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San Diego homebuyers are jumping back into the current real estate market in a big way, according to the latest report from residential real estate web brokerage Redfin.
The report shows that lower mortgage rates and declining home prices are luring prospective buyers into making offers.
The report indicates that San Diego is one of several US cities experiencing an increase in homebuyers, as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ease and more people seek larger living spaces. Redfin says i’s data also suggests that sellers are responding to the increased demand by listing more homes for sale.
The fact that San Diego is among the 28 out of 50 most populous U.S. metros where home prices dropped in recent months most likely accounts for the fact that homebuyers are active again.
Nationwide, new listings of homes for sale declined 22%, one of the biggest drops since the start of the pandemic. The Redfin report says homeowners have been reluctant to sell because they don’t want to give up a low mortgage rate.
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More news for homeowners who have trouble getting homeowner policies. Volatility in the home insurance market is expected to persist in 2023, particularly in San Diego, as per a recent report from Massachusetts home insurance web broker Insurify. The report found that home insurance rates will rise 9% this year, which comes on the heels of last year’s 7% increase. This comes at a time when home values are dropping in Western states, including San Diego.
The report also highlights that 27% of new homeowners who purchased a home in the past year are already underwater, and 58% fear they will soon be.
Insurify vice president Shawn Powers encourages homeowners to shop around with multiple companies for a policy but warns that their current carrier may not be alone in raising rates. He suggests that homeowners can reduce their insurance costs by taking advantage of discounts, such as bundling their home and auto insurance policies or installing security systems in their homes.
Insurify is an insurance comparison shopping website based in Cambridge, Mass. Partnering with insurers such as Nationwide, Farmers, and Liberty Mutual, the site operates in all 50 states. The platform has collected more than 100,000 reviews from customers.
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Wyyerd Fiber, which has an office in National City, says it has partnered with the city of Chula Vista to bring high-speed internet access to the community. According to a news release, the state-of-the-art fiber-optic technology is the most advanced available, providing a fiber infrastructure to meet the community’s needs for years to come. Visit wyyerd.com for more information.
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San Diego public company Nuvve Holding has released its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 financials with an update on its vehicle-to-grid technology, which allows electric vehicles to sell unused energy back to the local electric grid. Nuvve reported a 7% increase in megawatts under management to 17.4 megawatts as of yearend 2022.
The company says it has expanded participation in the state Emergency Load Reduction Program with San Diego Gas & Electric. The program represented 10 school district customers in their bid to secure awards of $24.2 million in EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program funding, supporting future deployment of 61 V2G-capable electric school buses and orders for Nuvve’s DC fast chargers.
In addition, Nuvve announced a partnership with retail store chain Circle K to provide grid services to 50 service stations and the installation of stationary storage sites in Norway and Denmark.
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Does one of the largest burger purveyors deserve a break today? Chicago burger chain McDonald’s is closing its U.S. corporate offices for three days and laying off hundreds of workers, including some based in San Diego, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. McDonald’s California has close to 1,200 McDonald’s locations, including more than 70 in San Diego, according to one source checked for this brief. The fast-food giant had previously announced job cuts as part of a wider restructuring plan.
In total nationwide, McDonald’s employs around 45,000 workers across its corporate offices and company-owned restaurants. The move comes as the company looks to streamline its operations and adjust to changing consumer preferences. The public company sported a record high price of $282 a share in midday trading on April 3.
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And on the nonprofit front…San Diego’s not-for-profit Fresh Start Surgical Gifts says it is expanding its reach to Costa Rica, partnering with Hospital Metropolitano, PediaClinic and Sanford Health to bring free reconstructive surgeries and other medical procedures to disadvantaged children with physical deformities.
This move, the nonprofit says, will allow Fresh Start to help even more children globally, building on the organization’s work since 1991. Fresh Start has provided medical support to over 8,000 children with the help of hundreds of volunteers, including surgeons, nurses, and other medical professionals from San Diego to Chicago and San Antonio.
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Another nonprofit, Cal Coast Cares Foundation, has announced it will award scholarships worth more than $185,000 this year to support high school seniors or college students. The foundation is accepting applications through April 30 from students who are pursuing higher education, get good grades, and meet other the application criteria. Each student selected will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship.
The 8-year-old non-profit foundation says it aims to provide scholarships for local students and grants for educators. It is a unit of California Coast Credit Union, which claims to be the longest-serving financial institution in San Diego. With $3.5 billion in assets, the credit union serves nearly 200,000 members.
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Finally, this bit of news. East County’s Jamul Indian Village Development Corp., which operates the Jamul Casino, says it has closed on $515 million loan with a syndicate of commercial banks led by KeyBanc. This deal marks the casino’s third large financial transaction in recent years, according to a news release.
“The success of these transactions can be attributed to the strategic location and modern facilities of the casino, its impressive player database growth, and best-in-class management team,” said a spokesman for Jamul.
The news release says the casino is developing a new 16-story, 200-room hotel with rooftop pool and banquet room. The release says the casino has a workforce of 1,200 permanent jobs and claims it is the closest casino to downtown San Diego.
Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to tom.york@gmail.com.
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