Issue link: http://dsnews.uberflip.com/i/1000391
92 CALIFORNIA Energy Efficiency vs. Home Affordability Long seen as a frontrunner in clean energy goals, e Golden State has done it again by introducing a regulation that will make it man- datory for all new homes to install solar panels starting January 2020. e California Energy Commission recently voted unanimously to adopt building standards that require all new homes to have solar panels as part of the energy council's 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards that focus on four key areas—smart residential photovoltaic systems, updated thermal enve- lope standards, residential and nonresidential ventilation requirements, and nonresidential lighting requirements. According to the council, the move aims to cut energy use in new homes by more than 50 percent. While these new norms are likely to save consumers $80 on monthly heating, cooling, and electricity, they're likely to add $40 to an average monthly mortgage payment for a typical 30-year mortgage for homeowners. "Under these new standards, buildings will perform better than ever, at the same time they contribute to a reliable grid," said Andrew McAllister, Commissioner at the California Energy Commission. "e buildings that Californians buy and live in will operate very efficiently while generating their own clean energy. ey will cost less to operate, have healthy indoor air and provide a platform for 'smart' technologies that will propel the state even further down the road to a low emissions future." e new requirement, which got a unanimous vote at the commission, will come into effect in two years and according to e New York Times is "likely to add thousands of dollars to the cost of home when a shortage of affordable housing is one of California's most pressing issues." However, the council, as well as builders in California, are saying that the extra cost at the beginning will be recovered thanks to the lower energy bills. "With this adoption, the California Energy Commission has struck a fair balance between reducing greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously limiting increased construction costs," said Dan Dun- moyer, CEO and President of the California Building Industry Association. Dunmoyer said that it had worked with the Commission over the past 18 months on activating 21 new customers in the first quarter and continuing to increase our volume with existing customers." As of March 31, 2018, the company had primary insurance-in-force of $53.4 billion, up 10 percent from $48.5 billion at the prior quarter end and up 54 percent over $34.8 billion as of March 31, 2017. Net premiums earned for the quarter were $54.9 million, including $2.8 million attribut- able to the cancellation of single premium policies, which compares with $50.1 million, including $4.2 million related to cancellations, in the prior quarter. Net premiums earned in the first quarter of 2018 were up 65 percent over net premiums earned of $33.2 million in the same quarter a year ago, which included $2.5 million related to cancellations. Auction.com Partners with Think Realty Radio ink Realty Radio, a national radio show airing daily on Wall Street Radio, has secured a partnership agreement with California-based Auction.com, an online real estate marketplace focused exclusively on the sale of residential bank-owned and foreclosure properties. Auc- tion.com sponsors the ink Realty Radio show on ursdays. ink Realty, a provider of real estate inves- tor resources, education, and best practices, debuted ink Realty Radio show on January 1, 2018. e national show is hosted by real es- tate investor, educator, radio personality, ink Realty coach, and regular Forbes contributor Abhi Golhar. ink Realty Radio airs at 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Each hour-long show features interviews with two industry influencers and professionals and covers topics including investment and business strategies, current market analysis, identifying potential real estate investment deals, property acquisi- tion, and lending. Recordings of the show are available on inkRealtyRadio.com. "Auction.com, a nationally recognized and trusted online real estate marketplace, is a perfect fit for ink Realty Radio," said Eddie Wilson, CEO of ink Realty and its parent company, Affinity Worldwide. "e ink Realty audience is comprised of real estate in- vestors, who are serious about expanding their knowledge, and Auction.com is an excellent resource for them." "We are excited to connect with ink Realty's national audience of investors and help them find properties that fit their individual and personal investment criteria," Colleen Lambros, CMO from Auction.com said. "We this regulation to make it possible to create a set of cost-effective standards to ensure that homebuyers could recoup the additional cost of home purchase due to these standards "over the life of the dwelling." NMI Reports Net Income of $22.4 M in Q1 Emeryville, California-headquartered NMI Holdings, Inc. reported GAAP net in- come of $22.4 million, and adjusted net income of $22 million, for its Q1 ended March 31, 2018. Adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted share exclude a pretax noncash gain of $0.4 million related to the change in fair value of the company's warrant liability. is compares with a net loss of $1.8 million and adjusted net income of $14 million, after adjusting for one-time noncash expense related to the remeasurement of the company's net deferred tax asset as a result of tax reform and the change in fair value of the warrant liability, in the prior quarter. In the Q1 of 2017, the company reported net income of $5.5 million and adjusted net income of $5.6 million. "National MI delivered record Q1 financial results, including new insurance written of $6.5 billion, record net premiums earned of $54.9 million, record net income of $22.4 million, and record return-on-equity of 16.1 percent," Brad- ley Shuster, Chairman, and CEO of National MI said. "We continued to build our portfolio of high quality insurance-in-force at a rate that leads our industry. We also continued to make significant strides in customer development, is the median home list price in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California, a 17.7 percent drop in housing when comparing the two 12-month periods of May 2016 to April 2017 with May 2017 to April 2018. Source: Realtor.com, 'Home Prices Aren't Soaring Everywhere: These Are the 10 Metros Where They're Falling the Most' STAT INSIGHT $951,600