Real Estate Agents:
You can find out right now by typing your address — or any U.S. address, zip code, town or city name — into the AARP Livability Index, a new online tool that calculates a score based on the latest data and indicators about an area’s housing, transportation, economy, community services and more. Since the index is customizable, users can find scores based on the features that matter to them most.
Calculator: http://livabilityindex.aarp.org/
Tesla unveiled a line of rechargeable lithium-ion battery products on Thursday night that can use stored solar energy to power homes, businesses and communities.
Speaking at a Tesla facility near Los Angeles, CEO Elon Musk said the $3,500 home unit, called Powerwall , can be mounted to a garage wall or outside the home. A larger product, called Powerpack, can store more energy to power businesses.
The Powerwall has a 10kWh capacity, but nine can be stacked for a total of 90kWh. The Powerpack has a 100kWh capacity and is “infinitely scalable” to power larger facilities and even entire cities, Musk said.
Along with storing solar energy, the batteries can draw energy from the electrical grid during off-peak hours when rates are lower and store it for later use.
Ever the showman, Musk then revealed that the Tesla facility had been off the grid during the event and was using Powerpacks for energy.
“This entire night has been powered by batteries,” he said. “Not only that, the batteries were charged by the solar panels on the roof of this building.”
read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/30/tesla-powerwall-battery_n_7186534.html
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The pace of home-price appreciation in San Diego County remained steady in February, as the market got closer to its annual peak homebuying season.
The S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index showed Tuesday that prices for resale single family homes rose 4.7 percent from February 2014 to February 2015. The region’s pace of annual appreciation has hovered between 4.5 and 5 percent over the past six months.
“We’re steadying out the market,” said Mark Goldman, a loan officer and real-estate lecturer at San Diego State University. “We’re up against affordability. We’re seeing some positive impact of the jobs picture and so forth, and I think we’re just in a more stable market. One thing that would help us a lot is if we had some new housing units.”
In February 2014, the index showed home prices up 20 percent, largely due to investors fixing and flipping properties. Goldman said the pace is not sustainable because people eventually get priced out. He said, however, that the pace could pick up once the county enters its peak spring and summer homebuying season because of increased demand but low inventory.
read more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/28/case-shiller-february-real-estate-home-prices/
Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only
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