Are you thinking about selling your house and wonder how to select the best listing agent?
You will hear a lot of song and dance, but all that matters are RESULTS!
This is our listing history from the last 18 months.
We have resisted the urge to hire lots of agents to pump up the numbers. We’re the same group of six dedicated team members (+Kayla in Manhattan) who work diligently every day to sell our listings for the most money and the least inconvenience to our sellers via our personal, hands-on attention.
Last 25 Listings:
Monthly Average: 1.4listings sold per month. Our goal is 2 per month this year.
SP/LP Average:100.6% (take out Springer and it’s 99.0%)
Average Market Time:14.4days-on-market
You can cull these same statistics on any agent from their Zillow profile (on mine, you will see that Richard’s listings are included there but they aren’t on the list above).
What doesn’t matter:
Being the Neighborhood Expert: An agent that has lived in the area for a long time sounds nice, but what are their RESULTS? Do they have a solid skill set? Have they been successful in getting sellers to the finish line over the last 18 months?
The Brokerage Who Employs Them: Selling homes is an individual sport – your agent’s skill in getting sellers to the finish line is all that matters.
They Are A High-End Agent: Their number of sales is a better gauge of their skill set, and how successful they are at getting sellers to the finish line. They might have a ‘network’ of affluent friends, but 98% of them aren’t moving this year.
What matters most is the listing agent’s ability to present an attractive home, craft a compelling case on the home’s value, and politely convince the buyers and buyer-agents in a way that causes them to buy it.
We sell homes in every price point and in every area. On the list above are homes in Temecula, Mission Viejo, and Los Altos!
If you see any messages like this one above, please send it to me. I never have ‘scheduled maintenance’ going on – it can only be a problem with the company that hosts this blog. Thanks!
I have changed blog hosts again, so hopefully there won’t be a problem and everything runs smoothly.
The only question left is whether I should delete most of the 11,871 blog posts to improve performance. I have copied the entire blog so Natalie can go back and write a book some day, so this week we’re going to trim the number of blog posts down to 1,000 or less.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, they are all (poorly) indexed here for now!
I think most agents would agree that once their new listing has been on the open market – and unsold – for two weeks, the action dies down considerably.
Then the showings, if any, become vague and laborious because all of the motivated buyers have already seen it and passed. All that’s left is the occasional newcomer to the game who just begun their journey of learning the market. Or it’s a buyer-agent who is using this listing to set up the showing, and selling, of the better-priced home down the street or around the corner.
It’s made worse by the lack of quality buyer-agents. The older agents can’t keep up any more, and they have been retired – whether they know it yet or not. The kids don’t have enough experience or training.
The marketplace has been reduced to a single sentence. “Do you have any questions?”
The buyer’s answer is almost always the same…..”No”, and off they go.
The only thing left to wonder is whether there will be any negative impact from unsold listings stacking up everywhere. Will it bother the buyers who are still engaged?
Will they forget all about them, or come back later and lowball them?
Because lowballing is such a forgotten sport, I’ll guess that we will just get used to unsold listings laying around. Rancho Santa Fe is slowly getting back to its pre-covid norms of having a 10:1 ratio of actives-to-pendings (78:12 today), and it doesn’t appear to bother anyone. It’s accepted.
Because I feel the need to analyze everything, I’m going to institute a new gauge today and follow it over time to see the impact.
It looked like we were going to have 400 active listings between La Jolla and Carlsbad by the end of February. We haven’t quite hit it yet (though if you count the off-market listings, we’re well over 400 today).
Let’s call the new gauge the Stale Factor:
NSDCC Active Listings: 391
NSDCC Active Listings with 15+ days-on-market: 281
We have 281/391 = 72% of the active listings have been on the open market for more than two weeks.
It seems like a lot, doesn’t it?
Let’s see if the spring selling season starts picking up and the percentage goes down…or not.
Upgrading from the original look to what buyers want today just takes money. Thankfully, our sellers expected to do a major tune-up – and they followed our advice and went all in!
Robbie Krieger is playing each Doors album in their entirety once a month at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go where the Doors were once the house band back in the day!
A nice pop in the percentage of sales closing over their list price – much like last February.
Last year, the peak month was March, and then it dropped in half by summertime.
NSDCC Monthly Sales & Pricing
Sales last month didn’t get close to last February, but the pricing held up. It wasn’t because there weren’t the houses to buy – the inventory was higher YoY.
It’s because fewer homes for sale were worthy of purchase.
Here was the big winner that sold for 40% OVER THE LIST PRICE. The buyer was from Mountain View, CA:
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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
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!
