Between the tariff calamity that is still a long way from being resolved and Jamie Dimon calling the markets complacent, you would think that The Big Wait would come naturally and home sales would be slowing considerably.
In addition, most homes for sale aren’t selling, and the doomers are out in force!
Yet, look how this month’s local home sales are ahead of last May:
There will be sales from yesterday that get recorded today, plus late-reporters, so I used the data from May 1-18, 2024 for last year’s sales count to get a comparable sample set.
Is there any alarm for the individual areas?
It looks like the sales distribution is ok for now. Hat tip RSF!
Apparently, there have been affluent buyers ignoring the over-supply of homes for sale and the rest of the chaos who are paying enough to make sellers happy!
It doesn’t matter if these apply to your market or if there is any truth to them. People are reading these on twitter, and it’s natural for buyers and sellers to wait. Buyers: Don’t buy the wrong house. Stay engaged and see if you get lucky!
Of today’s 156 pendings, there are 100 of them that are priced Under-$3,000,000, which would make you think the inventory struggle might be a higher-end thing. But as you can see below, the number of active listings Under-$3,000,000 keeps climbing and is well ahead of last year’s counts too.
No changes are expected.
Sellers will let it ride and hope to get lucky. Buyers wonder if prices will drop.
The graduation season is underway, which is a welcome distraction for many. Then people will start going on vacations. Mortgage rates will stay high, and might go higher.
Creating any momentum or urgency will be exceedingly difficult.
The Big Wait is upon us, and likely to stick around!
J-Opp owns and runs a brokerage so he has to say buyer-broker agreements are mandatory, but the Coldwell Banker and two Compass agents aren’t as committed.
I think the buyers will prevail here and not be signing contracts with buyer-agents much until they find a house to buy – nobody else sees it until then! It helps demonstrate how the only thing worse than being a buyer in the enviroment is being a buyer-agent.
I saved the clip above from the Zillow ad of my Escondido listing.
I appreciate them trying to do something to nudge buyers closer to making an offer. Their suggestions are just common sense – if you offer close to the list price, you’ll probably get it!
But I hate the bait-and-switch they do underneath it.
The ‘advice from an agent’ is a licensee who is paying 30% to 40% of their fee to Zillow – which means the buyer-agent fee will be higher (which the buyer is paying one way or another). The advice comes from an agent who hasn’t seen the house, or knows anything about the situation.
I really hate their promise to show the home ‘as early as today at 3:00pm’.
They haven’t run that by me or gleaned it from the listing. It’s when they might have a licensee available – maybe – and yet it makes you think you could see the home within an hour or two. It guarantees disappointment when the buyer finds out they can’t see it that fast, which reflects badly on the home – and it’s likely the buyer will just skip it instead.
We should insist on better treatment of buyers. It’s tough enough on them already!
Like most empty-nesters, I spend a little more time on the internet. Last night, I dug up my history on YouTube, which started almost 20 years ago!
Having over 2 million views is incredible, and I appreciate the recent resurgence.
But I only dream about getting the thousands of views like during the foreclosure days.
This was the video that ran on February 8, 2009 that got over 10,000 views that day and caused the purple spike above. Two months later I was on the front page of the L.A. Times and then on ABCNews Nightline! Those were the days!
What makes a town beautiful? The answer is, naturally, subjective.
Perhaps you have a penchant for windswept coasts. Or, maybe you love historic architecture. Do you favor human-made elements or natural scenery? To offer a glimpse at a variety of gorgeous places around the U.S., we considered destinations from coast to coast.
Here are 20 of the most beautiful small towns in America, all with a population under 20,000.
Part of this story is how the buyer-agent compensation played a role in the outcome. It is a sore subject that I detest – the agents should not be a party to the transaction, but because of the botched lawsuit by NAR, the commission rate not only varies, but the buyers who pay their own agent and don’t ask for any seller participation can end up being the net winner even with a lower offer. It’s not right.
We ask buyers to submit their highest-and-best offer, and this was a case where the best offer wasn’t the highest offer, in the minds of our sellers.
Rather than whine on about the commission unfairness, let’s focus on what made a lower offer the best – and attempt to identify the cost of convenience.
Three offers were submitted after the first open-house weekend, and we respectfully requested that all buyers submit their highest-and-best offer.
Two non-winning offers minus buyer-agent commission paid by seller:
$1,274,000 with 40% down payment and 1% deposit.
$1,287,925 with 55% down payment and 3% deposit.
Both requested a 30-day escrow.
The winning offer, with NO buyer-agent commission paid by seller:
$1,260,000 cash and 3% deposit.
They requested a 14-day escrow.
The money differences between the winner and non-winners:
$14,000
$27,925
The Question? How much money is a 14-day escrow worth?
My sellers were the original owners of the home for sale, it was free and clear, and in their mind, the home “had been very good to them”. They purchased a home in Washington state that they financed, and moved in successfully. They intended to pay off the the mortgage on their new home with the net proceeds from the sale here, and have a nice chunk leftover.
The difference between a 14-day and 30-day escrow was around $4,000 in interest paid on their new loan
Subtract $4,000 from the non-winners and here are the net differences:
$10,000
$23,925
If the sellers wanted the most money, they could have taken Offer #2 and made an extra $23,925. But they didn’t take that deal, nor the +$10,000 deal either.
Why not?
We sent out the highest-and-best requests on April 29th, which was four weeks after Liberation Day. It had been a wild four weeks by then! Our sellers (who had lived in this home since 1998) had left behind a vacant house and moved into a highly mortgaged house out of state. The discomfort was already riding high, and then the tariffs were the last jolt.
We had discussed how happy buyers were during the frenzy and how we would receive several offers over list and every escrow closed without a problem. But now, every deal is uncertain while sellers wait for nervous buyers to perform.
These were the other two ingredients from the financed non-winners:
Buyer #1 didn’t go up on price in their highest-and-best round, and didn’t shorten their escrow period even though I told them how important it was to the sellers to close quickly. Their only term in their highest-and-best response was to change their deposit from 1% to 2% when we asked for 3%. You got to be kidding – it’s a three-offer competition, and that’s your best shot to win it?
Buyer #2 included in their offer that they wanted the patio room removed prior to the close of escrow, due to an unusual popping sound. Click here for video.
I made sure that all three buyers knew about the unusual popping sound before submitting their highest-and-best, which was critical. There was no way I was going to spring that on them later, and give them a great reason to cancel.
If you were the sellers, what would you do?
My sellers were happy to leave 1% to 1.5% on the table to get it over – quick!
Here’s an example of the wacky things that can happen during the escrow period these days. The house was fumigated, which means SDG&E gets involved to make sure the appliances are turned off during the tenting. The fume tent comes off, and the SDG&E guy goes back to inspect the appliances. He can’t figure out how to turn on the dryer left in the garage, so he orange-tags it and insists on it being fixed before he signs off. We closed escrow anyway, and he’s going back tomorrow to verify that our guy fixed it. But he could have held up the closing over a dryer that might not be working???
We looked at the somewhat-gloomy San Diego County stats, so let’s also examine the individual areas around the north county coastal region.
Comparing year-over-year, it looks a little gloomy here too.
The areas in red have worse numbers (more actives and/or fewer pendings) than on May 15th of last year…..and only one area in green, which is the least-expensive area on the chart.
The SE Carlsbad and Carmel Valley numbers aren’t as hot as they were last year, but both have better than the 2:1 ratio of actives-to-pendings so they will be fine.
Encinitas and La Jolla have 20 and 19 more actives than last year, but their pendings counts are about the same. Encinitas is huge, physically (20 square miles) and La Jolla doesn’t have for-sale signs so it’s doubtful anyone will notice 20 extra actives laying around.
Rancho looks alarming but they don’t care what we think – they will wait it out.
Today there are 35% more actives and 18% fewer pendings, year-over-year.
This is the surge I was talking about last year:
First blog post about a 2025 inventory surge from October 22nd:
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We sold a home with Jim and Donna and from beginning to end they were consummate professionals. Their initial walk through the property resulted in a list of items to be repaired or updated. They supplied a list of vendors and job quotes to do the repairs and updates. We originally wanted to sell ‘as is’ and just get it over with. They gave us a selling price for ‘as is’ and options for doing a few updates/repairs to doing it all with the selling price for each option. We agreed to do all they suggested and we sold for the exact price they predicted. For every dollar spent we got back more than $2 back in the selling price. And they got that price in a rising interest rate environment! Donna and Jim are extremely detailed and guide you through ever aspect of the sale. There were no surprises thanks to their guidance. We couldn’t be more pleased with their representation.
Thank you Donna and Jim,
Jerry and Mary
Heather Quejada
March 27, 2025
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We have known Jim & Donna Klinge for over a dozen years, having met them in Carlsbad where our children went to the same school. As long time North County residents, it was a no- brainer for us to have the Klinges be our eyes and ears for San Diego real estate in general and North County in particular. As my military career caused our family to move all over the country and overseas to Asia, Europe and the Pacific, we trusted Jim and Donna to help keep our house in Carlsbad rented with reliable and respectful tenants for over 10 years.
Naturally, when the time came to sell our beloved Carlsbad home to pursue a rural lifestyle in retirement out of California, we could think of no better team to represent us than Jim and Donna. They immediately went to work to update our house built in 2004 to current-day standards and trends — in 2 short months they transformed it into a literal modern-day masterpiece. We trusted their judgement implicitly and followed 100% of their recommended changes. When our house finally came on the market, there was a blizzard of serious interest, we had multiple offers by the third day and it sold in just 5 days after a frenzied bidding war for 20% above our asking price! The investment we made in upgrades recommended by Jim and Donna yielded a 4-fold return, in the process setting a new high water mark for a house sold in our community.
In our view, there are no better real estate professionals in all of San Diego than Jim and Donna Klinge. Buying or selling, you must run and beg Jim and Donna Klinge to represent you! Our family will never forget Jim, Donna, and their whole team at Compass — we are forever grateful to them.
Lou F
March 27, 2025
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WeI had the pleasure of working with Klinge Realty Group to sell our home in Carmel Valley, and I cannot recommend them highly enough!
Jim and Donna demonstrated exceptional professionalism, offering expert guidance on market conditions and pricing strategy, which resulted in a quick and successful sale.
Communication was prompt and we were well-informed throughout the entire process.
For anyone looking for a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate team, look no further!
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William Sams
March 25, 2025
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Donna and Jim Klinge of Klinge Realty Group have our highest possible recommendation. From Donna and Jim’s first visit to our house through closing their advice and counsel was candid and honest in all dealings. They kept us fully informed throughout the process. The house sold less than three days after listing with a two-week closing. My wife and I have sold several houses during our lives. This was by far the best experience. Klinge Reality is a premium service realtor. You can’t make a better choice for someone to sell your home fast and for top dollar.
Emily Hernandez
December 29, 2024
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Donna and Jim provided exceptional support and professionalism throughout the entire process. We couldn't have been happier with their efforts. They made our house shine, and thanks to their expertise, it sold above the listing price in the very first weekend! Truly a fantastic experience from start to finish.
Jesus Adrian Sahagun
November 11, 2024
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This year has been difficult on our family, mainly due to having to sell our home. Thankfully we knew God had a plan for us and working with the Klinge team was a key part of it. It was an obvious decision to work with them again after such an amazing experience when purchasing the same home we needed to sell. The challenge was, how will we do this in so little time with so much going on? Jim and Donna held our hand every step of the way. Whenever an unexpected issue arose they found and provided a solution. Never once did we feel pressured to make a decision and the Klinges were always reassuring after providing the information that the decision was ours to make. Despite the curve balls, they never panicked and exemplified the “can do” attitude, making us feel optimistic and taken care of. Their expertise and professionalism was superb. But of all the reasons to work with the Klinges, the most impactful and valuable is their compassion and genuine care for their clients. We pray that we can one day purchase our forever home and you better believe that Jim and Donna will be representing us - as long as they will have us of course. Thank you again Klinge team! Your execution, experience, and care are unmatched.
SABIHA PASHA
July 23, 2024
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Jim and Donna were fantastic! Jim understanding my needs, recommending potential places, pointing out the pros and cons of each property was invaluable. Then when the offer was accepted Donna’s organized guidance through the inspections, paperwork etc made the whole process seem effortless.
So grateful that I had them on my side!
Anu Koberg
July 13, 2024
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We first found Jim through his blog at bubbleinfo.com, which really showcased his knowledge of SoCal real estate. Since then we've done three transactions with Jim and Donna, and they are an incredible full service agency, with Jim's deep market insight and Donna's deft contract and project management. We trust them implicitly in their analysis and strategy, which is based on years of experience. They're always available and on top of things, and we strongly recommend them to anyone.
Bjorn Isachsen
July 10, 2024
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The Good
The Klinge Realty Group operates like a finely tuned machine, with a very personal touch. We contacted them on a Sunday and they were talking to us about our family and our needs on our living room couch the following day. They carefully listened to us and worked with us to identify the best and quickest path to listing within 2 weeks to take advantage of the low inventory conditions in our South Carlsbad neighborhood. They knew our tract specifically and had many previous sales there over the years - they came prepared with a thorough analysis of comparative sales and recommended a pricing strategy that they felt confident would yield offers the first weekend on the market.
The Great
Over the next two weeks Donna coordinated a range of vendors who she knew from experience could get the preparation to list work we needed done on time and with high quality. Our light tune-up involved excellent experiences with their stagers, landscapers, contractors, electricians, and plumbers. Throughout this period Donna's daily communication was clear, concise, and responsive. Any time we had questions Donna picked up the phone or texted immediately - but almost always, she answered our questions before we even knew we had them.
The Outstanding
We had a tricky situation with a shared fence that could have delayed our escrow. Donna used superb mediation skills to negotiate the terms of replacement and was personally on site with the fence contractor to make sure everything went smoothly. The fence looks great and escrow closed on time.
The Truly Exceptional
Our house came on the market on a Wednesday and between then and Monday morning Jim was personally at all three open houses. He was in constant communication explaining potential buyer reaction and strength. As he predicted offers began to come in on Saturday and each one was incrementally higher than the last. At the end we had 5 offers, 4 of which were over list, and the final accepted offer was $100,000 over list. In addition to being over list it included rent back terms that met our needs.
The Recommendation
For all of these reasons we would strongly recommend The Klinge Team to anyone wanting to sell in North County Coastal San Diego. I had been reading Jim's bubbleinfo.com blog for 15 years and knew when the time came to sell that he would be our first call. Jim Klinge is not your standard realtor. He is keenly aware of market conditions and sales strategies. And, works his tail off - though not as hard as Donna . At this point he's gone from realtor to friend and I plan to have him over to grill and chill at our new place to talk real estate, but also just about life and raising kids in San Diego. He's more interested in relationships than his sales numbers - and that's why his sales numbers are so high. We have already recommended the Klinge's to some close friends and another successful sale is on deck right around the corner...
Chris Shea
June 21, 2024
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We recently had the pleasure of working with Jim and Donna from Klinge Realty Group to sell our house, and we couldn't be more satisfied with the experience. From the initial meeting, they listened attentively to our needs and provided invaluable guidance on specific improvements to get our home market ready.
Their responsiveness throughout the entire process was truly impressive. Anytime we had questions or concerns, they were quick to address them, ensuring we felt comfortable and informed every step of the way. What stood out the most was their team and extensive network of tradespeople, which made addressing any necessary repairs or updates seamless and stress-free.
Thanks to their expertise and dedication, our house sold quickly and at a great price. We highly recommend Jim and Donna to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. They are a fantastic team who truly care about their clients and deliver exceptional results.
