One year after the National Association of Realtors agreed, as part of a legal settlement, to change a key rule on real estate commissions — a rule that had long upheld a tradition of commissions between 5 and 6 percent, little has changed.
What was hailed as a watershed has so far produced a mere drizzle.
Some economists predicted the rule change would upend the business model and bring competition to a long-stilted marketplace, breaking the standard 6 percent rate — one of the highest rates in the world — and forcing down home prices as a result.
Though average commissions appear to be slipping, industry watchdogs say that Realtors and their brokerages have used workarounds and pressure on sellers like Mr. Chambers to subvert the settlement. So far, they’re finding success.
“The industry understood the threat to 5 or 6 percent rates right away, so looked for opportunities to discourage negotiation,” said Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Policy Center, who has been vocal about the need for greater consumer awareness in the real estate industry.
The climb in the number of active listings between La Jolla and Carlsbad took a break and only rose by two. Here’s how the actives and pendings compare to the last two years in mid-March:
NSDCC Actives and Pendings, Mid-March
The 25% YoY increase in the number of actives doesn’t seem to bother the buyers!
All that matters is what will the sellers do who are left out of the party? Will they bang the door down with a big price reduction?
Or pack it up and wait for the market to ‘pick up’?
When $2,000,000 is the entry level for a decent home in Carlsbad, home buyers should really consider what that money will get them just 20-25 minutes away.
The sellers agreed to a proper price reduction yesterday (-11%), and I feel like selling it today!
Ok, ok – I know you don’t want to leave San Diego.
But for those who gotta do something, check this out.
Toll Brothers, one of the best tract builders around – maybe the best around.
Brand new one-story homes in the $400,000s
Below-market mortgage rates.
Yes, you will have a lot of $$ once I’m done selling your house here. But if you only want to use $100,000 of it and finance the rest, your payment at 5.49% is only $2,087/month! Your social security will cover that!
They have standing inventory – six homes are available for quick move-in. Get yourself one today!
Since October, I’ve been blabbing on and on how there were several reasons why the pent-up supply was finally going to bust loose in 2025.
If you want to sell your house this year, you better get on it.
It’s more than just an isolated or local thing. Look at the stats above – there is a cultural/communal thing where there are more homes for sale everywhere.
The cheerleaders will be bantering about how the locked-in effect is loosening and we’re just getting back to normal. But they will shut up in another couple of months when they don’t know what to make of it.
Even if the total number of listings isn’t much higher than last year (NSDCC total listings = +9% YoY for first two months), more are not selling. The unsold listings will be stacking up by June. Or May. It will probably cause buyers to be more hesitant, and that’s saying a lot because they are already being fairly cautious.
We have four listings to roll out over the next month, and while we would never launch before we’re absolutely ready, I’m encouraging everyone to expedite!
Though it will be years before Natalie officially takes over, the succession plans are being actively discussed and this is the group who will usher her into the next generation of the KRG! Kayla will run the Manhattan version of the Klinge Realty Group, and once Natalie’s dance career winds up, she will take over here!
What’s new around here? Yesterday, I authorized a new look for the blog – coming soon!
It’s rare to find a 10,000sf usable lot this close to the beach, so you really can’t blame buyers for paying $1,977,000 (list was $2,050,000). Everything that’s wrong here can be fixed with money:
Here’s the full story so far but you know what triggered this move.
Warren has to be as madder than Reffkin over the arbitrary penalties from the NAR, and their vig was 5x what Compass had to pay:
What will be the impact locally?
Combining the #1 and #2 brokerages will give us 1,800 to 2,000 agents who did $10 billion in volume last year. It should give us at least 30% market share in San Diego County, which is what Reffkin wants to have in the Top 30 metro areas. There will probably be more consolidations too.
Everyone talks badly about Robert Reffkin/Compass and our stand against the CCP.
It’s because the industry is so sensitive about the thought of agents hoarding their listings off-market to sell them to their own buyers or to buyers represented by other in-house agents. To what extent it is actually happening doesn’t matter – just the thought bugs people.
Off-market sales have happened at all brokerages since the beginning of time. But for those who believe that every home should be exposed to all buyers, it makes them think that shenanigans are in play.
On February 21st, I did this blog post where I described reasons for sellers and agents to sell off-market:
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.
When forming opinions about off-market sales, let’s factor in the market conditions.
We are screaming towards a buyer’s market, and it’s already upon us in some areas. The last time we had a buyer’s market was fifteen years ago – which nobody remembers – and it’s been the exact opposite over the last five years.
You will know it’s a buyer’s market when you hear more people saying that it’s not a good time to sell.
It will lead to conversations like this: “Hey Jim, I’ve heard horror stories from friends and family who are trying to sell their home and nobody is coming by – they have no showings!”
“I don’t want that to happen to me, so sell my house by any means necessary. I still want all my money, and if you think selling my house off-market will accomplish that, then do it!”
When potential sellers see unsold listings stacking up, they are going to consider alternatives, but:
Selling to an instant-cash flipper might seem more enticing, except they want a 30% discount.
Renting the house out is a terrible idea if you think prices might go down later.
Going on the open market at less than the dream price doesn’t sound good either.
In a buyer’s market, the selling choices seem bleak. It causes potential sellers to jump at a sexy option like selling off-market – if that will get them their money. They aren’t going to take a discount off-market. Instead, they will imagine that it’s the best chance to sell for their price, which is all that matters to them.
Yesterday’s bombshell announcement that Ketchmark will be suing the brokerages that support the Clear Cooperation Policy should be the end of the CCP. Who wants more lawsuits?
Reffkin’s hardball stance against the CCP is very understandable when you consider how we got here.
The quasi-governing body known as the National Association of Realtors casually walks into a Missouri court room and gets their lunch handed to them. Then they settled on behalf of the brokerages? Who gave you the power to levy a $52 million fine against Compass without a chance to defend ourselves? Plus, you’ve done nothing to prevent future lawsuits from happening!
Unfortunately, the anger over how the NAR mis-handled the lawsuit/settlement has turned into a battle about the CCP, when they are two different things. If NAR would step up their game and end the threat of lawsuits while providing expert guidance on the CCP issue, then we might listen. But there is no faith that they will do anything, so we need to defend ourselves while providing our own solutions for our clients.
Reffkin is promoting Private Exclusives as part of a 3-Phase marketing plan in order to offer a comprehensive marketing solution. There is no push by Compass management to sell homes off-market. Behind the scenes, all we have is a simple one-liner list of homes throughout the county, and most of them have no photos, no descriptions, and can’t be shown because they are being prepared to go to market. That’s not a vibrant off-market sales environment – it’s just a parking lot. I struggle to even look at it because there’s nothing there. At least not yet.
Yesterday there were 287 Compass private exclusives in San Diego County, and there are 4,653 houses, condos, and mobilehomes actively for sale on the MLS today. How many PEs are going to sell off-market each month? Maybe five or ten? It’s the same at other brokerages and it’s been the norm for 100+ years.
But it has promise because the sellers are going to want an alternative in a buyer’s market.
Though the off-market listings might look sexy to buyers, they better get good help on pinpointing the value under the current market conditions. It is why buyers should embrace bidding wars – because when there isn’t one, it tells you something too.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Jim & Donna Klinge helped us sell our home of 30 years in Ocean Hills. We were very happy with their service and would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone looking for an Honest, Knowledgeable, Skilled, Informed Efficient realty team. Both Jim & Donna were so helpful in different ways and complemented each others skills. Please refer to a more detailed review that we wrote on YELP. Thank You Both for all your help!!!
Jesse O'Hara
June 12, 2025
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A+ thank you
Lisa Tuomi
June 11, 2025
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Many years ago, we purchased a home in Carlsbad, using a realtor that was recommended to us - Jim Klinge. Fast forward to 2025, we recently had the privilege of selling 2 homes in Carlsbad, CA and didn't hesitate to reach out to Jim and Donna Klinge of Klinge Realty Group to guide us through the sales. The transactions were very different, each with its own unique situation, opportunities and challenges. From start to finish, Donna and Jim helped navigate the pre-sale preparation, the listing, showing of the house, buyer negotiations, the final close and all of the paperwork and decisions in between. What stands out with both transactions is the professionalism of Jim and Donna (and their team), wonderful communication (timely, relevant, concise), their deep understanding of market dynamics (setting realistic expectations), their access to top-notch contractors, and last, their ability to guide us across the finish line successfully. We wouldn't hesitate to use Jim and Donna in the future and highly recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell a property in North San Diego County.
Jerry Meyer
March 28, 2025
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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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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!
