San Diego Real EstatePodcast with Max Folkers

Our Bay Park office has many amenities, but none are better than the “man cave” that we’ve turned into a community event center. Here’s a better look at the space so you can see why it’s so incredible.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessOn my latest appearance on “The American Dream," I joined host Lili Fifield and Darlene De La Paz from Pazable Creations in our Bay Park office to talk a little bit about the area and to take a closer look at our own little secret place in our office. From cornhole to ping pong to plenty of TVs, we’ve created our own little man cave here at RE/MAX Pacific. However, now we want to make it a center for the community. We’ve already had private events in it and we’re actually leasing it out now for events. There’s a ton of space to hang out, play ping pong, and even play with your pets. See for yourself starting at 1:30 in the video above.“We’d love for you to come and check out the space sometime. ”We’d love for you to come check out the space for yourself some time. If you’re in the area here in Bay Park, come take a little break and join us! If you have any other questions for me in the meantime or any real estate needs that I can assist you with, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessSan Diego is once again leading the nation, though not necessarily in a good way.Home sales are down 20% year over year. As a result, we have more inventory than last year; currently, there are 1,900 more homes on the market than we had at this time in 2018. This is a good thing for homebuyers, but if you’re a seller, you can expect the market to be a bit slower.Home prices are actually still up, having increased 2.5% over last year. As of January, the median home price was $542,000, which is down from last summer’s peak of $583,000. We expect those numbers to adjust with the seasons, so it remains to be seen how the spring and fall markets will play out this year.“Keep in mind that real estate is always hyperlocal here in San Diego, and we’re subject to big swings. ”Keep in mind that real estate is always hyperlocal here in San Diego, and we’re subject to big swings. The higher-end homes in areas like Rancho, Santa Fe, and La Jolla are actually down 28% in terms of price. On the flip side, Oceanside is up 39% year over year. Here in Bay Park, we’re down about 8% from January of 2018.Mind you, those are very small sample sizes, and home prices can change dramatically, which is why we tend to look at San Diego County as a whole. I wouldn’t give too much credence to those figures.If you have any questions, you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, or would like to have a more in-depth discussion of market trends, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to be your real estate resource.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessWith the end of the year well in sight, it’s time to reflect on some recent developments in our housing market. Though we’re more than halfway through November, the September market numbers have only just been released, and so we’ll be taking a look at those today. There’s always a little bit of a lag in when market statistics come out, but the figures we’ll discuss in this update still have a significant bearing on what’s happening now. First, the number of home sales has dropped by 17.5% year over year—constituting the lowest level we’ve seen in years. Since the peak of $583,000, median home prices have gone down as well, decreasing to $575,000. But fear not: The median home price is still up 4% year over year. Another notable change is the fact that homes are sitting on the market for longer than they have been in the recent past. There are 38% more active homes right now in San Diego County than there were in September of 2017. And with this uptick in inventory, 26.4% of available homes have undergone price reductions. “The key to succeeding in today’s market, regardless of your real estate goals, is to partner with a professional agent who can guide you through current conditions. ”Why is all of this happening? One major contributing factor is the increase in interest rates, which are up 1% since last year. They’re now at the highest level they have been at the past seven years, and they're expected to continue going up. With that said, interest rates are still low from a historical perspective. If you’re thinking of buying or selling, realize that change equals opportunity. As we move away from what was a complete seller’s market, buyers now have a greater chance of success. The shift toward a more balanced market doesn’t mean sellers are without options, though. Sellers can still succeed—it just may not happen as quickly. And that’s okay. Longer wait times are actually a sign of a healthy market.Ultimately, the key to succeeding in today’s market, regardless of your real estate goals, is to partner with a professional agent who can guide you through current conditions. 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.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessBay Park is home and I have another great property!  I recently listed 3855 Baker Street and I'm excited to show you!Bay Park is one of the hottest neighborhoods in San Diego right now, and what’s unique about this property is it’s a part of the first wave of homes with intentionally built accessory dwelling units. We’re actually starting to see more and more multi-generational families take an interest in these types of properties because they either want to take advantage of the rental income or they want to keep their family close. “The owners spared no expense in renovating everything. ”This property is listed at just under $1.3 million, and it features a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom main house, a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom attached granny flat, a detached two-car garage, and a rooftop deck with a view of the water. As you can see in the video above, the owners spared no expense in renovating everything. It has top-end appliances, an open floor plan, and plenty of space. This part of Bay Park doesn’t get a lot of traffic noise, and you’d be within walking distance of the nearest school. We’ve had some people already take an interest in this property, but so far we haven’t received any offers, so there’s still time for you to check it out. If you’d like to schedule a tour of this property for yourself or if you have any questions about it, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessI was recently a guest on the talk show, “The American Dream,” where I spoke to host Amy Scruggs about a few key issues affecting the San Diego real estate market. Today I want to fill you in on the discussion so that you can stay in the know.Midterm elections are coming up—let’s talk about property taxes.There’s something interesting coming up on the ballot called Prop 5. This proposition specifically deals with sellers over the age of 55.Many are familiar with Prop 13, which preserves people’s property tax bases at 1% of what they purchased the property for. Older clients might also be familiar with Props 60 and 90, which allow them to transfer their tax bases when they sell a house. For example, a client of mine bought their house on Scripps Ranch about 25 years ago. They’ve since retired and want to get back to the beach. The house they’re going to sell was purchased for $500,000—25 years later, they’ll probably be able to sell it for about $1 million. To get back to a single-family home on the beach, $1 million won’t cut it, so they’ve got a couple tough choices to make: They can either find something for less than $1 million and keep that $500,000 tax base, or they can find their dream home, say, for around $1.2 million. In that second scenario, their tax base is $1.2 million. As someone who is retired, possibly on a fixed incoime, that’s a huge hit.Pitched by the California Association of Realtors, the exciting thing about Prop 5 coming up in the November elections is that it will change the process of transferring your tax base. Instead of transferring your tax base once, as with Props 60 and 90, you’ll be able to transfer it several times and even to a property that’s more expensive than the one sold.“Pitched by the California Association of Realtors, the exciting thing about Prop 5 coming up in the November elections is that it will change the process of transferring your tax base. ”There are some aspects to the calculations that will adjust it up a bit, but you won’t take nearly the hit you would have on a newly assessed property of $1.2 million. It’s a game-changer.This is great advice that can really help people know how to navigate the process and give them some hope and opportunity.It absolutely could do a lot for San Diego, where inventory is very low. If passed, Prop 5 should really open up a lot of inventory, since there are a lot of seniors sitting in their houses because they can’t afford to move.I am very grateful to have been a guest on “The American Dream,” and I’d like to thank Amy Scruggs for hosting the segment.If you have any questions regarding Prop 5 or property taxes in general, please feel free to reach out to us at the Max Folkers Real Estate Team. We’d be happy to help.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessOur August weather is pretty hot, but is the real estate market beginning to cool down?Though we’re still seeing some strong numbers in terms of appreciation, we may soon reach the peak of our market. There are a couple of key indicators that this may be the case. First, there has been a significant drop in the number of homes sold recently. Second, there has been a fairly dramatic rise in inventory. “While early signs of a market cool down are appearing, no one can say what exactly the future may hold. ”Beyond these two conditions, the number of mortgage applications being submitted has dropped to a four-year low. Some of this may be due to rising interest rates and diminishing affordability, but it’s also possible that our market may be cooling soon. The bottom line is this: No one has a crystal ball, but we Realtors do like to keep a pulse on the market. So while early signs of a market cool down are appearing, no one can say what exactly the future may hold.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.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessI just wanted to take a moment of your time to let you know about a fantastic new home that was just listed on the market. 3626 Lloyd Terrace is in one of my favorite areas of the city, and I recently sat down for an episode of “Smarter San Diego” to discuss it.This 2,799 square foot home is down in Bay Park and has five bedrooms and three bathrooms. In the video above, you'll see that the home has ample space for living, entertaining, and more. The open floor plan really capitalized the space, and it’s right near the water as well. “The home has ample space for living and entertaining. ”If you’d like to schedule a tour of this property for yourself or if you have any questions about it, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessWe just received the latest San Diego market numbers from this past April, and we’ve reached some new highs in a few different categories. The first is median home price, which ended April at a brand-new high of $570,000. Prior to that, the record was $517,000, which was set all the way back in November 2005. In case you’re wondering, the all-time low for the median home price in San Diego is $280,000, which was set in November 2009. This means our market more than doubled our all-time low. The second (and less exciting) high came from interest rates, which reached 4.5% for a 30-year fixed rate. This wasn’t a record high, but it was the highest point we’d seen in the past seven years. “It will be interesting to see how our number of homes on the market evolves throughout the rest of the year. ”As a matter of fact, it’s that high that may have contributed to our next high—the number of active homes on the market. At the end of April, we had approximately 6,500 homes on the market. The inflow and outflow of homes on the market is cyclical, and it’s not uncommon for this number to increase during this time of year. With both rising interest rates and rising prices hampering affordability, though, it will be interesting to see how this number evolves throughout the rest of the year. Below are our active listings I mentioned in the video and, as always, if you have any other questions about our San Diego market 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. http://2828famosa108.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htmhttp://2120galvestonst.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htmhttp://3626lloydterrace.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htmhttp://1815cross.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htmhttp://4111calavodr.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htmhttp://6171ranchomission305.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htmhttp://94710th.ihousenet.com/mlsmax/home.htm

I’ve got a couple of important updates for you today. First, I’ll share some information about our market and then, I’ll go over two great upcoming events.RSVP for the event here!  Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessToday I want to bring you a quick market update as well as some information regarding a couple of upcoming events.First, let’s start with the market update. Interest rates have been a hot topic, lately. Rates are over 4% now. Given the strength of our economy, experts predict that we’ve likely seen the last of interest rates in the 3% range. A lot of people think this fact might dissuade buyers. However, rising rates are actually having the inverse effect. Buyers are anxious to lock in their 30-year mortgage while rates are still in the 4% range. On top of that, there are 10% fewer homes on the market today than there were at this same time last year. To summarize: We’re currently seeing a strong seller’s market. If you have been thinking of listing, right now is a great time to do so.Now, onto our upcoming events.The first event I want to talk about is one I’m really excited for. We have a seminar coming up on Thursday, March 22 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will be an “educational happy hour” and will take place at our office (4114 Napier Street, San Diego). We hope to see you there. You can RSVP to secure your place at the event here.“If you have been thinking of listing, right now is a great time to do so. ”At the event, there will be a talk by Ian Scattergood, who will be speaking about accessory dwelling units. There have been some new laws here in California that can allow you to build up to a 1,200 square foot unit on your property, so this talk will shed light on that and other important information on the subject. The second event I want to let you know about is the Taste of Marina. This annual event highlights more than 20 local restaurants and bars. At the event, attendees are provided with a ticket that allows them to sample these different great locations. We are selling tickets here in our office for $25 a piece, so come on by during business hours to obtain yours.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.

Happy Holidays! Thank you for a wonderful 2017. May you have a happy and healthy 2018!Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessToday, I just want to take a minute and wish you happy holidays and a happy New Year! I hope you have the chance to spend some time with your friends and family. Thank you for working with us in 2017, and we look forward to seeing you in 2018.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessBefore we get too far into the new year, I wanted to reach out with a few updates for you. First, I want to tell you about how the real estate market fared in 2017 in San Diego. Then I have a special event to invite you to. Let’s start with a market wrap up from 2017.The median price for a home in San Diego at the end of 2017 was $540,000. That’s up 9.1% from the previous year. This strong appreciation was mostly driven by the strong economy, as more investors decided to take advantage of the low inventory and low interest rates that we’re currently seeing. In 2018, we expect the low inventory and low interest rate trends to continue.“Join us this Saturday, February 3 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ”As for the special event, I just wanted to make sure and invite you out to the grand opening of our new office in Bay Park. It’s really beautiful and we’d love for you to come out and take a look on this Saturday, February 3 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We’ve got a big space set aside with artificial turf and we’ll have a lot of different things ready for you, including a bounce castle, a taco cart, giveaways from local businesses, and more. We would love for you to stop by.If you have any questions for us about the current market or about our grand opening this weekend, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

Have you ever considered adding an accessory dwelling unit to your lot? Last year, a new law made this possible. Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessToday, I’d like to talk to you about accessory dwelling units, which are more commonly known as “granny flats” or “in-law suites.”Last year, a law was passed in California to help address the housing shortage. This law allows for the construction of a second home on a lot only zoned for a single-family property. This way, you can either rent the space out or use it to house grandparents, in-laws, or your adult children. However, actually following through on what this law allows has been somewhat difficult. Right now it takes about $26,000 to get the permits and plans approved by the city of San Diego. This is before anything has even been done toward the construction of the home. Additionally, it can take weeks or months to even get started. “Last year, California passed a law allowing accessory dwelling units to be built as a second home on a single-family lot. ”Thankfully, a proposal has been made to help streamline this process by reducing the associated fees and having templates available for the units. If templates became available for people wanting to build this second property, the unit would already be pre-approved. There is a stipulation relating to size, though. You can build up to 1,200 square feet for an accessory dwelling unit. If you are interested in accessory dwelling units, get in touch with us so that we can include you in an upcoming seminar my team and I are hosting on the subject. For more information on these accessory dwelling units, click here. 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.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessToday I want to talk about the proposed tax reform that’s currently on the table. Specifically, I’d like to talk about three aspects of it that could affect the housing market.1. They may be capping the mortgage interest rate deductions. Currently, you’re able to write off all of your mortgage interest on a loan up to $1 million. They are thinking of reducing this cap to $500,000. Let’s say you’ve got a 4% interest rate on a $1 million mortgage. Right now, you would be able to write off $40,000. If this tax reform goes through, you would only be able to write off $20,000. They are also looking into entirely eliminating the mortgage interest rate on second homes and home equity lines up to $100,000. 2. There is a proposal by the Senate to eliminate state, local, and property tax deductions. Here in San Diego where your property tax rate is about 1.2%, this could be a big blow to your write-offs. The House’s proposed plan would instead cap property tax deduction at $10,000. 3. They want to adjust the tax break for sellers. Currently, if you are an owner of a primary residence and have lived there for two of the last five years, you can write off up to $250,000 if you are single and up to $500,000 as a couple. These write-offs are currently tax-free. If this proposed tax reform goes through, you will need to have lived in your home for five out of the last eight years instead of two out of the last five. Instead of being able to move up every two years and taking your gains tax-free, you would need to stay in your home for at least five years. “On a long term scale, this proposed tax reform could decrease seller motivation. ”Overall, there is a lot of discussion about how these changes are really going to affect housing. In the short term we may not see a big impact, since interest rates and inventory are still both low. But as time goes on, this proposed tax reform will create less motivation for people to sell. Also, by basically tying people to their homes for longer periods of time, we’ll likely see some tightening inventory. 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.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessAs we wrap up the summer, many of you are likely wondering where our market is headed now. The numbers for August are in, and they point to a trend you may have already noticed. Things in the market have been a little sluggish lately. The number of sales is down about 12% year over year. This seems to be more due to lack of inventory as opposed to a lack of interest from buyers.The number of multiple offers has also gone down, but 60% of all homes sold still received them. Also, 31% of homes are selling above list price.We’ve seen a year over year appreciation of 7.4% in San Diego County. So, where do we go from here? Pulsenomics recently released its home expectation survey for the third quarter. Pulsenomics makes these predictions for our market by going out and interviewing over 100 different economists, finance specialists, and Realtors nationwide. “Due to lack of inventory, our market is a little sluggish lately. ”Using the information they gathered, they expected about a 5% appreciation overall for 2017. However, they expect the appreciation rate to steadily decline until about 2020. In 2020 and 2021, they expect the appreciation rate to stay level at about 3%. Even with this decline in percentage, the prediction remains that our market will continue to appreciate for the next five years. 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.

If you think you have to save a lot for your down payment, think again. I have two down payment assistance programs to share with you that will allow you to buy a home sooner than you think.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessIt’s getting late in the summer, and we’re seeing the same slump in sales activity we usually do this time of year. This slump, though, provides a great opportunity for buyers—especially if you’ve been frustrated throughout the year by multiple offer situations. There isn’t as much competition in the market right now, but inventory is growing.If you’re a buyer and you’re saving up for a down payment because you think you currently can’t afford one, I have a couple great down payment programs to tell you about.The first is an equity share program. There’s a company that will match up to 14.5% of your down payment in exchange for an equity share in your home. You need to put down at least 10% for an equity share program, and it’s capped at a $638,000 mortgage.“These are two great down payment options. ”The second is the California Homebuyer’s Downpayment Assistance Program. This option is great for first-time homebuyers because it contributes up to 3% of the purchase price. This is primarily geared toward FHA buyers, and it allows you to put as little as 0.5% down. Since this program is a grant, it’s completely forgivable. This program does require you to take a class on homeownership, and there are income requirements, as well. You must also own the property for a certain amount of time.Lastly, I want to share with you an app we agents use called Homesnap. This app offers real-time information about properties for sale (and even properties that aren’t for sale). All you have to do is take a picture of the house with your phone and it will provide you the information you need. It also lets you communicate with us if you want more specific information or would like to schedule a showing.To download this app, visit www.homesnap.com/Max-Folkers.If you have any questions about down payment options, the Homesnap app, you’re thinking of selling your home, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to assist you.

Today I have big news for our local market: We have finally set a new high for the median home price in San Diego County.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessJune has just begun, so I wanted to stop in with a quick market update.The big news is that we finally did it. We have set the new high in San Diego County for the median house price. Right now, the median house price is at $525,000. Believe it or not, the last peak we had was way back in 2005 at the top of the housing bubble.If you adjust for inflation, we’re still not quite up to the $644,000 that would signify a new high but essentially, we have done that at $525,000.“June and July should be strong months for our real estate market. ”If you look at the historical trends of 3% to 4% appreciation that we’ve seen in real estate for the last 80 years, then we are still a ways below that trend line, which leads many people to believe that we still have room to grow.Now, inventory and low interest rates are still driving appreciation, and we won’t see a fundamental shift there anytime soon. June and July should be strong months for our market before things start to cool down in late summer and early fall.Meanwhile, our office is under construction. We’ll let you all know about our grand opening as soon as we are officially moved into 4112 Napier Street in the heart of Bay Park.In the meantime, if you have any questions about our current market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What's the biggest obstacle to homeownership for prospective buyers?Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessAccording to a recent survey, not being able to save up enough money for a down payment comes in at the top of the list. 55% of prospective homebuyers cited this as their main stumbling block to achieving homeownership.With the continuing growth of home prices, things aren't getting any easier for them. In fact, homeownership rates reached a 20-year low last November.It might be hard to imagine, but just a decade ago many lenders offered easy, no-money-down mortgages. Anyone with a pulse could qualify for one. However, after the financial crisis, mortgage standards have become more restrictive. A typical mortgage now requires a 20% down payment.If you have decent credit and a steady income, you might also qualify for a number of specialized programs that require little or no down payment.First, there's the USDA loan, which is valid for homes in certain regions, such as rural and suburban areas. With zero money down and lenient credit requirements, the USDA loan can be a great choice..Second, there’s the VA loan, which you can apply for if you or your spouse served in a branch of the military. It's possibly the most generous zero-money-down mortgage because of low interest rates and low closing costs.“55% cited the lack of a down payment as their main stumbling block. ”Third, there's the FHA loan. It does require a 3.5% down payment, but that is much more achievable than the 20% required for a conventional mortgage. There are also a number of credit unions and first-time homebuyer programs that might apply to your particular situation.There’s one more important thing you should know. If you decide to get one of these no-money-down mortgages, chances are good you will have to pay private mortgage insurance, which can drive up your monthly payments. Private mortgage insurance will disappear after your mortgage balance is under 80%, and the money you do pay will be tax deductible in most cases.As you can see, there are lots of options to make owning a home a reality for you, even if you haven't saved up tens of thousands of dollars.If you need any advice on getting a no-money-down loan, give me a call at 619-977-8364. I can put you in touch with some experienced area lenders who can answer your questions and help get you started. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I wanted to stop by with an update on the San Diego market so far in 2017 and also let you know about some upcoming events that we'd love to see you at.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessLooking back, we can see that 2016 was a great year for the San Diego real estate market. We led the nation several times in appreciation in the Case-Shiller Index, but the early numbers for 2017 show that some other metropolitan areas are taking the lead. San Diego has actually fallen to 14th on that list. The San Diego market is still appreciating, but not as much as some of those other markets.After about 6% or 7% appreciation in 2016, some predict we'll see that slow a little bit. This is probably because many areas in San Diego have already surpassed their all-time highs in values. You may have even experienced how homes are flying off the shelves.We've seen a lot of activity this quarter, likely due to interest rates rising, causing people to jump off the fence and lock in a rate while they're low. This year, we expect a lot of early appreciation to take place in the first part of the year; April and May have typically been our market's busiest months.As for inventory, we're at just under 5,000 homes on the market for San Diego County. As interest rates continue to fuel activity, upward pressure on prices will be fueled too until something dramatic happens that could change inventory levels.“Interest rates are causing people to jump off the fence and buy a home to lock in a low rate. ”There are a few other events here in San Diego coming up that I wanted to tell you about. The first is The Taste of Morena on April 26th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Here at our office at 4112 Napier Street, we're holding an open house as one of the sponsors. We're also selling tickets, so if you need tickets, you can get them from us for $25 apiece. There will be 23 different restaurant and bar stops where you'll get free samples from.It's going to be a fun night, and we'll also have some drawings, drinks, and giveaways at our office as well. We'd love for you to join us.On May 6th, we're also sponsoring the 21st Clairemont Garden Tour at 2151 Burgener Street. We'll have a booth there, and there will be a food truck nearby as well. It's a great opportunity to walk through and get some great ideas and inspiration for landscaping. We hope to see you there as well!As always, give us a call or send us an email with any questions you have. We're happy to help.

If you need to be a contingent buyer, there are still a few things that you can do to set your offer apart.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessIf you have to sell your home before buying your next home, you become a contingent buyer. Many people find themselves in this situation, and many are also nervous about selling their house before they have the next one bought and lined up. They worry they won't be able to find a home they're excited about.When figuring out your situation, you have to consider price and terms. Check out the video above for a graph that visually explains how the better the terms are in your offer, the better the price you can expect to pay. For example, if you offer a fast close and an all-cash offer, you will probably get a better price.If you're a contingent buyer, you're a big unknown to the people selling their home.“As a contingent buyer, the closer you are to selling your current home, the better. ”Since your terms won't be as good, you'll have to pay a premium for the home you want. If you make an offer contingent on the sale of your house and your house isn't even on the market yet, your offer will probably go into the seller's trash can. If your house is at least on the market, your offer becomes more attractive to a seller. If it's under contract, it's better still. If you get to the point where you're a contingent buyer but your house is under contract and ready to close in a week, it's as good as a standard non-contingent offer.Basically, as a seller you've got a lot of leverage right now. This means you can extend escrow a little bit if you need to or arrange a leaseback agreement so you don't have to move twice.If you have any other questions about buying a home contingent upon the sale of your existing home or about anything else related to the market here in San Diego, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be more than happy to help.

Even in a hot market like ours, it's important to have representation by your side when buying a home. Here are the major benefits of working with a buyer's agent.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessWhen you're buying a home, it's extremely beneficial to hire a buyer's agent and stick with them.In our market with limited inventory, we see a lot of buyers thinking they can go directly to a home's listing agent and that the agent will cut their commission, giving them a price benefit. In reality, though, the listing agent has a contract with the home seller for the total amount of commission of the sale. They offer a portion of it to the person that brings a buyer. Whether that person is themselves, somebody on their team, or a third-party agent, they will get paid that same amount.Wouldn't you want somebody representing you and your interests in the negotiation?“Let an agent take care of coordinating all those showings you want to go on. ”That listing agent has known the seller at least as long as it took to get the home on the market, if not longer, whereas they've only known you for 15 minutes or so. Who do you think is going to win in that negotiation?Another benefit to having a buyer's agent is that they can coordinate all the different showings. When you want to look at five or six houses, you don't have to try and schedule around open houses and availability. Let your agent take care of those things.Additionally, buyer's agents have access to 'coming soon' properties that haven't even been listed yet. For example, I have a list of 12 of these properties currently that I share with my clients. They're not my listings, but I know about them because I network with all the other agents in the area. If you want that inside track, you need to find somebody who does their homework to benefit you.Another great example of the benefits of having a buyer's agent is the marketing. One of the agents in our office has a client looking specifically in the Escala complex in Mission Valley where there's just nothing on the market. Our agent is putting together a letter about that buyer and mailing it to the entire complex to find out who is thinking about selling their house to see if we can put together a deal.If you're looking to buy a home, we'd love to represent you, but we want you to at least reach out to a couple buyer's agents to find the best fit for you. Just give me a call or send me an email soon. I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy holidays! Today I’m here with your final market update for 2016, as well as my market predictions for the new year.Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value reportLooking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS accessHappy Holidays! I’m here with your year-end market wrap up. I’ll also give you a sneak peak into the 2017 real estate market.The final numbers for 2016 are coming in. San Diego’s median price point hit $507,000, which is the first time we have broken $500,000 since November of 2005.As a result, there have been some concerns about the market topping out again. However, we still have not matched the most recent market peak of $517,000. Historically, each peak in the real estate market exceeds the previous peak, so we technically have a bit of a run up to go.Still, home sellers hold all of the cards right now thanks to incredibly low inventory. Year over year, low inventory has driven our market trends. I expect that to be the case in 2017. So far, this year has mapped out almost exactly like 2015, and I predict 2017 will be more of the same.“I predict 2017 will be more of the same. ”More inventory will hit the market mid-January, and there should be a big rush through spring. The market will slow down again next fall.What’s interesting is that we are still seeing a lot of market activity this holiday season. Why? For years, there has been talk about how interest rates need to go up. Well, it’s finally happening. Rates went up a half point over the last few weeks, and with the Fed raising their rates, there is some concern about inflation. As rates jump up, housing affordability goes down.That’s it for our 2016 real estate market wrap up. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!