Southern California home sales and prices high in December

As end-of-the-year housing market reports begin to emerge, DataQuick reportedan increase in closed transactions on homes for sale in Los Angeles County and a notable gain in home prices in December.

Data from the report found that the final month of 2012 saw the highest number of homes sold in three years, as 20,274 new and resale homes and condos were sold in the six counties that make up Southern California. This is 5.1 percent higher than the 19,285 homes sold the previous month and also up 5.3 percent from December last year when 19,247 properties were purchased.

"The housing market had more to offer in 2012 than many anticipated," said John Walsh, president of the data firm.

Additionally, the median price paid for a home was $323,000 up 0.6 percent from November and a 19.6 percent leap forward from December 2011 when the median price was $270,000. A large percentage, 24.7 percent, of all home sales were for properties priced for $500,000 or more, as transactions of luxury properties continue to boost the median price significantly. DataQuick notes this is the highest figure seen since July 2008.

Programmable thermostats enter the mobile age

It certainly comes as no big surprise to anyone that the heating and cooling systems in our homes consume huge amounts of power, and typically account for the lion's share of our utility bills. So anything we can do to conserve on the amount of power these systems use will help lower those bills each month.

Programmable thermostats are one of the best ways to do that. Using internal computer circuits that raise and lower the thermostat set points at various times during the day in accordance with our occupancy and habits, they help keep the furnace or air conditioner from running when it doesn't need to.

Programmable thermostats have been around for decades, but it's only been recently that they've caught up with the Internet and smartphone age. Now they're more intelligent than ever, and, used correctly, that can translate into even more energy savings.

Nest Learning Thermostat

One of the most talked about thermostats on the market today is the Nest Learning Thermostat. You probably don't think of "attractive" when you think of thermostats, but this one definitely is, with a small round shape that glows blue when it's in cooling mode and orange when it's in heating mode.

Beyond its appearance, there's the lack of buttons. Adjustments are done with the outer ring, and you see programmed settings on a screen in the center of the thermostat. As you make the various adjustments throughout the day, the Nest "learns" your habits, and programs those habits into its circuitry. Soon, it's set up a temperature schedule that meets your specific lifestyle.

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The Nest also has sensors in it that detect when no one is home. It switches into Auto-Away mode, automatically turning itself down to save even more energy. In that mode, the face switches to black. As additional motivation, there's even a leaf symbol that appears periodically to show you when you're saving more energy than what you'd originally programmed it for.

There are currently two generations of Nests. The first generation retails for around $198, and works with about 75 percent of the heating and cooling systems. The second generation retails for $250, is 20 percent thinner, and is compatible with an estimated 95 percent of systems. Both generations offer Wi-Fi remote control so you can control your thermostat remotely from your smartphone, laptop or tablet.

Beverly Hills | Luxury Real Estate | Selling | Buying

Beverly Hills | Luxury Real Estate | Selling | Buying