Have you ever attended an open house and the realtor asked if you wanted to buy it?
Probably not. Yet, isn’t that our job?
I am a salesman and this is what I do. I make a simple statement when you arrive that sets the tone – AND can’t help but put a smile on your face, only because it’s the first time anyone has ever said it to you.
Why do people laugh? Because they see or hear something unexpected. At my open houses, everyone starts with a chuckle.
When leaving, I ask the most obvious question ever – yet you’ve never heard it before at any open house.
Don’t you want a professional salesman in your corner?
Hire me! I’m Jim the Realtor 858-997-3801 Jim Klinge @Compass DRE #00873197
I counted 32 NSDCC houses for sale on the Compass private exclusives list that aren’t on the MLS. They aren’t well-organized – just a one-liner list for the whole county – and they are mostly homes being prepared for market, or tenant-occupied, or old listings that are taking a breather. Photos and remarks are optional, and there isn’t any push from management to actually be selling them off-market.
But it they were actively on the market, the NSDCC inventory count today would be 406 which is where I thought we would be by the end of February.
NSDCC Detached-Home Listings Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20th
2019: 662
2020: 620
2021: 517
2022: 384
2023: 334
2024: 399
2025: 429 (+8% YoY so far)
This year’s count will continue to grow as new listings taken before the 20th keep hitting the open market over the next week or two. There only needs to be 30 more to reach the +15% mark, and if you want to add the private exclusives then we are already there.
Hard to belive that Saturday is March 1st. This is prime selling season!
Airplanes flying over the house every 5-10 minutes wasn’t the only complaint. “The kitchen is too small, can you get fire insurance, it’s single-zone air conditioning, the bathrooms are original, you don’t have a pantry” – it just never ends, even at a house with hundreds of positives.
I have no regret about doing as many upgrades as we did here, nor do I doubt my attractive price ($2,499,000). It’s because if you don’t sell in the first couple of weeks, buyers want to lowball, period. What’s the lesson about the current market conditions? It’s a market for the affluent only – those who get tripped up over a few bucks don’t have a chance of finding a decent home. Go buy a fixer for cheap and hope you can survive the money pit.
This is the type of name-calling I’m willing to endure:
IMHO, RE industry has descended right into the gutter alongside slimy used car salesmen. License to screw over consumers using information hiding and deceptive practices.
Elimination of pre-sale inspections and mandatory disclosures. Elimination of escrow via mandatory seller-arranged financing (complete with kickbacks). Refusal to allow buyer representation at all. “Sign on the line today, accepting all our slimy terms, or lose the property to the next sucker tomorrow!”
It gets worse – those from within the industry have been slamming Compass and Robert Reffkin for years. Zillow came out with their own study this week where they claim the sellers of off-MLS homes lost $1 billion in the last two years – which is an eye-popping headline! But in the fine print they do admit that they used their zestimate to make the analysis.
Our manager Steve responded on a realtor-news feed:
It caused Steve and Robert to talk by phone on Friday, and they discussed the path we are on. It is the one I’ve described where we end our relationship with NAR and the MLS companies and go it alone.
The commercial brokerages have always functioned this way and have only used Loopnet as a last resort. Nobody calls them names or threatens to sue them over their practices. It is inevitable that the same thing happens to residential brokerages, and Compass will just be the first national brand to do it.
It will make for a terrific recruiting tool as well. If you are an agent, we should chat!
If you are thinking about moving out of state, here are places where the inventory is growing and you might have some negotiating power. Not one of these is in California!
The Compass CEO, Robert Reffkin, is a vocal opponent of the Clear Cooperation Policy. Those in the business call him names and say his only motivation for opposing the CCP is to promote in-house sales.
The point that gets trampled over is that consumers and agents should be free to choose how they want to market the properties for sale.
The CCP insists that listings go onto the MLS right away, and be subject to this nonsense:
They don’t name Zillow but obviously that’s the target.
As we saw yesterday, Zillow is not truthful. They don’t care about doing what’s best for sellers or agents. They only care about making money, and dominating the space.
Unfortunately, the NAR and others turned over the control of the marketing of our listings to Zillow, Homes.com, and Murdoch’s Realtor.com – which is the real disappointment! Realtors don’t own, and we don’t control realtor.com? What a travesty!
Compass is determined to take control of the marketing of our listings.
It starts with getting our listings onto the internet before the search portals. Having the consumers see our listings on our website, and thereby contacting the listing agents who know the most about the properties, is better for the consumer than being funneled to outside agents who are paying for leads:
I’ve been saying for a while that everything happening in residential real estate is heading towards single agency, and eliminating the buyer-agents. Homes.com is directing consumers to the listing agent, and spending millions on advertising to make a point of it.
We’re in the transition phase, and I’ll predict the future.
Compass will quit NAR and the MLS, and go it alone.
If you ask me, we’re already big enough to do it now. I have encouraged Robert to do it, but it’s too early.
But it’s coming.
We will still be happy to cooperate with outside agents – they will just have to find our listings on our website, instead of elsewhere. We’re just doing what Redfin did – make our website more popular with consumers.
What about the Private Exclusives, the title of this post?
They are allowed now, and because you only sell a house once, sellers and agents should have the choice to sell a home off-market. Here are good reasons to do so:
The allure of an insider deal can cause a buyer to pay more – they are sexy deals.
Buyers don’t have the benefit of open-market exposure to test the price.
It keeps the bozo agents from screwing up deals.
We have it happening right now. Our sellers are in escrow with buyers who got squeamish this week. Their agent was NO help. He had no experience or ability to try to help them through their foibles which had little, or nothing, to do with buying the house. Donna and I both had to step in to save the day (another reason to hire us to sell your house!).
It is detrimental for escrows to blow out. Trying to ignite the same urgency as when a listing is fresh on the market is impossible. Every buyer thinks something is wrong, and rarely do a home sell for the same price or more the second time around.
Those are three good reasons for our sellers to go Private Exclusive. I still believe in open-market exposure being the best route but it’s because I’m old-school. The current market conditions are tough and inviting every joker to bid on my listings has consequences, and they’re not all good.
Reffkin and Compass will undoubtedly taking more heat for questioning the CCP in the coming months, but it’s a sideshow. There will be bigger changes down the road – promise.
It is sad how much faith and confidence people put into the zestimates when they are so manufactured and phony. But now that everyone trusts everything they see on the internet, we deserve what we get.
This is the best 180-degree panoramic ocean view for sale in North County! This former model is situated on the premium lot in the tract and is facing due west for maximum ocean and sunset experiences! Plus, we have spent $150,000+ over the last sixty days to transform the interior into a modern masterpiece too with new flooring, paint, and lighting throughout plus a fabulous kitchen all on a 10,000sf pie-shaped lot with a large grass backyard at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac near the beach – wow!
Are you looking for a trophy property? This is like winning the Super Bowl!
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We sold a home with Jim and Donna and from beginning to end they were consummate professionals. Their initial walk through the property resulted in a list of items to be repaired or updated. They supplied a list of vendors and job quotes to do the repairs and updates. We originally wanted to sell ‘as is’ and just get it over with. They gave us a selling price for ‘as is’ and options for doing a few updates/repairs to doing it all with the selling price for each option. We agreed to do all they suggested and we sold for the exact price they predicted. For every dollar spent we got back more than $2 back in the selling price. And they got that price in a rising interest rate environment! Donna and Jim are extremely detailed and guide you through ever aspect of the sale. There were no surprises thanks to their guidance. We couldn’t be more pleased with their representation.
Thank you Donna and Jim,
Jerry and Mary
Heather Quejada
March 27, 2025
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We have known Jim & Donna Klinge for over a dozen years, having met them in Carlsbad where our children went to the same school. As long time North County residents, it was a no- brainer for us to have the Klinges be our eyes and ears for San Diego real estate in general and North County in particular. As my military career caused our family to move all over the country and overseas to Asia, Europe and the Pacific, we trusted Jim and Donna to help keep our house in Carlsbad rented with reliable and respectful tenants for over 10 years.
Naturally, when the time came to sell our beloved Carlsbad home to pursue a rural lifestyle in retirement out of California, we could think of no better team to represent us than Jim and Donna. They immediately went to work to update our house built in 2004 to current-day standards and trends — in 2 short months they transformed it into a literal modern-day masterpiece. We trusted their judgement implicitly and followed 100% of their recommended changes. When our house finally came on the market, there was a blizzard of serious interest, we had multiple offers by the third day and it sold in just 5 days after a frenzied bidding war for 20% above our asking price! The investment we made in upgrades recommended by Jim and Donna yielded a 4-fold return, in the process setting a new high water mark for a house sold in our community.
In our view, there are no better real estate professionals in all of San Diego than Jim and Donna Klinge. Buying or selling, you must run and beg Jim and Donna Klinge to represent you! Our family will never forget Jim, Donna, and their whole team at Compass — we are forever grateful to them.
Lou F
March 27, 2025
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WeI had the pleasure of working with Klinge Realty Group to sell our home in Carmel Valley, and I cannot recommend them highly enough!
Jim and Donna demonstrated exceptional professionalism, offering expert guidance on market conditions and pricing strategy, which resulted in a quick and successful sale.
Communication was prompt and we were well-informed throughout the entire process.
For anyone looking for a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate team, look no further!
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William Sams
March 25, 2025
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Donna and Jim Klinge of Klinge Realty Group have our highest possible recommendation. From Donna and Jim’s first visit to our house through closing their advice and counsel was candid and honest in all dealings. They kept us fully informed throughout the process. The house sold less than three days after listing with a two-week closing. My wife and I have sold several houses during our lives. This was by far the best experience. Klinge Reality is a premium service realtor. You can’t make a better choice for someone to sell your home fast and for top dollar.
Emily Hernandez
December 29, 2024
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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 Adrian Sahagun
November 11, 2024
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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.
SABIHA PASHA
July 23, 2024
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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!
Anu Koberg
July 13, 2024
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We first found Jim through his blog at bubbleinfo.com, which really showcased his knowledge of SoCal real estate. Since then we've done three transactions with Jim and Donna, and they are an incredible full service agency, with Jim's deep market insight and Donna's deft contract and project management. We trust them implicitly in their analysis and strategy, which is based on years of experience. They're always available and on top of things, and we strongly recommend them to anyone.
Bjorn Isachsen
July 10, 2024
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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 bubbleinfo.com 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...
Chris Shea
June 21, 2024
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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.
