Merry Christmas To One and All

Xmas

Christmas or Christmas Day (Old EnglishCrīstesmæsse, meaning “Christ‘s Mass“) is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the  Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an Octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world’s nations, is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the holiday season.

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Rooftop solar: How homeowners should do the math on the investment

  • Residential solar power can lower a homeowner’s carbon footprint, but crucially, also save money in the long-term.
  • But a major decision by California’s utility regulator to cut back on net metering, which will reduce the total savings homeowners can make by selling energy to the grid by as much as 60%, changes the economic equation and could have national ramifications.
  • Storing electricity in a solar-powered battery, as energy storage costs come down, can make up for net metering reductions, but have a decade-long payback period.
  • Local and state tax credits and the Inflation Reduction Act are shortening the payback period for solar installation costs.

California had among the most generous rules of all until this week. But state utility regulators agreed to let utilities pay much less for excess power they are required to buy, after power companies argued that the rates were too high, and raised power prices for other customers.

Wood Mackenzie said the details of California’s decision made it look less onerous than the firm had expected. EnergySage says the payback period for California systems without a battery will be 10 years instead of six after the new rules take effect in April. Savings in the years afterward will be about 60 percent less, the company estimates. Systems with a battery, which pay for themselves after 10 years, will be little affected because their owners keep most of their excess power instead of selling it to the utility, according to EnergySage. 

“The new [California rules] certainly elongate current payback periods for solar and solar-plus-storage, but not by as much as the previous proposal,” Wood Mackenzie said in the Dec. 16 report. “By 2024, the real impacts of the IRA will begin to come to fruition.”

The more expensive power is from a local utility, the more sense home solar will make. And some contractors will back claims about power savings with agreements to pay part of your utility bill if the systems don’t produce as much energy as promised. 

“You have to do your homework before you sign,” Hurwitz said. “But energy costs always go up. That’s another hidden incentive.”

Original Article

California slashes incentives for new rooftop solar

California Public Utilities Commission subsidy cuts for new Net Energy Metering customers don’t go as far as utilities wanted, but too far for solar industry.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday overhauled its rules for rooftop solar power, slashing subsidies for new solar installations while providing incentives for customers to add battery storage to their systems.

Commissioners approved a complicated new 260-page framework on a 5-0 vote, saying the changes will shift costs from non-solar users and promote grid reliability.

At issue is NEM, or Net Energy Metering — the rules that determine the size of the credits customers receive on their utility bills when their rooftop solar systems generate more energy than they consume. Roughly 1.5 million customers in the state have installed rooftop solar on their homes and businesses.

California’s NEM rules had not been updated since 2016. Solar advocates said the state needs to continue offering strong subsidies to encourage the transition to clean energy. Critics said the existing rules unfairly burdens non-solar customers — especially lower-income residents — with the rising costs of maintaining the power grid.

“This decision is about encouraging solar and storage but also, fundamentally, about the right way to charge NEM customers for use of the grid,” said Alice Busching Reynolds, president of the utilities commission, known as the CPUC for short.

The new rules — known as NEM 3.0 — include $900 million in upfront incentives for customers to pair solar with battery storage systems, with $630 million set aside for low-income customers. The CPUC estimates the new rules will save average residential customers with solar-plus-storage at least $136 a month on their utility bills.

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Mortgage Rates Continue to Drop

Mortgage rates decreased for the fourth consecutive week, due to increasing concerns over lackluster economic growth. Over the last four weeks, mortgage rates have declined three quarters of a point, the largest decline since 2008. While the decline in rates has been large, homebuyer sentiment remains low with no major positive reaction in purchase demand to these lower rates.

All content is subject to change without notice. All content is provided on an “as is” basis, with no warranties of any kind whatsoever. Information from this document may be used with proper attribution. Alteration of this document or its content is strictly prohibited. © 2022 by Freddie Mac.

Home Value Update: November 2022

Downward pressure on home values continues.
Home values peaked in the June, July, August time frame, depending on the area.

Average Sold price, Days on Market, Number of Homes Sold, Active Listings on the market and the % of List Price the Seller Received. Along with the month to month change. I have also added in the Year over Year change to value.

Carlsbad: Down -14.8% from June 2022 Peak

MonthAvg
Sold $
ChgDOMChgSold
Homes
ChgActive
Listings
Chg% List
Price
YoY Chg
11/22$1,587,000-2%300%156-4%115-9%94.0%3.1%
10/22$1,614,000-5%3025%162-14%127-16%94.9%5.0%
09/22$1,703,600-5%2441%188-12%151-11%95.8%14.3%
08/22$1,802,279-1%1742%213-4%1691%98.9%22.4%
07/22$1,821,026-2%1220%223-4%16719%102.8%27.6%
06/22$1,863,6240%100%2334%14037%106.7%29.5%
05/22$1,855,9693%10-17%2236%10236%109.4%26.2%
04/22$1,807,47110%12-20%21012%759%109.5%23.3%
03/22$1,643,4658%15-12%187-6%69-5%107.4%16.1%
02/22$1,516,065-1%176%198-14%73-17%104.4%20.7%
01/22$1,535,059-1%160%231-17%88-15%103.0%30.4%
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Veteran’s Day

Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday, observed annually on November 11, that honors military veterans, that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays, including  Armistice Day and  Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of  World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who  died while in military service.

Home Price Update

Downward pressure on home values continues.
Home values peaked in the June, July, August time frame, depending on the area.

Average Sold price, Days on Market, Number of Homes Sold, Active Listings on the market and the % of List Price the Seller Received. Along with the month to month change. I have also added in the Year over Year change to value.

Carlsbad:

MonthAvg
Sold $
ChgDOMChgSold
Homes
ChgActive
Listings
Chg% List
Price
YoY Chg
10/22$1,614,000-5%3025%162-14%127-16%94.9%5.0%
09/22$1,703,600-5%2441%188-12%151-11%95.8%14.3%
08/22$1,802,279-1%1742%213-4%1691%98.9%22.4%
07/22$1,821,026-2%1220%223-4%16719%102.8%27.6%
06/22$1,863,6240%100%2334%14037%106.7%29.5%
05/22$1,855,9693%10-17%2236%10236%109.4%26.2%
04/22$1,807,47110%12-20%21012%759%109.5%23.3%
03/22$1,643,4658%15-12%187-6%69-5%107.4%16.1%
02/22$1,516,065-1%176%198-14%73-17%104.4%20.7%
01/22$1,535,059-1%160%231-17%88-15%103.0%30.4%
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Mortgage Rates Dip Under Seven Percent

Mortgage rates continue to hover around seven percent, as the dynamics of a once-hot housing market have faded considerably. Unsure buyers navigating an unpredictable landscape keeps demand declining while other potential buyers remain sidelined from an affordability standpoint. Yesterday’s interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve will certainly inject additional lead into the heels of the housing market.

All content is subject to change without notice. All content is provided on an “as is” basis, with no warranties of any kind whatsoever. Information from this document may be used with proper attribution. Alteration of this document or its content is strictly prohibited. © 2022 by Freddie Mac.

Prices, DOM & Price Received: Values Have Peaked?

A look back over the last 12 months.

Average Sold price, Days on Market, Number of Homes Sold, Active Listings on the market and the % of List Price the Seller Received. Along with the month to month change.

As you can see, the interest rate hikes are being felt. Home values peaked in the June, July, August time frame, depending on the area.

The question now, how much of a pull back will there be?

Carlsbad:

MonthAvg
Sold $
ChgDOMChgSold
Homes
ChgActive
Listings
Chg% List
Price
09/22$1,703,600-5%2441%188-12%151-11%95.8%
08/22$1,802,279-1%1742%213-4%1691%98.9%
07/22$1,821,026-2%1220%223-4%16719%102.8%
06/22$1,863,6240%100%2334%14037%106.7%
05/22$1,855,9693%10-17%2236%10236%109.4%
04/22$1,807,47110%12-20%21012%759%109.5%
03/22$1,643,4658%15-12%187-6%69-5%107.4%
02/22$1,516,065-1%176%198-14%73-17%104.4%
01/22$1,535,059-1%160%231-17%88-15%103.0%
12/22$1,547,0571%167%279-9%103-17%102.0%
11/22$1,538,7680%157%308-3%124-13%101.3%
10/22$1,536,5703%148%319-5%142-15%102.0%
09/22$1,490,8401%138%335-3%168-5%103.4%
08/22$1,472,9433%120%345-1%1770%105.5%
07/22$1,427,206-1%12-8%347-5%1776%106.1%
06/22$1,439,564-2%130%3649%1672%106.1%
05/22$1,471,0580%13-7%3349%1632%105.4%
04/22$1,465,9964%14-22%30731%16012%104.0%
03/22$1,415,60213%18-14%235-9%1436%102.2%
02/22$1,255,9897%21-5%258-18%1350%100.2%
01/22$1,177,092 22 314 135 99.7%
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