enjoyed my kebabs ...
Day Eight- Contd.
... communion together in one of the chapels in the garden. • Avi did a good job with Kelvins' help getting the bus out of a blocked lane by reversing onto a road,especially as a large refuse bin was on fire close by. • washed our clothes by hand in the bath tub because the Sabboth starts this evening and our washing would take more than 24 hrs,it would not be back till late Sunday morning and we will have left ...
Day Ten
... tomorrow. We've enjoyed an enlightening, rewarding and memorable time with this wonderful group of 50 people. We plan to meet up with many of them again when we return to Denver next year. Thanks for a wonderful tour, Pastor George and Cheryl! By the way, Pastor George and three others met with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday and with the Department of Defense on Wednesday. Please pray for the peace of Israel and that of her ...
Land of milk and honey - Part 1 (wedding warm up)
... a multi course meal. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: in the evening, after synagogue late morning, and late in the afternoon before the sun sets. Then shabbat is closed by another blessing and lighting of candles. I have to say being welcomed into Ariella's extended and very large loving families arms and homes for this holiday was an amazing way to start my time in Israel. I have to say that not only were my surroundings very different, but the smells and tastes were ...
Keep me Safe
... was not that far but lugging a suit case to it does prove to be a little challenging at times. When we hit Jaffa street I saw police on horses and I got really excited as I love horses and was surprised that the cops used them in Israel. I stopped to take a photo of them then continued to the train station. I took note that the air train was already at the station so we had to wait for the next one as we would not have made it in time. ...


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POSTED: Monday, July 29, 2013 - 6:09pm
UPDATED: Monday, July 29, 2013 - 6:10pm
William "Billy" Abraham was sentenced to 180 days in jail, bonds out in hours
El Paso, TX (KTSM) — The El Paso businessman acquitted on intoxication manslaughter was back in court Monday. William "Billy" Abraham posted a personal recognizance bail for $1,000.
Court officials said Abraham spent just hours in jail before he posted bond on Friday. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail.
As we've reported, Abraham was accused of hitting 47-year-old Jay Grady with his truck on July 20, 2010. A witness in the trial testified that Abraham had a blood alcohol content level of .20 while the victim had a BAC of .23. The legal limit is .08.
Abraham will be back in court in November for a civil suit against him.
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1998 Cadillac Seville Sedan STS 4dr Sedan
I have only owned sports cars, '95 Camaro Z28, '92 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4, '04 MINI Cooper S. So for me to change to a luxury vehicle was a bit of a step. But this vehicle surprised me with its acceleration. I was hooked after the first drive. Comfort is great! It is hard to find a car that performs decently, and is comfortable. It doesn't handle very well, but I didn't buy it for that. I can't see myself with out a Caddilac & MINI. One for road trips, the other for beatin' up the streets!
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I love the ride, power, confort, style of the car. Things I don't like: It burns a quart of oil every 1,500 miles, have had problems with the heating and air controls from time to time.
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1998 Cadillac Seville Sedan SLS 4dr Sedan
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My wife and I purchased this vehicle
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I have a 98 STS it has abt 70,000 miles
I have been very happy with it being my
second sts. i owned a 94 sts
previously. I love the performance and
the handling at 1st was not up to
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ecsta tires it handles like a dream! I
will be buying a 2005 STS when they
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I put a lot of money into this car.
When it worked, it worked well. It
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problems and handling problems) the
car's "Check Suspension System"
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This 98 STS is the best. Got all the
options. Had to look hard for the wood
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I have owed this 1998 for about 12
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But, it is just standard in its drive
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This is the best touring sedan I've
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punishing ride. The heated seats are a
great option especially with leather.
You can't beat the Northstar engine for
performance but the gas mileage is not
that good. Overall it's a grea
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Henry Clay. Renowned statesmen. Orator. "The Great Pacificator." Died in 1852.
But, if you would like to get an idea of what it would be like to hear him speak, you are in for a treat.
George J. McGee, a professor of theater at Georgetown College, will portray Clay as the featured guest at the Spencer County Historical Society's annual dinner, set for 6 p.m. Monday, March 30, at the Spencer County Extension Building.
by JANET PATTON/Kentucky Press News Service
Gov. Julian Carroll's belief that Kentuckians will not have to pay state tax on federal income rebates was affirmed Friday by Atty. Gen. Ed Hancock.
The governor asked for Hancock's opinion in a letter to the attorney general Thursday.
Copyright © 2015
The Spencer Magnet is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Spencer County, KY and the surrounding area.


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Can You Contract AIDS From Touching Hemorrhoid
Here's a taste of what TheBody.com has to offer on this topic:
Get the Facts
HIV/AIDS Among Hispanics/Latinos...likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The presence of certain sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can significantly increase one's chances of contracting HIV infection. A person who has both HIV infection and certain STDs has a greater chance of infecting others with HIV. The rates of STDs remain high among Hispanics/Latinos. Cultural factors may affect...
Ask the Experts
Fingering and HIV ??Hello Dr. Bob!I'm writing you from Wienna and came to you through my friedn, who gived me the link of your site and foundation. I'm employed and so i can donate to your foundation regulary (100 Eur/ month could be possible). Is there possibility for...
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...Europe. I've attended some spectacular concerts there.Your HIV-acquisition risk is essentially nonexistent, with or without the hemorrhoids and diabetes. Your fears of contracting HIV via residual sperm in your hooker's mouth transferred to her... Read more »
Stumped Sex-Ed Teacher that cannot find the answer in yuour archives. UgggggghDr Bob, I am a Sex-Ed teacher and a student actually asked me a question I could not answer correctly.Here was the question this boy asked me. He was using the urinal at school and was doing his business. (# 1). He said after he was finished, before...
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...if you have HSV-2, OK? If you aren't having unsafe sex with an HIV-positive person in the porta-potty, you aren't at risk for contracting the virus there, OK? (See below.)Thanks for your donation to the Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation... Read more »
Should my son be worried?Hello Dr Robert! I'm from France but I hope you'll understand my son's problem...I salute you and appreciate the answers you give people in trouble, depression, or anxiety. I have a question for you that gives me headaches for several weeks (about...
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...parts of their body ( near the anus or thebutt (sorry I do not know how to say it in a formal way jaja), or what if they have hemorrhoids that bleed every time they go to the bathroom ( not so rare due to the lowest amount of fibers consumed in... Read more »
Hiv (QTND: CAN YOU GIVE YOURSELF HIV OR STD BY MASTURBATION, 2010)helloi was masturbating the other day and i came on my boxers. so my boxers were wet,as i was taking them off the wet part on my boxers touched a wound on my knee, would i get hiv?
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...have another fine example of how sex education is shamefully lacking in our schools. Teenagers should not be worrying about contracting HIV form burping the nephew and getting a bit of baby batter on their hands!!! Demand age-appropriate,... Read more »
Women and HIV/AIDS...Women Pregnancy and HIV In Conclusion A Look at the Numbers Over 25 years have passed since the first diagnosis of AIDS in America.While there were a handful of women among the first cases, AIDS was thought toprimarily affect gay... Read more »
What Are the Symptoms of HIV and AIDS?... When it comes to the symptoms of HIV/AIDS, there are three major points to keep in mind: There's a big difference between the symptoms of HIV and the symptoms of advanced Read more »
How to Spot HIV/AIDS Fraud... What Is HIV/AIDS Fraud? Warning Signs of an HIV Fraud Common Sense About Unproven Treatments Questions You Should Ask Take Your Time; Read more »
Peripheral Neuropathy and HIV/AIDS...applaud your successes. References Highleyman, L. (2002). Peripheral Neuropathy. Bulletin of ExperimentalTreatments for AIDS: Retrieved July 2003 from www.thebody.com/sfaf/winter02/pn.html Venkat K. and Florian P. (2005). Neurological... Read more »
Connect With Others
Am I Infected
Posted by delhiguy, 3 Replies...I met this friend of mine on 5th of Dec 2010 which was just a causual meeting after 5 years. After having drinks she started touching me and I got aroused and we end up mating. While in act, she pulled out a Condom from her hand bag and tried to... Read more »
Im new and want friends!=)
Posted by chula93, 1 Reply...hey! i am new here. I have had HIV all my life. i was born with it. Anyway, i thought it would be nice to talk to other people. Dame un mesaje si tu quieres=) Read more »
Penis Glans and the risk of contracting HIV
Posted by dopey33, 3 Replies...penis. I immediately washed my penis with warm water and dry it up. I am concern because online it talks about how you can get HIV if any contaminated fluids goes as far as touching the glans. Please confirm if this is true or not. I have no... Read more »
HIV contraction possible in this scenario?
Posted by Melissa_Rowan, 1 Reply...wiped my nose with my shirt , my nose in which was sore and raw from a cold. Theoretically if the blood on my shirt was from an HIV+ person and I did wipe my sore and raw nose, is transmission possible? (I didn't have a bloody nose or anything) ... Read more »
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