More Seller Tips
New Listing – One-Story!
Check out this fine-looking one-story with incredible succulent backyard!
5119 Berryessa Street, Shadowridge
3 br + den / 2 ba, 2,270sf
10,459sf lot
HOA = $92/mo.
LP = $1,299,900
Are you searching for a roomy one-story with 3-car garage on a large private lot? This is it! Our recent tune-up makes it move-in ready too. New carpet & paint, hardwoods, chef’s kitchen, high ceilings, remodeled bathrooms, and a calm ocean breeze every afternoon – wow! The 10,459sf lot is very low maintenance and the backyard is a botanical garden full of specialty succulents – it’s a must see!
Open house 11am – 1pm Sat & Sun April 26th and 27th
Old-Time Doobies
Some of us were fans before Michael joined the band. I had the DB belt!
Market Share
Encinitas/Cardiff market share, last 12 months
The first Compass goal was to have 20% market share in 20 major metro markets, and now we’re striving to have 30% market share in 30 markets.
Locally, we’re getting close.
The market has been tough on everyone, mostly because buyers aren’t going for it like they were during the covid frenzy. Agents need to be really good now, and that’s why the top brokerages should be picking up additional market share in the coming months.
Compass spent $100,000,000+ on our platform to support agents, and it’s really good. It also makes for a fantastic recruiting tool, and it’s going to be hard for the smaller brokerages to keep up.
But the business of selling homes is an individual sport – and you still need to hire the right agent. Check their track record on Zillow to see how successful they have been recently at getting people to the finish line!
Carlsbad market share, last 12 months
Trendy Tuesday – Earth Day
The six of us at the SD Botanical Garden in Encinitas over Christmas
Daughter Natalie submits today’s Trendy Tuesday, and she’s into it! She has always been the adventurer in the family who goes camping, snowboarding, and surfing regularly with her boyfriend Ryan. Honestly, we’re jealous! We will be floating the Grand Canyon later this year!
Happy Earth Day!
Here are some local ways to celebrate our Mother Earth this week, and beyond!
This Saturday is the 23rd annual event, where volunteers are invited to grab buckets and work gloves and make a difference at 70+ locations throughout the county. See here for more details.
Visit One of Our Local Nature Attractions
Marvel in the beauty of our local environment by visiting one of our many nature attractions:
- San Diego Botanical Garden
- San Diego Zoo
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park
- Birch Aquarium at Scripps
- La Jolla Cove & Underwater Park
Go for a Hike! Some great ones:
Or just walk along any of our beautiful beaches!
NSDCC Sales & Pricing YoY
The NSDCC sales and pricing looks a lot like it did last year, which is the definition of Flat City. It gives us some assurance that the market is steady, at least in the rear-view mirror.
But let’s break it down into the individual areas to see if there are any concerns.
In green (above) are the two most homogeneous neighborhoods full of typical tract houses. Their sales and pricing statistics are virtually identical year-over-year, and their median and average $/sf are very close too which means there aren’t many if any outliers. Two areas where sellers would find it easier to get their price right, and where buyers can feel comfortable justifying the pricing.
La Jolla is phenomenal. For a higher-end area to have such solid stats all the way across is very impressive and a place where you can buy with confidence. Rancho Santa Fe is right in there with them but the sales counts are low.
There aren’t any areas that have any big concerns, mostly because the sales counts look healthy and are similar YoY (sales are a sign of what’s ahead for pricing).
If there was a big concern, it’s the uncertainty ahead, and the likelihood that the first quarter of 2025 will end up being the best quarter of the year.
Jim’s 2025 Track Record
There is a lot of hubbub about the ‘market’ being sluggish and I’ve documented how the inventory of unsold homes keeps rising. Especially on the higher-end.
But let’s focus on what has been working, shall we?
Above is the list of our listings that have closed escrow this year.
The similarities:
- All were staged and looked neutral, bright, and cheery.
- Six out of seven sold for MORE than their list price.
- All of them sold within five days on the open market.
You can certainly find a better-looking agent and almost all of them are younger than me now. But I think my 2025 record will stand up with any other realtor around here who delivers personalized one-on-one service and isn’t the big team that has assistants pushing buttons. If you are comparing agents, check their sales history on Zillow. Click here for mine, and check the reviews too.
The market is tough, and it doesn’t take much to miss.
I have three listings that have been active for more than five days. Two decided to do their own staging, and the third is such a specialty product (4,984sf two-story home on a private golf course) that I just need a member to get the bug about living directly on the fairway!
The 90-day pause on tariffs expires on July 8th.
The market hysteria will probably kick up again, so to be safe, let’s sell your home before the middle of June. After July, both buyers and sellers will be packing it up and waiting until 2026!
Inventory Watch
We have more higher-end active listings than any time in 2024 – and it’s only April!
Will the accompanying sluggishness turn into a slugfest? Probably not.
Sellers are reluctant to lower their price now because it’s too early in the season. Maybe in a month or two, but I’m not going to give it away.
By then, lowering the price by 5% isn’t going to impress any buyers. They will be expecting that much of a discount, and more.
I have no expectations of a big price war this year that would drive down prices rapidly. A guy told me that prices are down 10%, so I asked him to qualify it. He said, “Well, at least they are in my neighborhood”. Exactly – you might see an occasional neighborhood price adjustment, but for the most part, sellers won’t be intimidated today by no showings or a giveaway nearby.
Maybe next year?
Active listings in green, coming-soons in purple
Zillow Exclusions
Zillow released a statement over the weekend to clarify their ban on listings.
As you can see above, the list of exclusions to their new policy is long and lengthy, and it makes you wonder what’s left? Most importantly, what or who is so disruptive outside of this list that Zillow thinks they need to create a new policy and make a big stink?
The only example of a listing being exposed to the public that takes longer than one business day to be inputted onto the MLS are those from the occasional part-time realtors who aren’t aware of the current rules and who throw up a sign up too early or pop off in advance on social media. Those actions are against the rules now, and the MLS police is actively hunting down those violators and fining them thousands of dollars.
Zillow thinks they need to hunt them down too? And Redfin?
It’s all grandstanding.
They just want to make themselves out to look like the good guys vs. Compass. They have no intention of blocking our listings. They never did.
The real truth? It appears that everyone is threatened by Compass.
Remember hearing about Compass acquiring Berkshire Hathaway Home Services a couple of weeks ago, and their CEO Gino said it wasn’t true?
Did you see that Gino got reassigned last week? He got sent out to pasture. Coincidence? When Reffkin was asked about it in our meeting last week, he politely dodged the question….which isn’t a denial.
It doesn’t need to be BHHS. If Compass picks up one or two other Top Ten brokerages, we will become the driving force in the home-selling business.
It’s why we joined Compass seven years ago. I could see this coming where a big brokerage hires all the best listing agents, fills in the ranks with medium producers, and dominates the environment.
Note this for the record.
There isn’t a MLS system in New York City, and NONE of the agents belong to the National Association of Realtors.
Compass headquarters are in NYC.
The Waiting Game
It’s a bit sluggish around town and it will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future – and likely for years to come. Prices and rates are high, and the inventory keeps growing, which gives buyers hope that either the perfect house will come along and/or prices might go down.
It’s real estate stagflation, also known as Flat City!
Hoppy Easter!
