We’re going to be hearing for months about how sales are dwindling.
It’s mostly due to comparing 2022 stats to last year’s numbers, which were the most frenzied-up numbers ever. But it is also due to it being a market for the affluent now.
Look at the chart above. Even though sales are down 7% overall, the higher-end sales are booming:
San Diego County Detached-Home Sales, Jan 1 – May 31
Year
SD County Detached-Home Sales
Sales Over $1,000,000
2017
9,889
1,449
2018
9,154
1,570
2019
9,002
1,581
2020
7,683
1,496
2021
9,769
3,177
2022
8,267
3,786
As recently as 2019, the million-dollar sales were only 18% of the total sales count. This year, it’s 46%, and we still have a week more of sales plus late-reporters to record. It could hit 50%, just three year later!
Yet the total number of 2022 sales will only be 10% to 12% behind those in 2021, the craziest year ever.
Plus, if there were more quality homes for sale priced over $1,000,000, we’d have even more sales!
Last week, reader TOB talked about a buyer he knew who walked away from a deal over the Rampart fireplace. Here’s a list of other issues that might be deal-killers, but we try to find a way to solve them before giving up!
While the pandemic and world war are raging, the stock market is diving into bear territory, and all media is burying the real estate market, I put two listings on the open market for four days and get three offers on each and sell them both for over list at a time when people are wondering how far will prices drop.
Who do you want in your corner? Contact Jim the Realtor today!
It is a true honor to have listed for sale my favorite home of all-time!
365 Marine St., La Jolla
3 br/3.5 ba, 2,894sf
YB: 2018
LP = $6,950,000 – SP = $7,750,000
This custom contemporary was designed and carefully-crafted for over three years to be the ultimate beach house just 100 yards from the sand! The main living area has floor-to-ceiling glass panels that open dramatically to create the perfect indoor-outdoor experience with breath-taking 180-degree ocean views over Marine Street beach! The interior is loaded with so many custom features that they make this home downright sexy! Ample off-street parking and an easy walk to the village too. Architect Mark Morris said in his 20+ years of designing super-custom modern-contemporary homes in the area, this is his favorite project of all-time. The ultimate in modern contemporary design – it’s a trophy property!
San Diego renters can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are a little bit more secure as the city’s new eviction moratorium is now in place for renters who are up-to-date on their rent payments and abiding by the terms of their leases.
“San Diego cannot afford to have one more person enter into homelessness and this is a way to prevent that,” said San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, who championed this measure.
The new rules that went into effect Sunday prevent landlords from removing tenants for ‘no fault’ reasons.
“Despite having paid their rent on time,” said Elo-Rivera. “Despite having abided by the terms of their lease, they were still being evicted because the rental market in San Diego is such that landlords know that if they do a bit of an upgrade and some minor renovations, they can jack up rent substantially.”
Under the moratorium, if a landlord or family member wants to move into the unit, they need to provide the tenant with 90 days-notice. If they want to take the property off the rental market, they now must provide six months-notice.
“What we have done though is ensure that there’s fewer exceptions to the rules and when someone is going to be evicted, that they’re given enough time to get their life together,” said Elo-Rivera.
However, some people feel like the moratorium is unnecessary.
“It feels a little bit like a solution looking for a problem,” said Lucinda Lilley, president of the Southern California Rental Housing Association, which expressed opposition when the measure was approved by the San Diego City Council in April.
“I don’t think that it’s been properly vetted,” said Lilley. “I don’t think that there is any data that shows that it is necessary.”
A remarkably original mid-century modern on an acre in Del Mar.
It listed for $2,400,000 on February 26th, then the price was raised to $2,900,000 on March 8th when marked pending. The final sales price was $2,800,000:
The market’s direction will be determined by inventory, and San Diego is #1 on Bill’s list for the biggest percentage drop year-over-year. Also consider how the San Diego metro compares to others that had a similar number of new listings in April:
Metro Area
April Listings
Metro Population
People Per New Listing
Boston
3,386
4.9 million
1,447
San Diego
3,513
3.3 million
939
Portland
3,684
2.5 million
678
Columbus
3,620
2.1 million
580
Jacksonville
3,472
1.6 million
461
Our market is starved for inventory, so you really can’t blame sellers for pushing it, price-wise. Buyers may back off some, and not as many listings will sell. But when the success rate of listings-that-sell has been an unusually-high 80% to 90%, we can afford some additional failure.
We’re going to have fewer sales. Panic selling? Probably not.
The pricing of the new listings was calculated on sold comps from when the frenzy was hotter and sellers were getting big pops over the list prices.
Back then, you didn’t have to spruce ’em up as much, you got away with sloppy pricing, and the listing agents insisted on 60-day rentbacks for free, ‘coming soon’ teasers for weeks, and showing times based on when the listing agent felt like fitting it into their schedule.
The pricing part has been correcting – it’s the rest of the package that needs adjustment:
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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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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.
