Why don’t realtors adopt the full-transparency idea?
Since the beginning of time, there has been an old wife’s tale that agents can’t divulge anything about the offers they’ve received. It’s a bunch of hooey!
It says right in the contract that nothing is confidential.
Why don’t agents think about other methods? Why don’t they question authority?
It’s because it is so safe and comfortable being vague. They are PETRIFIED of saying the wrong thing and screwing up – so they just say nothing at all, to the detriment of everyone involved, especially their client.
I hope you get a chance to see the 3-hour documentary Ladies and Gentlemen 50 Years of SNL Music – the only problem is it’s too short! One clip that didn’t make the cut was this one-time-only performance:
The Power Station were a British-American 1980s/1990s rock and pop music supergroup originally formed in New York City and London in 1984. It was made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar). Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved on the studio side as recording producer and for a short time also functioned as the Power Station’s manager. Edwards also replaced John Taylor on bass for the recording of the band’s second album. The band was formed in New York City late in 1984 during a break in Duran Duran’s schedule that became a lengthy hiatus. The Power Station was named after the Power Station recording studio in New York, where their first album was conceived and recorded.
On 16 February 1985, the band performed “Some Like It Hot” and “Get It On” on Saturday Night Live. It was the only time that Robert Palmer performed live with the original line-up – and the band only lasted a year. The horn section for the Power Station’s Saturday Night Live appearance included saxophonist Lenny Pickett, who would join the show’s house band that fall and eventually become the show’s musical director.
For some historical perspective, let’s review the recent change in inventory.
Bill Clinton signed the new law in 1997 that allowed sellers to take up to $500,000 in tax-free profits, and it set off a local moving spree that lasted 20+ years. Boomers were at peak family levels, and moving up and down in the same town was reasonable because prices didn’t fluctuate much.
The most frenzied-up years were 2003, and 2021 – both were years when the inventory dipped.
But in 2022 and 2023 the inventory kept declining, for two reasons. Boomers were empty-nesting comfortably, and the rapid rise in mortgage rates thwarted the move-up/move-down homeowners.
It set off a pricing bonanza that has limited the buyer pool to only the most affluent. It shows no signs of slowing locally, and it would take a flood of motivated sellers who dump on price for the trend to change.
Local pricing HAS DOUBLED in eight short years!
NSDCC Number of Listings Between January 1 and February 15
Even if the remaining home buyers go on strike, it would take a flood of boomers to give their houses away for pricing to dip, and you don’t see much of that happening.
If pricing just went flat, it would be a dramatic change!
I’m a huge fan of Athena Calderone – New-York based interior designer, author, chef, and entertaining expert. She is also the founder and CEO of lifestyle brand, Eyeswoon, which has grown from an editorial platform into an e-commerce destination and thriving online community. I’m constantly looking at Eyeswoon’s website and Athena’s Instagram for home decor inspo and delicious recipes.
I am very excited to see more color inside the home. The all white/gray look is a little basic in my opinion. But I know going with a bright color can be a little scary! If you’re in that boat, maybe start off with a more muted color like seafoam green. I think this color would look great in a kitchen or bathroom!
This was the seller who had a competing agent tell them that I’m tough to deal with because I like to create a bidding war.
The seller took it as a compliment, and I did too. Don’t you want your listing agent to create a bidding war? You would think, YES. But instead, literally all other agents want to be vague about their process, gather up the offers, and go in the backroom to decide the winner they prefer (while denying others the chance to bid higher).
It’s not me they dislike – it’s the transparency that comes with a proper bidding war.
I can see why other agents would jump to the conclusion that I’m tough – because I don’t sell houses as described above. If I was a home seller and I found out that my listing agent was publicly denying buyers with the opportunity to bid and re-bid on my house with verbiage like, “NO MORE SHOWINGS” in my MLS remarks, I’d sue them for malpractice.
Yet, that is the common practice you see happen with the hot listings every week.
There is another agent out there today who thinks I’m tough – the agent who rushed her buyers over to see my new listing within two hours after it hit the open market on Thursday.
Her clients loved it, so she corners me in the living room and tries to bully me into selling the home to her clients for full price cash on the spot. It is a common practice, borne out of the frustration shared by all buyer-agents who get screwed over by listing agents in virtually every sale where there are multiple offers.
I was happy to agree to sell the home to her clients, but not at full price.
But I’d do it for an outrageous price that I thought no one else would pay.
This is when I told her $2,500,000.
If you are a cash buyer, this isn’t your last $2,000,000, so they could pay the $2,500,000 if they wanted to – and I want to give them the chance! I think my sellers would be very happy with that outcome.
But consider what it also sets up.
They didn’t go for my $2,500,000, but they did offer $2,100,000 cash.
They already knew they could buy it for $2,500,000.
So when we officially counter-offered at $2,250,000 in writing, it had to sound way better than $2,500,000. There was a real chance they might sign it!
By now it’s Friday, and this is where agents might think I’m tough. I told the agent that if her clients didn’t sign it, I was going ahead with my open houses to see if we might get other offers.
Here’s where she screwed up, like most agents do.
She goes running back to her clients and tells them exactly what I said.
Their response? “We don’t want to get into a bidding war”.
Well, then sign the $2,250,000. It’s all they had to do to buy their dream home.
But instead they let a measly $150,000 get in the way, which is pennies, relatively – especially when you consider how hard it is to find a newer single-story home on big flat lot at the end of a cul-de-sac which is walkable to everything you need in life.
Why is there such aversion to bidding wars?
Fear of the unknown? Afraid you might overpay? Feel being taken advantage of? Had bad experiences previously (probably the most likely because realtors handle them so poorly that losers can’t help but feel bitter).
Buyers should embrace the bidding war.
It’s the smell test. It means you found a hot buy. A home that you will enjoy, and one that will be easy for you to sell for top dollar some day.
Conversely, if there are no other bidders on a listing that has been on the open market for 1-3 days, what did they see that you missed?
Are bidding wars fun for buyers? No they are excruciating, mostly due to the uncertainty caused by the poor handling by the listing agents.
Instead of telling people I’m tough, agents should consider using my method.
I tell everyone the rules of engagement, spell out what it will take to win, and conduct the bidding war – and myself – in a way that caused maximum transparency. I answer my phone all day and night!
As late as last night, I was communicating with agents who had lower offers. I flat out told them that a deal was imminent with Buyer C, yet if you hit this price, I will rescind our counter-offer and sell it to you instead.
It turned out that they didn’t like the price, BUT AT LEAST I GAVE THEM A SHOT TO BUY IT.
That’s not being tough to deal with – it’s what every buyer and buyer-agent should want: an opportunity.
So when you hear there are multiple offers, don’t automatically bail out. Make an offer and see where it goes. Eventually a good one will fall in your lap.
P.S. The first buyers did re-engage, but then they got caught up on the comps.
I somehow didn’t hit the Publish button on Monday morning!
The pendings are tracking right along where they were during the same time period in each of the last two years – even though there are about 20% more homes for sale today.
It sure makes you think that many home sellers are going to get left behind.
The contest for the four Padres tickets is complete!
Because I was using the NSDCAR stats all year and then switched to SDAR at the last minute, it’s only right that there are TWO winners, based on the different counts:
Congratulations to Anne M for being the SDAR winner!
Congratulations to Surfrider for being the NSDCAR winner!
While I’ve been saying that there should be a 15% to 20% YoY surge in listings this year, it didn’t materialize in January. I still think it’s coming though!
The relatively-modest YoY increase in January listings has given sellers plenty of leeway on pricing. The median list prices are up $500,000, or about 20% – though the $$/sf is a better measure at +3% to +7%.
Thanks everyone for playing, and congratulations to the winners!
The final guesses on the number of NSDCC January listings:
In 2019, there were 7,628,017 single-family homes in California (according to the Census). If 90% are insured, it would be around 6,865,215 households to split the $500 million, or $73 per house. In anticipation of future disasters, just make it $100 per insured house while you’re at it.
Homeowners likely will be on the hook for a share of a massive bailout of California’s insurer of last resort after it ran out of money to pay claims arising from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
State regulators announced this week that they will allow the program, known as the FAIR Plan, to collect $1 billion in emergency payments from private insurers — who are expected to pass a significant portion of those costs on to policyholders across the state.
“This is essential to prevent even greater strain on California’s already unbalanced insurance market and avoiding widespread policy cancellations that would jeopardize coverage for millions of Californians,” the American Property Casualty Insurance Association said in a statement.
It’s still unclear how much homeowners would have to pay, which homeowners would be charged, when they would see a new fee or how long an increase on their premiums could last.
The amount of money insurance companies must contribute to the FAIR Plan will be based on their market share in California. Under state law, insurers can pass along a surcharge of up to half of the $1 billion assessment.
The FAIR Plan is a state-mandated, high-risk pool of private insurers for homeowners who can’t find traditional coverage. In recent years, the number of policyholders on the plan has ballooned to more than 350,000 as insurers have ended homeowners’ coverage across the state amid worsening climate-driven wildfire seasons.
Ok, I’m breathing again now that 150+ people came to my first open house on Moorhen Place.
The market/buyers have seemed cautious and conservative so far in 2025, and it’s incredible how they insist on looking for any reason NOT to buy. The only problem is that the perfect homes start at $10 million, so just about everyone is going to have to live with something. P.S. Buyers need to come to grips with the fact that the entry level for decent homes in Carlsbad is now $2,000,000.
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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.
