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 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...
Nearly four months into the year, experts are predicting fewer benchmark rate cuts for 2024. Increasingly, discussion is turning instead to whether or not cuts are coming and even whether there could be another rate increase. But as we move through the spring selling season, more homeowners are interested in selling — sometimes because rates are staying higher for longer.
The share of homeowners intending to sell is trending up
Twenty-two percent of homeowners currently have their home listed for sale or are considering selling their home within the next three years, according to data collected by Zillow in March. Respondents said a large motivator was the decreasing affordability of their current home.
32% stated that they could no longer afford their home, compared to 17% in Q1 2023. 44% reported not wanting to be responsible for repairs and maintenance, compared to 37% last year. Almost six in 10 homeowners intending to sell are more optimistic about financial gains in a home sale this quarter than last. 49% think they’ll get more money now than in the future.
“Homeowners have amassed very advantageous equity in the last five years,” says Orphe Divounguy, Zillow Senior Economist. “That and rising financial wealth and incomes leave them a little less impacted by mortgage rates staying high for longer. The increase in new listings earlier this year was concentrated in relatively affordable regions and markets where many homeowners simply don’t have a mortgage.”
That means more homeowners may be in a position to downsize or more to a more affordable area. “What’s more,” Divounguy says,” homeowners holding mortgages above 5% have shown more readiness to move, as the sustained higher rates don’t necessarily represent a higher pain point.”
The number of ‘million-dollar cities’ in the U.S. hits a new high
There are currently 550 U.S. cities where the typical home value is $1 million or more, up from 491 a year ago, according to new Zillow data. This also affects mortgage rate lock-in. Homeowners are less likely to sell in more expensive markets — because they’re less likely to have paid off mortgage debt and less likely to find more affordable options nearby.
California boasts the most million-dollar cities, followed by New York and New Jersey. Florida, Texas, and Delaware are the only states that saw a drop in million-dollar cities over the past year.
“Many of these markets still suffer from under-building,” Divounguy says. “In Florida and Texas, new construction is up, and that significant increase in supply has helped to lower home values.”
Inflation has been on the rise since January
The April 10 CPI report showed that inflation rose slightly to 3.5% year over year in March, up from 3.2% in February. This was higher than most economists’ predictions and not what the Federal Reserve wants. It’s also not what buyers — or some sellers — want if they’re still waiting for rates to drop.
> “Many of these markets still suffer from under-building,” Divounguy says. “In Florida and Texas, new construction is up, and that significant increase in supply has helped to lower home values.”
I don’t think “lower” is the correct word. Keep price increases manageable?
I hate the under-building argument. “Hey, nice neighborhood. Let’s change it with a bunch more houses.”
[Formerly Rob_Dawg]
@Giving_Cat
You changed “teams,” huh? Why the name change Rob_Dawg? My cat will be thrilled; my dog not so much. I’ve appreciated your comments for 14+ years. A hat tip to you. I hope you’re well.