Halfway Through July 2023

#1 AGENT IN DANVILLE & BLACKHAWK

(JANUARY 2023 – JUNE 2023)

July 2023 DIABLO VALLEY MARKET REPORT

Market Watch

JUNE 2023 TEAM RECAP

• Is HGTV and the media boxing in your living style and fueling generic taste? A new study by Smith School of Business associate professor of marketing Annetta Grant, says prioritizing the perceived preferences of the general public over personal décor desires, is a formula for anxiety, detachment, and feeling out of place in a place meant to be yours. Living and selling are two different environments, though: Unique, cluttered, and unconventional spaces have less mass appeal and a lower resale value, so one should consider the next homeowner first when renovating, or accepting there is often a price for a ‘unique’ style that does not have mass appeal.
  
  
• Texas has approved a deal that channels $12 billion to reduce school property tax rates for homeowners and business properties, increases the homestead exemption to $100,000, and creates a pilot program to reduce taxes on certain residential and commercial properties. Homeowners stand to save around $1,300/year on average. The legislation is expected to pass later this week. After the Governor signs off, voters must pass the plan in a constitutional election in November and if approved, the cuts would start in 2023. (Reuters)
  
  
• Used-car prices in the US fell 4.2% in June from May, the largest drop since the pandemic began, and were down 10.3% from the previous year, as a key measure of inflation eases. The price drop in June was the biggest ever for the month and among the largest in the history of the used-car price index compiled by Manheim, a vehicle auction service. It was the sharpest decline since April 2020, when Manheim’s Used-Vehicle Value Index plunged 11.4%. (BLOOMBERG)
  
  
• 70 million people have already signed up for THREADS – in about 48 hours – showcasing how we simply don’t have enough social media in our lives and want more, more MORE! (CNBC)
  
  
• Brazilian Wind developer Casa dos Ventos installed 80 turbines, enough power for a small city, but the main buyer is chemical producer Unigel, which will use it to split water molecules and make hydrogen at a port on Bahia’s coast. Hydrogen is turned into green ammonia, for exporting! Ammonia made from coal or natural gas is one of the most common industrial chemicals used to make fertilizer, plastics, and textiles. Green ammonia allows Brazil to take its renewable power to the wider world: Unlike electricity that relies on transmission lines, ammonia can be chilled, stored, and then shipped to clients. Brazil’s wind and solar capacity grew 260% from 2017 through 2022. Very windy areas could be beneficiaries. (BLOOMBERG)
  
  
• One big downside to a slowing economy? Following two strong years, annual giving in the U.S. fell 3.4% in 2022, in current dollars and 10.5% after adjusting for inflation, according to an annual report from the Giving USA Foundation and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. (PENTA)