The first responders have done an incredible job evacuating so many thousands of people at a moment’s notice. It will be one of the major stories of this fire because of how few casualties there are – it’s been a miracle.
How you can help:
You can support the Red Cross by making a donation online, by calling (800) 733-2767 or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
GoFundMe has created a centralized online hub housing all verified fundraising pages related to the wildfires. The hub will be updated with accounts as they are verified by the GoFundme team. At the top of the hub is also GoFundMe’s Wildfire Relief Fund 2025.
The California Community Foundation distributes grants to affected communities through its Wildfire Recovery Fund. The foundation’s team utilizes data from CalFire and CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index to ensure their grants target the neediest communities with both intermediate recovery and long-term support. You can make a monetary donation online or by mailing a check to the “California Community Foundation” at 717 W. Temple St., Los Angeles 90012. Include “Wildfire Recovery Fund” in the memo.
Musicares, a nonprofit safety net of health and welfare services for the music community, is offering anyone in the music industry (with five or more years experience in the music business) with immediate assistance including $1,500 financial assistance and $500 food vouchers. Contribute to Musicares efforts by making anonline donation.
Best Friends Animal Society, has activated two pet pantry locations in Los Angeles that can provide essential supplies including pet food, cat litter, pet beds and other necessary items as well as human sanitary products for those who have lost everything. Contribute to the pantries here: donate online. All funds go toward emergency assistance to pets impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Donations top this fund are also directly supporting pet lifesaving work in the area.
There is also a call for supporting the Los Angeles Fire Department by donating to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. The foundation is seeking monetary donations to equip firefighters battling the wildfires with items including emergency fire shelters, hydration backpacks and wildland brush tools. Click here to donate.
My favorite video of a local fire – no homes were lost!
Realtor.com, owned by News Corporation, has thoughts on how Trump will affect the real estate market:
On the campaign trail, Trump had blamed rising home prices on a surge of illegal immigration during the Biden administration. He also claimed that he would somehow lower mortgage rates if elected, although presidents do not control mortgage rates.
Here’s a look at some of Trump’s signature policy proposals, and what impact they might have on the housing market.
Twelve straight years of record-high revenues – hope you can get by on that! Not sure how that makes San Diego more affordable though. The new homeowners must feel like they are carrying an inordinate amount of the burden.
San Diego County’s tax-assessed property value reached a record high of $768 billion in 2024, $40.6 billion higher than last year, county Assessor Jordan Marks announced.
Marks said in a news release that the 2024 figure “reflected unprecedented property tax savings” of over $300 million for homeowners, charitable groups, disabled veterans, small businesses and affordable and homeless housing projects.
Marks added that the figure applies to over 500 residents affected by the severe winter storms in late January. This is the 12th straight year that the county Assessor’s Office has delivered “record-high revenue for key government services and record-high property tax savings, making San Diego more affordable to live and thrive,” Marks said.
According to the Assessor’s Office:
– with 1,017,929 parcels, San Diego County is the fifth-largest assessment jurisdiction in the United States;
– the county saw $32.2 million in property tax savings for 460,104 homeowners using the homeowners’ exemption;
– the highest assessed value growth rate was 7.46% in the city of San Marcos, while the lowest assessed rate was 3.33% in the city of El Cajon;
– the county saw $29.5 million in property tax savings for 17,763 disabled veterans/surviving spouses;
– the largest assessed value increase was $19.3 billion, and
– Proposition 13 protection applied to 91% (or 929,563 properties), limiting the tax increase to 2%.
Marks also credited department employees for their leadership in closing the tax roll on time.
“If we don’t close the tax roll on time, then county services will be interrupted, taxpayers impacted, and we would see a cascading effect that would impact revenues for public safety, schools, libraries, parks and other key government services,” he said.
We know that the current DOJ wants to de-couple commissions, and have buyers pay for their own help. How does Team Trump feel about real estate commissions? I checked with Project 2025:
Project 2025 proposes significant changes to the traditional real estate commission structure to promote more transparency and direct negotiations between consumers and real estate professionals. Currently, in many U.S. real estate transactions, the seller typically pays a combined commission of 5-6% of the sale price, which is split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. This conventional arrangement has been criticized for creating potential conflicts of interest and lack of transparency regarding the actual costs associated with buying a home.
The new guidelines suggested under Project 2025 aim to shift this dynamic. The recommendations encourage a system where buyers directly pay their agents, allowing for more transparent negotiation of services and fees. This change is expected to lead to a more competitive market for real estate services, where commission rates are negotiated separately and may potentially decrease as a result.
One significant component of these changes is the move away from blanket offers of cooperative compensation to buyer’s agents on multiple listing services (MLS). Instead, buyers will negotiate and pay their agents directly, fostering a clearer understanding of the costs involved in their transactions. This is anticipated to lead to a more consumer-friendly environment where buyers have greater control and can choose services that best fit their needs and budgets.
Geez…it sounds identical to the current DOJ solution! It will be the worst thing that ever happens to the real estate market, mostly because weaker agents will oblige.
To clear things up for consumers, we should change one word.
Real estate commissions are NOT negotiable. They are DIFFERENT!
Everyone (especially NAR) is pushing the catch phrase, Commissions Are Negotiable, so they don’t get sued any more. But that isn’t helping anyone. All it does is make the consumer think they just need to find an agent and then work them over for a lower commission rate.
But if we said, Commissions Are Different, then consumers would wonder what is different – and conduct an investigation among agents to determine the differences, and what is best for them. It’s what has been missing all along!
Instead, it will be about beating down agents on their pay, without realizing that an inferior experience will be the likely outcome.
How is the experiment going so far?
It is still legal to advertise seller-paid commissions in the MLS, but some think it’s a good time to try out the idea of offering little or no seller-paid commissions to the buyer-agent to save some money. Here are three active (unsold) listings that have been lingering:
True, there are also hundreds of unsold listings piling up that offer a 2.5% commission so it’s not just the discounters/experimenters who are having trouble with today’s market. We don’t know if it’s the lack of commission or the list price that is causing these not to sell, but after two months on the market, you can expect buyers will want concessions on one or both….or maybe they will just wait until next year.
With the market already stuttering a bit, sellers may want to consider getting it done now while they can still pay a commission to a buyer-agent. It will not be easier to sell during the ‘decoupling adjustment period’ that commences on August 17th. In fact, between the adjustment period and the political circus, the market will be in stallout mode for at least the last four months of this year.
Hopefully there will be an announcement any day about the brokerages suing NAR that might postpone the elimination of seller-paid commissions. Can we at least put it off until Spring, 2025 please?
Paying $6.3 million is the biggest boondoggle since the city paid $10 million for the closed Pacific View school.
ENCINITAS, Calif. – City leaders in Encinitas are moving forward in their purchase of about 1.5 acres of land at La Costa Avenue and Highway 101, known to many as “Hippie Hill.”
“We wanted to see this land preserved and protected,” said Encinitas resident Elena Thompson. The purchase of the land is nearly official, with escrow expected to close by the end of September.
“Having the opportunity to acquire this land and keep it from being developed into timeshares, I think the community has very much appreciated the work that we’re doing here,” Mayor Tony Kranz said.
The northern end of Leucadia has seen the construction of a hotel and more development on the way including a nearby apartment complex, so the preservation of this land was paramount for long-time locals.
“Now it’s not going to be developed. That’s great for the city. It’s a small parcel, but every open space is great,” Scott Campbell said.
At Wednesday’s city council meeting, council talked about how they plan to finance the land, purchased for $6 million.
The city plans to use cash reserves for the initial purchase and then use lease revenue bonds to build the reserves back up.
“Some are a little concerned about what effect the roughly $400,000 a year that servicing this debt is going to have on our budget. I think that it’s important enough that we will make it work,” Kranz said.
The public will be asked to weigh in on what they want to see done with the open space at a future city council meeting.
The Carlsbad city council approved more apartments to be built at the entry to the downtown village area. Between the three projects mentioned here, there will be a total of 480 apartments….and none for sale! Excerpts:
A four-story building with 156 apartments has been approved for construction on a site occupied by a hotel and three single-family homes on the eastern side of Carlsbad’s downtown Village neighborhood.
The developer, Wermers Companies, built the adjacent Lofts apartments, a four-story, mixed-use building with 106 apartments and ground-floor retail that opened about a year ago at the northwest corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and Interstate 5. The two buildings will share a driveway with access to both Grand Avenue and Carlsbad Village Drive.
The Carlsbad City Council unanimously approved a site map and development plan for the project Tuesday, and council members praised the company for working with the community. No one at the meeting opposed the project, and the city received a number of letters in support of it.
“It looks good,” said Mayor Keith Blackburn, adding that he likes the way the building is set back from Carlsbad Village Drive so that it doesn’t make “a continuous wall” with The Lofts building.
“It doesn’t surprise me that we don’t have anybody here to speak out against the project,” Blackburn said.
The 2.95-acre site consolidates five lots between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue, just east of the Hope Avenue alley. The 109-room hotel called the Carlsbad Village Inn and single-family homes on the property will be demolished, but a Carl’s Jr. restaurant there will remain.
The location is directly across Carlsbad Village Drive from the Carlsbad Village Plaza anchored by a Smart & Final grocery, where another San Diego developer has proposed a mixed-use project with 218 apartments and 13,800 square feet of shops and restaurants.
That project will include retail businesses in two single-story buildings facing Carlsbad Village Drive. The apartments, including 22 reserved for very low-income tenants, will be in two five-story buildings behind the shops. The proposal is expected to go to the Carlsbad City Council for approval as soon as July 2024.
To transition away from subjective housing regulations in compliance with state law, the City Council introduced new objective development design standards during its Aug. 29 meeting.
In 2021, the city of Carlsbad used $185,000 in state grant funding to pay RRM Design Group to create the Objective Design Standards Manual for multifamily and mixed-use developments citywide, replacing the city’s existing subjective design guidelines. Also, city also received $160,000 in state grant funding to pay AVRP Studios to develop the Village and Barrio objective design standards.
The manual establishes objective standards citywide and an appendix addressing the Village and Barrio standards. These standards include site design, such as pedestrian and vehicle access, open space and landscaping; building design, including window treatment, roof structures, and exterior materials; mixed-use design, including window and door locations, awnings, and services areas, and utilitarian design, such as trash enclosures, outdoor light fixtures and bicycle parking.
“The (manual) will help strengthen local design regulations since the city currently cannot enforce subjective design guidelines with projects,” said Shelley Glennon, the city’s associate planner. “It will ensure project compatibility with existing community character. It will encourage residential construction for both affordable and market-rate units by creating standards that are appropriate in meeting the city’s affordable housing needs.”
For example, in the Village and Barrio, an appointed review committee approved seven architectural styles: Spanish revival, craftsman, American mercantile, Victorian, Colonial revival/Cape Cod, traditional modern and California contemporary (However, not all seven styles are allowed in each of the subdistricts regulated by the Village and Barrio Master Plan).
SB 330 limits municipal agencies’ ability to impose regulations that delay or impede eligible housing projects. While these projects don’t receive ministerial approval under this law, the city’s Planning Commission and City Council could not deny projects that adhere to objective design standards unless they pose a clear threat to health and safety.
According to City Planner Eric Lardy, the city currently has four projects under SB 330, including the 4K Apartments project, Hope Apartments (Carl’s Jr. in the Village), Carlsbad Village Drive Mixed Use (Smart and Final) and the FPC Residential project (Ponto).
Councilwoman Teresa Acosta asked how the city would enforce projects that alter their designs after approval, citing concerns from residents who told her projects don’t always align with pre-construction renderings.
“If it’s not consistent, we ask them to change it,” Lardy said. “One process has 10 findings that need to be made and compared to what has been applied. We think these objective design standards will help … so it will be clear.”
If the city does not make these certain changes, the California Department of Housing and Community Development could decertify the city’s housing element and limit the city’s ability to regulate new housing built in Carlsbad.
Expect to see every city council throw their hands up and approve projects that have low-income housing included. How they sell the “very low” income units, and to whom, will be very interesting in Encinitas, due to them selling the last two units to the same guy who promised to rent them to the appropriate lower-income tenants.
Piraeus Point, a project consisting of nearly 150 townhomes at Piraeus Street and Plato Place in Leucadia, received 3-1 approval from the Encinitas City Council despite resounding opposition from the community.
At a City Council meeting Wednesday, public comments took over an hour. More than 15 people spoke, nine donated their speaking time to others and 10 registered opposition. Over 30 people gave input in one way or another, and none supported Lennar Homes’ plans for development. But the council said its hands were tied, ultimately denying an appeal of the project and allowing it to move forward.
Due to the housing shortage, the state legislature has passed laws making it easier to develop new housing. Piraeus Point fits the guidelines in the Housing Accountability Act, which requires developments to align with zoning laws, not adversely affect the water supply or public health and meet the standards of the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act.
The Piraeus Point neighborhood would consist of 52 one-bedroom homes, 37 two-bedroom homes and 60 three-bedroom homes, with 15 of the homes reserved for “very low” income households. All units will be for sale, not for rent.
The Planning Commission approved the project, but the Encinitas Community Collective filed an appeal at the end of May arguing the development would, in fact, negatively impact the environment and public health.
If the San Diego Housing Federation is able to place a progressive real estate transfer tax on the November 2024 ballot, La Jolla homeowners will be unfairly impacted.
The proposed tax would require property owners in San Diego to pay an additional 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent on all residential and commercial property sales above $2.5 million. A certain percentage of the funds generated from the tax would go to homelessness prevention assistance, eviction support programs and tenants’ rights education.
Roughly 90 percent of the available single-family detached homes on the market in La Jolla would meet the criteria for the proposed “mansion tax.” This potential tax imposition would weigh down property owners in La Jolla, leading to an imbalanced burden. While acknowledging the homeless and housing crisis in San Diego, it is important to recognize that excessively taxing specific groups of property owners or communities is not a viable solution.
San Diego homeless-service providers have already received $2.37 billion from local governments, and even with all that money, San Diego’s homelessness crisis is growing faster than it can be contained.
Levying additional taxes on property owners and throwing more money at the problem has proved not to work. The city of Los Angeles recently implemented a real estate transfer tax on luxury home sales to try to help the city tackle its homelessness crisis. Measure ULA, the “Homelessness and Housing Solutions Tax,” was approved by Los Angeles voters, and while this new tax is commonly referred to as the “mansion tax,” it applies to all real estate sales, not just residential properties. This also would be the case with San Diego’s transfer tax.
The Los Angeles tax became effective April 1 and increased the real property transfer tax on certain transactions by more than 1,000 percent. Moreover, Measure ULA was in addition to, not in lieu of, the existing base real property transfer tax, so property owners were hit twice as hard.
Before the implementation of Los Angeles’ “mansion tax,” home sellers were hustling to unload their homes quickly. Home prices were slashed and million-dollar transactions were hastened through escrow. A few sellers were even giving away cars and lavish incentives to entice potential buyers to close deals on their properties before the end of March. This flurry of activity was driven by the desire to evade Measure ULA before it went into effect.
It was projected the tax would generate about $56 million a month for the city of Los Angeles. However, in its inaugural month, it managed to generate only a modest $3.6 million because property owners simply pulled their homes off the market and the money that could have been generated through reassessment was not realized. Since March, sales of luxury homes in Los Angeles have almost stopped.
Homelessness involves addressing a variety of issues, including mental health, housing, employment, drug addiction and alcoholism. Changes in the law are needed to get people off the streets and into the help they need to function in society, not excessive tax increases on property owners.
While it might be tempting to believe that affluent property owners can effortlessly absorb an additional tax, it’s important to recognize that many of them may choose not to sell, as was evident in Los Angeles when the city implemented its “mansion tax.”
The unintended consequences of such a tax in trying to solve San Diego’s homelessness crisis greatly outweigh the benefits. The practice of raising property taxes on a small number of property owners is simply wrong.
Mark Powell is a licensed California real estate broker and a board member of the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors. He also served as president of the La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club.
They expect another 200,000 homes to be built in SD County? Where? MCAS Miramar?
San Diego officials are expecting an end to the region’s perpetual growth.
Driving the news: San Diego’s population is expected to peak in 2042, and then decline by about 100,000 people by 2060, according to the latest regional forecast by the San Diego Association of Governments.
Ray Major, SANDAG’s chief economist, told the agency’s board last month this is the first regional forecast expecting a population decline.
“Every other forecast has had huge increases, with the San Diego region growing to 4 million people by 2050 … Now we’re looking at 3.4 million.”
Why it matters: The forecast carries planning implications for major, taxpayer-funded resources like housing, transportation infrastructure, water and energy.
By the numbers: San Diego’s growth machine has been slowing for decades.
The region grew by 1 million people from 1980 to 2000. But in the last 20 years, San Diego added half that.
Planners now forecast just 140,000 new San Diegans over the next two decades.
That’s when the region’s population is expected to peak. By 2060 the region is expected to have just 40,000 more people than it has today.
Between the lines: The region’s death rate is increasing, its birth rate is decreasing, and migration is flat.
One in 10 San Diego residents were over 65 in 2000. By 2060, that’ll be one in four residents.
That aging population will demand different government services and have different transportation and housing needs, said Cynthia Burke, SANDAG’s senior director of data science.
“Our parks are going to need more pickleball courts and fewer play structures,” she said during the July board meeting.
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 a sahagun
2024-11-10
Verified
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.
SabihaPasha
2024-07-22
Verified
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!
dodyfrancis
2024-07-10
Verified
I appreciate Jim & Donna's great teamwork, sound advice, and guidance that eased the stress of selling our Carlsbad home. Their professional input and assistance throughout the process was very helpful. Highly recommended!
sbisachsen
2024-07-10
Verified
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...
user19164788
2024-06-21
Verified
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.
cali4neal
2024-05-07
Verified
We had a wonderful experience buying our home with Donna and Jim! In particular I was very impressed with their efficiency and support through the purchase process. As we were doing the walk through, Donna started contacting roofers, plumbers, aircon, electricians, etc for all the areas we needed potential repairs - by the time we were done with the walk through appointments were already set up to get estimates for all the major services. When we had to change an appointment, or couldn't make one, Donna was there to arrange things to fit our schedule. Even after we closed on our home, Donna helped set up the repairs we needed before move in day. They truly went above and beyond to deliver exceptional service. I'll be calling them for our next home!
zuser20160809095816651
2024-03-16
Verified
The sale of our home exceeded our expectations - Jim and Donna Klinge are the best!
We’ve followed Jim’s Bubbleinfo blog since the 2006 housing bubble. After he helped us buy in 2017 we stayed in touch and Team Klinge were the obvious choice when it came time to move. They guided us through the preparation of the house, including a kitchen refresh - Donna and Lisa skillfully managed the various contractors for us after we had moved out of state. Donna’s excellent attention to detail and regular communication made the whole process run smoothly from a distance.
Jim’s market knowledge, expert negotiating skills and candid opinions, together with Donna’s responsive communications and problem solving, set them in a league of their own.
Highly recommended!
bourmakin
2024-02-09
Verified
Jim and Donna have exceeded my expectations with sale of my house. It was best experience with house sale. Professional, responsive, superior negotiating skills. I would recommend them with 5 star (I would give them even more than max) rating. Sale of my house was closed for really good price in 10 days. Jim and Donna perfectly handled house preparation for sale. Thanks a lot!!!
user1916779
2023-11-17
Verified
Jim and Donna have exceeded my expectations and made my most recent move back to California go so much more smoothly than I expected. Jim’s Bubbleinfo blog was full of useful information about the current market conditions. His experience helped us make a successful offer for the home we wanted in a desirable neighborhood. After the purchase Donna organized the work we needed done in the house without us having to make an additional trip. We were pretty worried when we started searching for real estate that not being in the area was going to makes things really difficult but Jim and Donna made the process so much easier. I enthusiastically recommend them.
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