Flipper Mania

Agents get solicited 3-10 times a day by flippers who promise to pay cash for our fixer listings and pay us 3x commissions for the favor.

But they all want a 30% discount.

This new company has advertised a lot of TV so you’ve probably seen Dr. Phil offering to pay cash for your house – no commissions, no repairs, no showings, etc. They will even clean your house out, no charge!

But look how it has eroded already. They used to send emails to local agents to flip their recently-purchased properties to their buyers, but now they are just ‘wholesaling’.

Apparently they have taken advantage of an agent here who got her license in 1976 and convinced her to sell this home built in 1975 that backs to the I-5 freeway for enough under the list price that they think they can plug in a buyer to take their place and make a buyer-side commission on the deal.

What happened to them buying properties for cash?

Why are they sending this email to agents to find buyers that they can represent?

Seller beware!

The flippers provide a floor for the market, and it is very competitive between them. You may only have to discount a hot property by 20%, but it would be better to have me sell it for retail or retail-plus!

Opening Bids

Although the auction format is a terrific way to sell homes, they haven’t caught on around here much. It’s more work (for the agent); they’re risky; they might backfire on you; and just the general unfamiliarity with the concept keeps them from happening much locally.

But in the one area where agents deliberately low-price homes and let the animal spirits take over is still booming. It’s probably not an accident that it’s still the most-expensive area in the country:

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NSDCC List Pricing by Quartile

Generally speaking, each of the 2025 quartiles is lower today than they were last year, and the median list price is down to $4,000,000 – which is 11% lower than it was at the start of the year.

It’s because the lower end has been cooking, and the higher-end not so much.

There have been 309 homes sell or go pending since January 1st that were priced under $4,000,000, and only 69 homes priced above $4,000,000 have found a buyer.

Who cares – find the right house for you, and make the best deal you can.

NSDCC Number of Active Listings by Price Range

0 – $2,000,000: 52

$2,000,000 – $4,000,000: 156

$4,000,000 – $6,000,000: 87

$6,000,000 – $8,000,000: 39

$8,000,000 – $10,000,000: 24

$10,000,000 and up: 58

This is an area (La Jolla to Carlsbad) where the median sales price in 2024 was $2,400,000.

Get Good Help!

Negotiable?

One year after the National Association of Realtors agreed, as part of a legal settlement, to change a key rule on real estate commissions — a rule that had long upheld a tradition of commissions between 5 and 6 percent, little has changed.

What was hailed as a watershed has so far produced a mere drizzle.

Some economists predicted the rule change would upend the business model and bring competition to a long-stilted marketplace, breaking the standard 6 percent rate — one of the highest rates in the world — and forcing down home prices as a result.

Though average commissions appear to be slipping, industry watchdogs say that Realtors and their brokerages have used workarounds and pressure on sellers like Mr. Chambers to subvert the settlement. So far, they’re finding success.

“The industry understood the threat to 5 or 6 percent rates right away, so looked for opportunities to discourage negotiation,” said Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Policy Center, who has been vocal about the need for greater consumer awareness in the real estate industry.

Read full article here:

Link to article

Inventory Watch

The climb in the number of active listings between La Jolla and Carlsbad took a break and only rose by two. Here’s how the actives and pendings compare to the last two years in mid-March:

NSDCC Actives and Pendings, Mid-March

The 25% YoY increase in the number of actives doesn’t seem to bother the buyers!

All that matters is what will the sellers do who are left out of the party? Will they bang the door down with a big price reduction?

Or pack it up and wait for the market to ‘pick up’?

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Goodyear, AZ

Ok, ok – I know you don’t want to leave San Diego.

But for those who gotta do something, check this out.

  • Toll Brothers, one of the best tract builders around – maybe the best around.
  • Brand new one-story homes in the $400,000s
  • Below-market mortgage rates.

Yes, you will have a lot of $$ once I’m done selling your house here. But if you only want to use $100,000 of it and finance the rest, your payment at 5.49% is only $2,087/month! Your social security will cover that!

They have standing inventory – six homes are available for quick move-in. Get yourself one today!

https://www.tollbrothers.com/luxury-homes-for-sale/Arizona/Beacon-in-Estrella

Pick Up The Pace

Since October, I’ve been blabbing on and on how there were several reasons why the pent-up supply was finally going to bust loose in 2025.

If you want to sell your house this year, you better get on it.

It’s more than just an isolated or local thing. Look at the stats above – there is a cultural/communal thing where there are more homes for sale everywhere.

The cheerleaders will be bantering about how the locked-in effect is loosening and we’re just getting back to normal. But they will shut up in another couple of months when they don’t know what to make of it.

Even if the total number of listings isn’t much higher than last year (NSDCC total listings = +9% YoY for first two months), more are not selling. The unsold listings will be stacking up by June. Or May. It will probably cause buyers to be more hesitant, and that’s saying a lot because they are already being fairly cautious.

We have four listings to roll out over the next month, and while we would never launch before we’re absolutely ready, I’m encouraging everyone to expedite!

Klinge Realty Group, 2025

The proofs of our new photos are in!

I thought this photo captured the current state of the Klinge Realty Group:

It’s not all about me any more, and everyone is quite happy about that!

From left to right:

Richard Morgan: Team member since 2009 and all-around great guy. Last year was his best ever.

Natalie Klinge: Pro dancer, KRG marketing director since 2020, taking real-estate license test next week!

Donna Klinge: The boss. The most loving, caring boss ever, but still the boss.

Jim Klinge: Licensed broker since 1988, and just getting started. Last year was the best ever.

Michele Bockelman (seated): New mom, yoga instructor, great agent.

Lisa Belasco: Our swiss-army knife – she can do it all. Last year was her best ever.

Kayla Klinge: New York City sales and rentals specialist, great agent!

https://www.bubbleinfo.com/meet-the-team/

Though it will be years before Natalie officially takes over, the succession plans are being actively discussed and this is the group who will usher her into the next generation of the KRG! Kayla will run the Manhattan version of the Klinge Realty Group, and once Natalie’s dance career winds up, she will take over here!

What’s new around here? Yesterday, I authorized a new look for the blog – coming soon!

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