Pacific Sotheby's International Realty Podcast

I’m sharing your latest real estate market update for North San Diego County and why today’s market is not like that of 2007. I’m here with your monthly update covering the real estate market across North San Diego County. We all know that now is a bizarre time, and one of the most common questions I receive is about what’s going to happen to the real estate market because of the pandemic. Many people believe that the market’s going to crash, and that it’s 2007 all over again. I don’t believe that’s going to happen, and today I’m explaining why. To learn more about our current market and why we aren’t heading for a crash, watch the short video above.

Here’s what the latest numbers tell us about the North San Diego real estate market. What’s going on in our North San Diego County real estate market? Today I’m sharing the latest data from the end of February, along with some thoughts on how the coronavirus is impacting the market. It is important to point out that this data is through February and the video was recorded around 3/20/20. Our current market is highly volatile and may have changed since recording this. If you have ANY questions about your specific situation please call or email for the most up to date information..  Inventory has gone down dramatically year over year. In February 2019, there were 2,242 detached homes for sale, which was about three to 3.5 months’ worth of inventory—more than what we normally see. At the end of January of this year, that number dropped to 1,488 homes. At the end of February, it dropped even further to 1,477.  That’s a 35% to 40% drop. This means there aren’t a whole lot of properties for buyers to choose from. If you’re a seller and you price and market your property well, you should get a lot of traffic.  Part of the reason for this is interest rates. At the end of February 2019, they sat at 4.41%. At the end of January of this year, they dropped to 3.51% and then dropped even further last February to 3.3%.  “This is a great time to sell your home.” In other words, if you used a conventional mortgage, put 20% down, and bought a home last year for the median price of $677,000, your monthly mortgage payment would’ve been $2,715 (excluding taxes and insurance). At the end of January 2020, when the median price was $742,750, you would’ve only paid $2,668. At the end of February, when the median price was $726,000, you would’ve only paid $2,543. With buyers being able to afford more, and everyone trying to take advantage of these low rates, it sped up the market.  To summarize, this is a great time to sell your home. In my area, homes are spending an average of just 30 to 35 days on the market.  How is the coronavirus affecting all of this? At the beginning of the month, my team and I were very busy, but things have slowed down since the situation intensified a couple of weeks ago. We’re in more of a volatile environment at the moment. Some of my home seller clients are holding off on listing, while others are moving forward. With rates this good and inventory this low, there’s a fair number of buyers on the market, so the data still says it’s a good time to sell.  The bottom line is this: Everyone is being cautious, but the market is still very favorable.  If you have questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help.

If you’re thinking of selling your home and upsizing, the 2020 market is perfect for you. How does our North San Diego market look as we transition from 2019 to 2020? Last year was a strong market, but it started slowly. Inventory was up, but fewer homes were selling. The midyear point is when things really took off. Perhaps this was caused by interest rates dropping, but in any case, I had one of the best years I’ve had in a while, and the spring market looks to bring more good news.  Here are the key numbers from last December and how they compare to December 2018: The median sale price rose 4% from $709,000 to $728,000 Supply dropped from 2,242 to 1,458 homes The average days on market dropped from 47 to 41 days Interest rates dropped from 4.5% to 3.72% “Demand is strongest for homes that are at or below the median price.” As you can see, inventory is down and homes are selling quicker, and a big reason why is the drop in interest rates. If you were to buy a home last year for the same price you could buy it now, you’d be paying $700 to $800 more per month for your mortgage.  These conditions are ideal if you’re thinking of selling and moving up. Demand is strongest for homes that are at or below the median price because there are a lot more buyers looking in that price range. You can sell your lower-priced home, take advantage of this demand, then buy in a higher price range where there is less demand and more inventory. As the adage goes, “Buy low, sell high,” and that’s basically what you’d be doing here.  My team and I negotiate these types of transactions all the time. We can help you conduct a contingent sale so you don’t have to move twice. There are all kinds of strategies we can use, but the first step is to give us a call so we can talk about what you’re hoping to accomplish and how we can accomplish it.  If you have any other real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’d love to help you!

Our agents make sure your home gets the attention it deserves, and here’s how we do it. Real estate agents at Coldwell Banker like to do things differently.  A few times each month, I meet with other agents to discuss upcoming listings. We essentially pitch the listings to one another and learn more about the features of each home. By networking like this, we’re able to get eyes on your home before it even hits the market. At my listings, I provide large, full-color flyers for interested buyers to take. Typically, agents only provide a black-and-white photo that lacks all the details that make a home exciting. By providing better flyers, we showcase your home and display all the great features inside.  “By providing better flyers, we showcase your home and display all the great features inside.” On top of this, we even create a website specifically for your home! Passersby can simply pull out their phones and go to the website to see pictures, take virtual tours, and much more. By choosing an agent with Coldwell Banker, you know your home listing will stand out from the crowd. If you’re looking to sell a home or would like more information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.  

Coldwell Banker has just begun to offer an exciting program for home sellers that I can’t wait to tell you about. Learn more here. Home sellers: I’m excited to announce that Coldwell Banker has partnered with Home Advisor to offer an exciting program that will help you prepare your home for the market, maximize the value of the home, and defer any costs to sell the home until closing. The program is called RealVitalize powered by Home Advisor, and here are the details: To revitalize means ‘to renew or to infuse with energy,’ and that’s our goal with the RealVitalize Program. Home Advisor is a nationwide referral network for contractors, home improvement experts, and all manner of home-related projects. We’ve partnered with them not only as a way to refer or locate qualified contractors and service professionals, but also to roll the cost of home repairs or updates into the sale of your home—sometimes the costs of doing those projects can be a difficult burden on home sellers. Not all projects will lead to that end, but there are numerous things that you can do to increase your home’s value. For example, boosting curb appeal, painting, updating flooring, and doing repairs where necessary are projects that can really make a difference in your sale. “If you’re thinking of selling your home, I can’t imagine why this wouldn’t sound like a wonderful program for you to consider.” Here’s how the RealVitalize Program works: When you go through the RealVitalize Program powered by Home Advisor, we’ll put together a listing agreement and discuss what projects can get done to boost your home’s value. Then, we’ll reach out to Home Advisor to refer you to the best vendors in your area for whatever job you need to be done. Then you, the homeowner, will meet with contractors to interview them and compare prices as you would normally. Once you’ve approved a contractor, they’ll come in to do the work, and here’s the best part: Coldwell Banker will pay the vendor up front! When your home sells, the cost to pay the contractor will be deducted from the proceeds. There are no fees or interest payments to worry about, either. The RealVitalize Program is a tool that Coldwell Banker has come up with to help their agents maximize their business. If you’re thinking of selling your home, I can’t imagine why this wouldn’t sound like a wonderful program for you to consider. For any questions you have about the RealVitalize Program powered by Home Advisor, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. We can discuss the entire program in more detail and figure out how it can benefit you given your unique situation.  

As we move through October, the numbers tell us that activity has slowed down in the higher price ranges of our market. Fall is here, which means it’s time for your October 2019 market update. As always, we’ll look at several key indicators and the numbers behind them—this time from the period between August to September:  The median sale price dropped from $720,000 to $700,000 The average days on market increased from 37 to 38 days—as you may recall, this number was around 30 or lower in previous market updates  The housing supply dropped from 2.9 to 2.7 months The number of total sales dropped from 962 to 846 Interest rates dropped from 3.75% to 3.5% What do these numbers mean? If you have a home listed above the median price, you might’ve noticed that things have slowed down. This often happens in a market where prices appreciate and affordability decreases. “My team has about a half-dozen homes listed for sale, and these stats are congruent with what we’re seeing.” As far as the drop in interest rates goes, people often assume that when rates go down, market activity and home prices go up. Well, the truth is, lower interest rates aren’t like caffeine for the housing market. There are plenty of historical examples of home prices dropping right alongside decreasing interest rates. And as you can see above, the median sale price and the number of sales have dropped as interest rates have dropped.  My team has about a half-dozen homes listed for sale, and these stats are congruent with what we’re seeing. Homes that are listed in the more affordable price points—if they’re marketed well—are moving quickly, but in the higher price points, things have slowed down quite a bit.  As always, if you have any more questions about our North San Diego County market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to evaluate your specific situation.    

2802 Sunkist Drive just came on the market, and I’m excited to give you this exclusive look at it. I was recently a guest once again on “List It Live” and I had the opportunity to showcase another gorgeous home that has recently come on the market.  Listed at $799,000, this home is located at 2802 Sunkist Drive in Vista.  This 3-bedroom, 4.5-bath home has had just one owner since it was custom-built in 1985. The home itself is 3,030 square feet, and the property encompasses 1.19 acres—every inch of which is fully fenced. The grounds are loaded with fruit trees, and there’s also a well that irrigates the property for free. In addition, you’ll find a solar panel system installed on the roof.  “Overall, this home is in great shape and is move-in ready.” The home was built in three levels—the lowest of which has an indoor/outdoor pool and a rec room that’s great for entertaining. Above that, the main level features an open floor plan, and a huge walkaround deck runs along the outside of the kitchen and dining room areas, offering a beautiful sunrise view each morning. On the top level, the master bedroom connects to a west-facing balcony. Overall, this home is in great shape and is move-in ready.  To get a better look at this home for yourself, visit: http://www.homecb.com/2802sunkistdrive-vista. All of the information you need is there. If you have any questions for me in the meantime or you’d like to see this home in-person, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.   

I recently listed a beautiful home for sale at 1588 Laurel Circle in Vista. I went on “List It Live” to talk about why I’m so excited about it. I was recently a guest on “List It Live” and I had the opportunity to showcase one of my gorgeous new homes that has recently come on the market.  1588 Laurel Circle in Vista is in a gated community, has wonderful curb appeal, and is on the market right now for $599,000. “The backyard is private and perfect for entertaining.” Not only is the home affordable, but so are the HOA dues of $277 per month. Those dues include a beautiful community pool and a community center with meeting rooms, a rec room, spa, jacuzzi, and more. The backyard of 1588 Laurel Circle has a gorgeous, private patio that is perfect for outdoor entertaining and the open floor concept really maximizes the space in the home. Did I mention that it’s move-in ready? To get a better look at this home for yourself, visit www.1588laurelcircle.com. All of the information you need is there. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.     

People always ask me what they should do to get their home ready to sell. This is a great question, so today let’s review a few of the most important steps. The very first step is, of course, to hire a great agent. I would be happy to fulfill this role, so reach out anytime.  After that, it’s time to declutter. Not only will this help you get a headstart on packing for your move, but it will also make your home look and feel cleaner and more spacious. For a great example of a decluttered home, click here. Next, paint your front door. A fresh coat of paint can make a world of difference, and given that your front door is one of the first things a buyer will notice as they enter your home, you want to make sure it leaves a good first impression.  “It’s the little touches that make your home seem more inviting.” Of course, the inside of your home needs to look great, too. Therefore, always make sure to clean your carpets—especially if you have pets. We all love our animals, but buyers might not love the damage, dander, and odors they can leave behind. Kids, too, often cause messes that leave your home smelling less than fresh. Even if you’ve gone noseblind and no longer notice any odor in your home, buyers certainly will. Getting your carpet professionally cleaned is a great way to ensure that buyers won’t turn up their nose at your home.  Finally, don’t forget to wash your windows. Sparkling clean windows don’t just look great, they also help your home to appear brighter. It’s little touches like this that make your home seem all the more inviting For a great example of a ready to sell home, click here. But why should you do all of these things to begin with? It’s simple: to attract more buyers and sell your home faster and for a higher price.  I know this is a lot to take in at once, but don’t worry. My team and I have the knowledge, skills, and resources to make your home selling process as successful and stress-free as possible.  If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

If the latest stats are any indication, now’s a good time to buy or sell in our market. What’s the latest news from our summer market? Let’s take a look at the month-over-month statistics from the end of June for detached homes across North San Diego County. The median home price rose $30,000 to $760,000, which means more homes are selling at a higher dollar amount than a lower one, and homes values, in general, are trending upward. The average days on market was 32 days, which was a one day drop from the previous month. This means homes are selling quicker. The housing supply was at three months—a rise of 0.1 months. There were 1,022 total homes sales—a decrease of 66 homes.  The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed conventional loan dropped from 0.2% to 3.82%. “You know as an educated home shopper, that an interest rate of 3.82% is going to allow you to afford more home.” What do these stats mean? The drop in interest rates is a big reason home values have risen, fewer homes have sold, and they’re doing so at a quicker rate. More people are entering the market, which makes now a good time to sell. Because interest rates are so low, it’s also a good time to buy.  If you have any more questions about our market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me any way you can. I’d love to help you.  

Welcome back to another segment of “Casey’s Corner”!  In our third and final installment of this edition, we’re joined by my friend Rachael Blackwell—a 15-year veteran of the dental field and dental hygienist since 2010. Throughout her career, she’s seen numerous products come on the market, only to later be replaced by others.  Not too long ago, a newly introduced whitening toothpaste was brought to her attention by a neighbor who was selling it. This particular person urged her to do the same, but at the time, she declined. She’s since had a change of heart, and today she’s here to teach us about this product and dental hygiene in general.    Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the episode. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:  1:18—A little about Rachael’s background and her passion for dental hygiene  2:10—The story behind her business venture selling AP-24 toothpaste 4:34—About AP-24 toothpaste and how you can achieve your desired results from it 5:40—How you can contact Rachael if you’d like to try it yourself 6:08—Rachael warns against increasingly popular “fake” or “impostor” products 7:10—What a major life event made Rachael realize   7:52—One word that encapsulates how Rachael views the product: confidence  8:33—Wrapping things up; closing thoughts for those interested in the business   If you have any other questions for me or if you’d like more information about today’s episode of “Casey’s Corner,” feel free to contact me as well. I look forward to speaking with you!  

Welcome to the very first episode of Casey’s Corner—a great new series in which I’ll be interviewing special guests from around north San Diego County about their contributions to our community. So if you know someone who has done something special for our area, whether they’re an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, artist, or anyone else you think deserves the spotlight, I’d love to have them on. Our first guest is none other than retired baseball player and founder of the Vista Baseball Academy Adrian Burnside. Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the episode. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:  00:08 - What is “Casey’s Corner?” 00:42 - Introducing today’s guest: Adrian Burnside 02:17 - Adrian talks about what it was like to move to America from his native Australia 03:15 - How Adrian maintains his passion for baseball through his coaching career 03:58 - Adrian discusses his famous “Esquire Magazine” photo 05:21 - Adrian talks about how and why he founded Vista Baseball Academy (VBA) 09:02 - How Adrian put together such an amazing coaching staff 11:15 - Adrian explains what makes VBA unique 13:40 - How to get involved and learn more about VBA (www.vbabaseball.com)  14:39 - Closing with an “Aussie” slang quiz If you have any other questions or would like more information about today’s episode of Casey’s Corner, or if you’d like to suggest someone to appear on the show, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Today we’ll be looking at our latest numbers for January 2019, as well as comparing our current market to those of December 2018 and January 2018. Keep in mind that today’s statistics will only include the numbers for detached single-family homes. For your convenience, I’ve included timestamps of today’s market update. Feel free to navigate to the section(s) you’re most interested in viewing: 00:06— Introduction to today’s video 01:05— Sharing my gratitude with clients, family, and friends 01:38— Beginning today’s look at the market data 01:51— Comparing median sales price 02:37— Comparing the number of days on market 03:05— Comparing the amount of inventory 03:56— Comparing the number of sales 04:27— Comparing interest rates 05:15— Freddie Mac is anticipating an increase in activity 05:50— Where our market is right now 06:16— Conclusion to today’s video If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, have any questions, or need further information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.  

  Whether you’re planning on listing in six weeks or in six months, there are three simple steps you can (and should) do right now to prepare if you want to sell quickly, easily, and for top dollar: Begin making simple improvements to your home. One of the very first things our team does when meeting with a new seller is walk through their property and point out any areas that should be upgraded or repaired in order to increase the value and appeal of the home. Of course, we will also make sure that these repairs are cost effective—you should avoid repairs that won’t bring a high return on investment.  “Start getting rid of things now if you plan on selling any time soon.” Get an accurate valuation of your home. Zillow’s Zestimate feature can provide a ballpark range of what your home might be worth, but it isn’t accurate enough for you to base your list price off of it. Instead, consult with an experienced Realtor and request a comparative market analysis. This will be the best way to determine your home’s value. Even appraisals, which offer a snapshot of your property’s current value, don’t take the momentum of the market into account. You need a professional real estate agent’s guidance. Speaking of which… Hire a professional agent. Having an experienced real estate professional by your side will make a world of difference in the success of your deal. Their knowledge will be your greatest resource. It’s never too early to seek out and hire an agent if you’re thinking of selling. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

What’s happening now in our north San Diego County market, and how do current statistics compare to those from the recent past? Let’s dive right in. To kick things off, we’ll consider the median home price of detached homes in our area. Since December 2017, when the median price was $685,000, we saw a 5.8% increase in this area year over year. That said, appreciation rates have now begun to stagnate, meaning our market is evening out. Moving on, the next statistic we should consider is the average days on market—in other words, the amount of time it takes homes to sell. Detached homes in our area spent an average of 36 days on market in December 2017. One year later, the average days on market rose by 25%, meaning that homes took an average of 45 days to sell when listed in December of last year. But what about the amount of available listings, in general? To assess this, we must review another crucial statistic: supply. In short, a market’s months supply of inventory describes the amount of time it would take to run out of listings if no new properties came onto the market. In December, 2017, the supply of detached homes for north San Diego County was just 1.6 months. Eleven months later, the area’s supply rose to 2.9 months’ worth—a 45% increase—but ultimately dropped back down in December 2018 to just 2.3 months. “It is more important than ever for sellers to put their best foot forward, while buyers can now enjoy greater leverage than was true in the recent past.” Despite this continued low inventory, the number of closed transactions has gone down since last year. 789 detached homes closed in December of 2017, but only 608 closed in December of last year. To wrap up this update, let’s look at one final piece of data: interest rates. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll be examining the most common type of mortgage: a 30-year, fixed rate. The average interest rate was 3.94% in December 2017, 4.75% in November 2018, and then, interestingly enough, was at 4.51% in December of last year. Even after this slight dip, a majority of experts still believe we will see rates around 5% by the end of 2019. Of course, market statistics will vary depending on the area and specific property type. I would be happy to share more information about your specific circumstances if you’d like to know more. In general, though, our market is balancing out. It is more important than ever for sellers to put their best foot forward, while buyers can now enjoy greater leverage than was true in the recent past. All in all, now may be the perfect time to make a move in our market. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Is it a good time to sell? That’s the million-dollar question I was asked on my latest appearance on “Real Talk San Diego.” It’s always a good time to sell if you need to sell. As real estate agents, we’ll often get called into an appointment for someone who has to sell. For example, I recently listed a property in Escondido for a seller who was moving to be closer to family. However, there are different reasons people sell homes, so the answer to this question is it depends on your objectives and what you’re hoping to accomplish. As a homeowner, if you’re getting older and you have some equity on the table and you want to move that equity into something safer, it’s a great time to do that. “It’s our job as agents to understand what your needs are as a seller and keep your best interests at heart.” If you’re an investor and you want to take some money off the table, you could do a 1031 exchange. I’ve handled a couple of those transactions in the past year, and they both did very well. One of the sellers used the equity of their rental property to purchase a single-family home. The other seller sold their rental and parlayed that into two other separate homes. It’s our job as agents to understand what your needs are as a seller and keep your best interests at heart because selling a property can be a conduit to a variety of other life options. If we know what’s important to you and what you’re hoping to achieve, we can use our knowledge and expertise to help you achieve all of your goals. It was my pleasure to sit down once again with “Real Talk San Diego.” As always, if you have any real estate questions or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

You’ve probably heard agents or other homeowners use the term “pocket listing” before. A pocket listing is when a homeowner has a home that they are thinking about selling and then encourage an agent to promote the listing to see if they can find a buyer. If a home is a pocket listing, it’s not openly advertised for sale or listed on the internet. Although pocket listings do have their place in the market, I’m not a big fan of them as a whole. The majority of the time, a pocket listing is not a good idea for a homeowner. On the surface, it sounds like a good idea. You don’t have to prepare the home for the market or worry about having buyers come through all the time. However, if your goal is to get the most money possible out of your home sale, wouldn’t it make sense to advertise your home to the widest audience possible? Wouldn’t it also be wise to make a few cost-effective repairs in order to get it in the best possible condition? With a pocket listing, you don’t get to do this. Although pocket listings aren’t for everyone, they do still sell. If you’re in a situation where you have multiple properties and you aren’t sure whether you want to sell one or rent it out, selling it as a pocket listing could make a lot of sense. “My goal is to get my sellers as much money as possible.” However, my goal with all of my home sellers is to get you as much money as possible. I can’t do that with a pocket listing. I can do it by working with you to get your home in the best possible shape so that I can advertise it to a huge audience. It has worked for me in the past and I’d love for it to work for you. I hope this was helpful for you. If you have any questions for me in the meantime about pocket listings or anything else about real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you soon.

Whether you plan on selling your home in a month, six months, or a year, it’s never too early to talk to an experienced real estate agent like me. The home selling process can be broken down into three separate phases: the pre-listing phase, the listing (or marketing) phase, and then the escrow phase that takes you to closing. During the pre-listing phase, I get together with a homeowner to put the listing agreement together. However, we don’t put it on the market yet. We work with the homeowner to fix some things up around the house. Whether that means painting or bringing a landscaper or interior designer in, we will get the home ready for the market. Next is the marketing phase, where your home is on the market and we use marketing to attract buyers from your home. After that, the final phase is going into escrow. Today, I want to focus on the pre-listing phase. It’s never too early to talk to a real estate agent and start the pre-listing phase. We can talk about simple, cost-effective things you should do to your home to maximize the sales price, get a good return on investment, and get it sold as quickly as possible. “It’s never too early to talk to an agent and start the pre-listing process.” It’s especially important to talk to a real estate agent before you start making upgrades yourself. Sometimes the things homeowners do won’t get a good return on investment. As Realtors, we have access to studies and lists of which projects will get you the most bang for your buck. Ultimately, it’s never too early to engage a good Realtor who’s in the market day in and day out selling homes. Whether you plan on selling your home two, three, or four months down the road, we can help you pick paint colors and projects that will add value and help sell your home. If you have any questions about selling your home or would like to talk about how to prepare your specific property for the market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!  

Each year during the holiday season, my team and I participate in something we believe to be a truly worthy cause: Toys for Tots. Many of you are probably already familiar with this program. But if you aren’t, allow me to explain. Toys for Tots is a program put on by the United States Marine Corps Reserve designed to collect and distribute toys to less fortunate children. My team and I want to make it easy for you to help. So if you’d like to contribute, all you have to do is collect a new, unwrapped toy and bring it by our office. We can even pick it up from you if you like. This program is a great way to give back. However, the deadline is Friday, December 15. If you’d like to participate with us, please bring your toys by the office by either Wednesday, December 13 or Thursday, December 14 at the latest. In the past, we’ve collected hundreds of toys. We’d like to beat that number this year. With your help, we’d like to make this holiday season bright for some less fortunate children. “With your help, we’d like to make this holiday season bright for some less fortunate children.” If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Is the holiday season a good time to sell your home? If you want to list your home on the market, should you wait until spring? Actually, the holidays can be a great time to sell. I have personally tracked my sales every year for the past several years, and I’ve found that I’m usually very busy during the holidays. “As an agent, I’m usually very busy during the holidays.” During the holidays, inventory is typically low and buyers tend to be very serious. There also tends to be less competition than there is at other times of year. While the number of transactions does rise during the spring and summer, this doesn’t mean it’s inherently better to sell during those seasons. Don’t think you’ll get more for your home during the spring and summer. This isn’t the case. So, if you are going to list your home during the holidays, this brings up a couple of questions. For instance: What about decorations? Should you put them up? In my opinion, yes. There’s something warm and inviting about holiday decor. Just be careful not to go overboard. You don’t want to put so much stuff out that your home becomes cluttered. Feel free to make things look nice and homey, but keep things neat and clean for showings. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I’m out at one of my newest listings in the Buena Creek area of Vista (756 Valley Crest Drive) to meet with a few agents who will be showing the property. I thought it would be a good time for me to answer a common question I’ve been getting: “Who should be present when my home is being shown?” If you’re a homeowner, I recommend that you find something else to do while your home is being shown. From my own experience, when sellers are present at showings it makes buyers feel uncomfortable. They don’t explore as much, they don’t ask as many questions, and they aren’t as honest with their feedback. “Buyers tend to be hesitant when sellers are present at showings.” While the homeowner shouldn’t be present at the showing, their listing agent should be whenever possible. They are going to be the best possible advocate for the home. They know all about it and its features. The buyer’s agent probably won’t know much about the home other than what’s on the listing. If the listing agent is there, they can let the buyer know all about the home, the surrounding area, and why it’s worth the price you’re asking. I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions for me in the meantime or you’re looking to buy or sell, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

In a market like ours where prices have gone up pretty steadily, the appraised value and market value of a home can be two totally different things. It’s very important you understand the difference between them and how it might impact your transaction as a buyer or a seller. Let’s start with market value. Market value is the value that’s arrived at between a buyer and a seller when neither is operating under duress and they’re negotiating openly. Let’s say a homeowner has their home listed at $750,000, the buyer makes an offer, they negotiate back and forth, and they finally agree on a price of $735,000. That’s the market value of that home. The appraised value is the value an appraiser arrives at by looking at the home and all its features, and then looking at other comparable homes that have sold recently. They adjust those other values and apply them to the subject home. The reason why this can differ from market value is that, in a rapidly moving market, the appraiser is looking at data that could be three-to-six months old, whereas a buyer is shopping in the current market. I feel that market value is the most accurate value for a property because it represents what’s going on at the time of the offer and what the buyer and seller have agreed upon. “I feel that market value is the most accurate value for a property.” This distinction is important if you’re a home seller because most buyers will pay with a loan, and the lender supplying that loan will have an appraisal done to verify that they’re not loaning more than what the property is worth. The appraisal is mandatory—the lender won’t give the loan unless the appraisal comes in. As a seller, you want your home to appraise. As a buyer, you need the appraisal in order to receive your loan. It’s important for both sides. If the appraisal comes in low, there are a few ways in which both parties can proceed. The buyer can bring in cash to bridge the gap between the appraised value and their offer amount, the seller can reduce the price, or they can meet somewhere in the middle. Each side can also choose to do nothing, in which case the transaction would fall apart. So remember—an appraised value is an appraiser’s opinion of the value of a home that’s based on data that’s three-to-six months in the past, whereas market value is what a willing buyer and seller agree on at the time the contract is signed. If you have any more questions about this topic or you’re curious about what’s going on in our San Diego market, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d be happy to help you.

What’s going on in our North San Diego County market? Overall, things are about the same as they were during our last market update. Back then, we talked about how low inventory had been pushing prices up, and we’re still seeing that effect. According to the most recent data, we have 2.2 months’ worth of inventory, or slightly more than 2,000 homes for sale. That’s pretty low—a balanced market in our county is closer to three or four months, and nationwide, it’s closer to six months. “Lower-priced homes near the average price points in our area that are marketed well are selling quickly.” I don’t see this level of inventory changing. What’s interesting, though, is that the upward pressure on prices has stagnated a bit. At the end of July, the median sale price was $705,000 and the average sale price was $880,000. At the end of August, the median sale price was down to $690,000 and the average sale price was down to $866,000. Year over year, those numbers are still up quite a bit, but month over month, they’ve tapered off. The lower-priced homes near the average price points in our area that are marketed well are selling quickly. In the higher price points, the market is a little more stagnant. It’s hard to know whether that trend is seasonal or it’s here to stay. In the meantime, if you have any questions about our market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Today I wanted to talk about the home buying process. If you or somebody you know is thinking about buying a home, or you’re thinking about buying an investment home, this video is for you. The first thing you do is reach out to a great Realtor and start looking at homes online. We know that 95% of homebuyers start shopping online, typically 12 to 16 weeks before they actually engage a Realtor. Do some research on what kind of neighborhood you want to move into, the type of home you’re looking for, and have a discussion about how much home you can afford. My advice is to get a good Realtor involved early on. They can sit down with you and talk about the features and areas that are important to you and help you find a suitable property. “Get a good Realtor early on in the process.” You also want to get in touch with a really good mortgage lender. If you’re not fortunate enough to pay cash for a new home, you’ll need a loan. This is a critical step for you to complete, because any offer to write for a home you want won’t hold much weight without the backing of a lender. That lender is going to run your credit, get your proof of income and list of assets, and then pre-approve you for a certain amount. That way you know exactly what your purchasing power is, as well as what your comfort level will be on a mortgage payment once you’ve closed on a house. A really good lender will also get you underwritten in advance, meaning that you’ll have an ironclad approval. Once you’ve figured these things out, start looking for your new home. Your agent is going to start looking at houses for you to supplement what you’re doing on your own. A good agent has access to the Multiple Listing Service, which has the fastest and most accurate data. Once you see a home that you like, in this market you need to move fast. There’s no time to wait to submit an offer in this competitive market. Write a good offer from the start and get after that home aggressively. A good agent will negotiate with the seller to get your offer accepted. That’s the general process that you’ll go through to get the home of your dreams. If you have additional questions, or you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. My team and I would love to help you.

As you can see in the video above, today I’m at a home that’s currently being fumigated for termites. We’re representing the seller of this home, and we thought now would be a good opportunity to explain how termite inspections work and how termite infestations are treated. First, it’s important to know that there are two different types of termites. Swarming termites can fly around the home and attack it from all levels. The other kind of termites are subterranean termites, which come from the ground and eat away at your foundation. “There are two types of termites.” How can you treat each type of termite? For subterranean termites, companies can get in under your house and inject things that will kill the termites into the soil and wood. Treating the other type of termite is a little more difficult. If there is damaged wood found, that will be replaced. However, it’s common for these termites to get into hard to reach areas. Hence the tent. It’s actually pretty common for a home to get fumigated like this. The gas that’s pumped into the home will exterminate them. When you’re purchasing a home, it’s customary for the seller to pay for a termite clearance—which means they will repair any termite damage and eradicate any live termites. Along with a home inspection, this is another inspection that every buyer should get, especially in San Diego County where termites are more common. If you’re a homeowner, it’s smart to have your home checked for termites every few years. The earlier on you catch them, the cheaper and easier it will be to get rid of them. If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

I’m often asked about the home selling process by homeowners who can be anywhere from three weeks to a year away from actually listing their house. The first step I always advise is getting in touch with a good Realtor because they’ll guide you on where to start with the important steps. At the first meeting, we’ll tour the house and talk about what’s important before going over a comparable analysis. In this analysis, we’ll look at what similar homes are currently selling for to determine the value of their home. Personally, I will have already looked at comparable homes within a one- or two-mile radius before the meeting. When going through their home, we’ll discuss the upgrades and money they’ve put into the home, and their favorite features, so we can compare it to the homes in the market analysis and come up with a value range. Once we’ve agreed on a value range, we’ll talk about marketing. We’ll go over the market plan and how the listing will be put all over the Internet, and also how we bring in a professional photographer, interior designer, and stager if necessary. If our services match what you’re looking for, we’ll put together a listing agreement but hold off on putting the home on the market. “If you have a budget to prepare the home for the market, we’ll show you how to spend it most effectively.” A common misconception comes into play here, and that’s the definition of ‘listing,’ which just means we’ve agreed to work together and signed the paperwork. However, we might hold the home off the market for as long as six months if you’re not ready to move yet. From there, we go through the house room-by-room to make suggestions on things like what you should clean up, how to stage it, how to define each room’s purpose, and the condition of the exterior. However, some homeowners don’t want to go through all that, but instead just want to sell the home as is. Some homeowners have varying budgets for these things, so we help them figure out how to spend it most effectively. After that step, the marketing crew gets to work—professional photographers, drone photography, and video could all be a part. Our team even has a professional writer who we’ll bring in to work with you to highlight the home’s best features and make it compelling. I also like to have a home pre-listing inspection performed. One of the biggest disappointments a home seller can have is receiving an offer only to have the buyer perform an inspection and uncover a bunch of issues with the home that could jeopardize the sale. Then, we’ll get the home listed and up on the multiple listing service, or MLS. We’ll display the photos and provide written narration for each one, then pump the listing out on more than 600 different websites. We’ll also do a print marketing campaign with thousands of print mailers. From there, the goal is to get a great offer and go into escrow, but we’ll discuss that in our next video. If you have any questions in the meantime or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We’re here to help!

Short sales were very prevalent during the mortgage meltdown, and I’ve noticed there have been more of them lately. A short sale amounts to a homeowner owing more money on their home than it’s actually worth and they can’t sustain the payments. Selling short means selling the house for less than the loan balance and asking the lender to forgive the unpaid balance, allowing them to walk away and wipe out the outstanding debt. Common candidates for short sales include people who bought a home in the height of the market and paid more than it was worth or got a bad loan like a negative amortization loan or an interest only loan. It could also be a homeowner with health or employment issues that prevent them from making monthly payments. “Lenders will allow short sales when they know the homeowner can’t make the payments.” For short sales, we market the home as usual and do everything we can as Realtors to sell for top market value. We take that offer to the lender and ask them to approve the short sale. Typically, the only reasons a lender will allow this is that they know the homeowner can’t make the payments. Since they probably don’t want to own the home and go through the foreclosure process, they’ll cut to the chase and agree to a short sale. If they approve it, you go through the closing process like any other real estate transaction and the outstanding debt gets wiped out. The commission, closing costs, and escrow fees all come out of the proceeds of the sale and the lender takes what’s left. The homeowner doesn’t pay anything, but they almost never get anything either. It hurts the homeowner’s credit, but a short sale candidate’s credit is already hurt. If you have any questions about short sales or you or someone you know is in this position, my team is well-versed in handling short sales. Just give us a call or send us an email—my team and I would love to speak with you!

If you have a home to sell, agent caravan can be very beneficial to you. It’s where a bunch of agents from one or multiple offices get together to talk about new listings to benefit our clients. In the video above, you can actually see agents’ cars starting to gather around me for agent caravan. We’ll talk about the new properties and their benefits, as well as the prices. We’ll then pitch it to the other agents. Then, someone might stand up and say they have an interested buyer or that they want to go see it. “Agent caravan is a powerful tool to expose your home before even going on the market.” We might have as many as 40 agents trekking through a house before it even hits the market to help their buyer. It’s a very powerful tool to use to attract buyers to your home. You can get a lot of traffic and feedback on your house before it even goes on the market, which are both extremely valuable assets when selling a home. If you’re thinking about selling your house or you’re curious about using agent caravan to get more traffic and feedback on your home, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

If you are thinking of selling your home, which is your biggest asset, then it is important to keep an eye on the value of your home and what’s going on in the market. If you are a buyer in the current market, then you have probably noticed that there aren’t many homes out there for you to choose from. I’ll go over a few tips for each of you today. First of all, let’s talk about the market. In our last update, we talked about how low inventory was. Back then, there were 1.8 months of inventory on the market, which meant there were only 1,699 homes to choose from. That number did go up by the end of February, but only by 25. There were 1,724 detached homes on the market, which means that if no new homes came on the market, we would be out of homes in less than two months! If you are looking for an attached home, like a condo or townhome, there are only 374 of those on the market. That’s less than one month of inventory! The low inventory has driven prices up. The average price for detached homes is up to $813,000 and the median price is up to $630,000. In lower price points, homes are selling fast. If you go above the average price point for your area, those homes are sitting on the market for a lot longer. So, if you are thinking of selling your home and your property is at or below the average price, then you are in a great position in the current market. On the other hand, buyers are struggling to find homes. There are not many options to choose from, which means the market is very competitive. As a buyer, there are three things you can do to position yourself better in the current market: “Although the market favors sellers, there are a few things buyers can do to find a home.” 1. Get your loan fully underwritten. Many buyers get pre-qualified or pre-approved. Pre-qualified buyers submit their information and the lender says, “You can probably get qualified for this amount.” Pre-approved means that a lender has reviewed your information and said that you are very likely to get approved for a certain amount. However, if you get your loan underwritten, then your loan is already approved, subject to a couple of small conditions such as an appraisal and a clear title. If you get fully underwritten, then the seller knows that you can close and you will close quickly. 2. Take a look at off-market listings. If you are interested in a certain area but there isn’t any inventory available, there may be other homes that failed to sell in the last couple of years that you can look at. If those listings expired or canceled, the seller may still be interested in getting out of that house. A good agent will contact those people and say, “Hello, I have a fully underwritten buyer who is interested in your home.” 3. Work with a great agent. There are lots of agents out there, but a good agent will have a good reputation in the community. They can call the listing agent and have a good discussion with them about your qualifications. Agents like working with good agents because they know the transaction will be smooth and the agent will be honest and ethical. Good agents will pull expired or withdrawn listings and go after them. Ultimately, although our market favors sellers and is still incredibly competitive, there are a few things buyers can do to successfully purchase a home. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. My team and I would be happy to help you!

Can you trust Zillow’s Zestimates to provide an accurate value for your home? The answer is no, and there are a few reasons why.   When you go to Zillow, you are able to get something called a Zestimate, which gives you the value of your home. Can you trust those Zestimates?  Unfortunately, no. Most of the time, Zestimates are not very accurate.  According to Zillow’s website, a Zestimate is a starting point in determining a home’s value. It is not an appraisal. As I like to say, if it was, it would be called a Zappraisal. The Zestimate is based on public and user-submitted data.  Public data is usually fairly accurate, as it includes information about the square footage of your home. The problem is that Zestimates rely on user-submitted data.  If you are a homeowner who wants to sell your house and you know that people are going to Zillow to see what your home is worth, wouldn’t it benefit you to go to Zillow and add some home improvements to your property? There are some agents out there who actually help people increase their Zestimates to make it seem like their home is worth more than it is. In short, Zestimates can be tweaked and manipulated.  Zillow goes on to say that they encourage homeowners to supplement the Zestimate by speaking with a real estate agent and getting a comparative market analysis or getting an appraiser to visit the house. After all, Zillow has never been to your house; that Zestimate has no idea how your home stacks up against others in the area.  “Zestimates can be manipulated by the owner or the agent.” If you live in an area like Shadow Ridge or Emerald Heights where there are a lot of homes for Zillow to pull from, then your Zestimate might be more accurate. If you live in a rural area without a lot of data or if you live in an area with a variety of unique homes, then that Zestimate can be a long way off.  Zillow even admits that more than three-quarters of the the homes in San Diego County have Zestimates that are off by 10% or more. That means if you have a $700,000 house and your Zestimate is off by at least 10%, then your Zestimate is either $70,000 too high or too low.  Zillow is kind of like WebMD; if you are curious about a health condition, then you can look up some data on WebMD. If you are seriously concerned about your health, you will go to the doctor. You won’t trust your health to information from WebMD. Why trust the value of your house to some website?  In order to know what your home is worth in the current market, you need to contact an agent about the value of your home. In fact, I invite you to look up your Zestimate and send it to me. I will then compare your property to recently sold homes in your area and we’ll see how accurate Zillow actually is.  If you are interested, let me know. If I get enough Zestimates from you, I’ll cover them in our next video so that you can see exactly how accurate Zillow is about our area.  Of course, if you have any other questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you.

Are we in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? It’s a question we get all the time. So far in 2017, we’re seeing that it’s a little bit of both. If you’re thinking about selling your house, now is a great time. Inventory is way down and the numbers back that up. Toward the end of 2015, we had more than 2,200 homes on the market and toward the end of 2016, we had fewer than 1,700 homes on the market. That’s almost a 23% reduction in the number of detached homes available on the market. “Our market is favorable for both buyers and sellers right now.” The increase in competition for the available homes has pushed prices up; the median price has gone up over 3% across the county. Anyone thinking about selling their house should know that inventory is down, prices are up, and the amount of time it takes to sell a home is down. If you’re thinking about buying a home, it’s also a great time for you. There are a few reasons for this, and the first is interest rates. Yes, they have ticked up a bit, but for rates to be hovering around 4% is still historically a wonderful rate. Many people—millennials especially—don’t know that back in the 1980s, interest rates averaged about 13%! As recently as the 2000s, they were about 6.29%. We’re going to revert to the mean at some point and rates will go back up. Those of you who buy now and lock in a historically low rate are going to be the happiest. The other thing to focus on is the affordability index, which tells us roughly what percentage of people can afford to buy homes at today’s prices based on average income in the area and today’s interest rates. Right now, that number is between 25% and 30%. That may sound low, but in 2005 and 2006, it was less than 10%. With affordability at a good rate and interest rates so low, it tells me that prices will probably continue to go up. In short, in terms of whether we’re in a buyer’s or seller’s market, it’s a little bit of both. If you’re thinking about taking advantage of this market by buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!