Solar Pays Dividends for Homeowners

Solar Power Pays

Back in Denver

This is news!  Solar power was shown, via a study in Denver, to add value to a home's sales price.

With the advent of great interest in energy efficiency, low carbon foot print and simply higher energy costs, it isn't surprising that green homes eventually would be more valuable. 

Yet, Solar Energy has been dogged by the high cost of installation.  Perhaps this is the break the solar energy needed to expand its residential foothold.   I know it will be a win/win scenario as large acceptance will drive down the cost of Solar Energy(if all other industries would indicate), improve the cost efficiency of home owner ship and really lower our carbon footprint as carbon fuels usage could possibly decrease substantially.

Only time will tell.   Read below for the scoop!

SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEMS HELP HOMES SELL FASTER

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems typically increased market value and almost always decreased the length of time it took to sell a sample of 30 single-family homes in Denver studied by the Appraisal Institute. Homeowners in the Denver metro area over time increasingly have sought residential homes with PV systems, Appraisal Institute officials pointed out. And because the study looked only at homes in Denver, you shouldn't assume it automatically applies to homes in your area. How much any one home feature, including a PV system, adds to home value is always a moving target, said Appraisal Institute President Richard Borges. Good appraisers monitor the local market for changes in demand for PV systems, just as they do for other property features. One big factor in the value of a PV system is the local cost for electricity. Where electricity costs are high, a PV system will likely have a better return on investment than in an area where electricity is relatively cheap. The age and size of the PV system also influence its value. The Appraisal Institute study found value was most commonly related to the size of the property's PV system, followed by its age. Larger systems typically sell for more than the smaller systems. Overall, the value added per kilowatt (kW) ranged from $1,450 to $2,570. courtesy of Al Clark HomeAction Newsletter

Denver and Dallas Top Pre-crisis Home Sales

Home Prices Continue to Soar in May - REALTORS(R) Use Latest Stats to Inform Consumers Real Estate Is Back Data through May 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed increases of 2.5% and 2.4% for the 10- and 20-City Composites in May versus April. Dallas and Denver reached record levels surpassing their pre-financial crisis peaks set in June 2007 and August 2006. This is the first time any city has made a new all-time high. The 10- and 20-City Composites annual returns rose slightly from April to May as they posted the best year over-year gains since March 2006. All 20 cities increased from May 2012 to May 2013 and from April 2013 to May 2013. “Home prices continue to strengthen,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Two cities set new highs, surpassing their pre-crisis levels and five cities – Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle – posted monthly gains of over three percent, also a first time event.” These record-breaking statistics reflect the message that leading industry brokers have been sending to their agents and consumers as the housing turnaround has unfolded: that now is a good time to buy. “Real estate professionals around the country have been reporting to RISMedia for several weeks how their marketplaces have been recovering, including the rise in housing prices as well as continued consumer interest in housing,” said John Featherston, CEO and Publisher of RISMedia. “Today’s S&P/Case-Shiller home price index report illustrates the extent of the housing recovery to date and validates what so many local and regional brokerage leaders have been reporting. RISMedia’s CEO Exchange, the annual independent think-tank conference for real estate brokerage owners will be examining this trend as well other issues affecting the residential real estate industry.” Commenting on more of today’s Case-Shiller report, Blitzer also noted that the Southwest and the West saw the strongest year-over-year gains as San Francisco home prices rose 24.5% followed by Las Vegas (+23.3%) and Phoenix (+20.6%). New York (+3.3%), Cleveland (+3.4%) and Washington D.C. (+6.5%) were the weakest. Monthly numbers before seasonal adjustment showed all 20 cities experienced rising prices. San Francisco (+4.3%), Chicago (+3.7%) and Atlanta (+3.4%) were the leaders. However, two cities – Cleveland and Minneapolis were down slightly after seasonal adjustment. “The overall report points to some shifts among various markets: Washington D.C. is no longer the standout leader and the eastern Sunbelt cities, Miami and Tampa, are lagging behind their western counterparts,” Blitzer said. All 20 cities showed positive monthly returns for May. Ten cities – Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle and Tampa – showed acceleration. Chicago posted an impressive monthly rate of 3.7% in May; it was higher than in April by one percentage point. Miami and Seattle had their largest monthly gains since August 2005 and April 1990, respectively. On an annual basis, all cities showed gains ranging from 3.3% to 24.5%. Twelve MSAs – Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa – posted double-digit growth. Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Francisco were the four cities to post annual increases of over 20%. Las Vegas and San Francisco accelerated as measured by their May versus April year-over-year returns. Although Atlanta and Phoenix continue to post impressive gains, their May annual rate decreased to just over 20% compared to April. Detroit showed the most deceleration with a three percentage point decline. More than 26 years of history for these data series are available, and can be accessed in full by going to www.homeprice.spdji.com.