The takeaways from the graph above will be different for different people. Not suggested: Those who did negotiate probably didn't get much of a discount. Most buyers and sellers were satisfied their agent was worth it. Better agents are prevailing. Why is it important...
Realtor
Realtor Attrition
Nykia Wright, the CEO of the National Association of Realtors, said this week that she expects a $32 million drop in revenue next year. The NAR agent fee is $156 per year, so she must expect 205,128 realtors to retire/quit by 2026 - which would be about 15% of the...
Seller’s Best Interest
Compass agent Ben Faber started a discussion: JtR: If you find a halfway-decent home, it will probably be in the first seven days it’s been on the market. It’s when the listing agent goes into full defensive mode and all communication turns vague because they are so...
Price Reductions
These were my notes that expand on the previous blog post. This is the Market Lull. It’ll go for at least another month or two and for many it might last until January. Hardly anyone knows what to do. Buyers don’t mind waiting longer - they keep hoping that something...
Leaving the MLS
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the largest family-owned-and-operated real estate brokerage in the United States with 15,000+ agents and staff in 471 offices. (Compass has 33,000+ agents and 400+ offices). Their owner feels the same way about the Clear...
Buyer-Broker Agreements, 2025
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...
Zillow Offer Advice
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...
Single Agency
Buyers aren't crazy about signing a three-month contract just to see homes for sale - and neither are the buyer-agents. Every problem with home sales will get solved by cutting out the buyer-agent, even though it's bad for buyers....
Nestled
Of the 3,122 detached-home listings in San Diego County, 672 of them (22%) include the word 'nestled'. It is followed closely by 'dream', which is in 19% of the listings. If you don't want to be replaced by robots, don't be so robotic.
Different Not Negotiable
A reporter from the New York Times accuses realtors of doing work-arounds to the NAR Settlement and steering buyers away from for-sale-by-owners. The 30-minute podcast tells stories about a realtor who started her own website to display the commission rates she was...