The blog has been inudated lately, but it looks like we got it under control.
I’m a part-time blogger. My trade is selling homes. I don’t have time to be chasing down bots who are trying to make my life miserable!
I hope it didn’t matter to you. The comment section will be working again shortly!
We are in the prime selling season now!
But the unsolds continue to add up, and the standoff between sellers and buyers will likely get resolved by price – but who goes first?
Sellers are reluctant to lower. Instead, they’ll say, “Hey, just bring me an offer!”
How familiar are buyers and their agents with making a lower offer? It’s been a strong seller’s market for 12+ years now, does anyone remember how to make a lower offer and succeed at it?
The usual argument is for buyers to list all the necessary repairs and improvements needed in their mind, and it always comes off as insulting to the sellers. Especially if they think they have priced those in already!
Come up with something less offensive and more effective.
Local market conditions, other nearby listings that aren’t selling, average market time, faulty sold comps, Trump, or the Easter bunny – try to blame anything else besides necessary repairs and improvements for your low offer, and your chances of winning over the sellers will improve greatly.
The tariffs may be causing a little turmoil in the world today and driving bond yields down…..but that means great news for mortgage rates.
Just a quick sampling off the internet (above) shows jumbo rates under 6%!
Go buy a house today and LOCK your rate!
Even though we blocked some of the bots, the number of visitors this week has increased +3,000. To have 13,215 unique visitors in the last 7 days is unbelievable! Thank you for being here!
I directed my people to block more bots today, and this makes 11 total bots that have been shut out:
Are there more regular people reading here? It looks like it!
This is what my blog host had to say about it:
Could there really be 13,000 people reading this blog this week?
I hope so – because I’d settle for a hundred.
Stay tuned for more, because I’m going to pour it on now and see where it goes. Please comment! I’ll also note that Oceanside is way bigger than any other town in north county coastal.
Whether it’s a dozen or 1,000….thanks for being here! I appreciate you!
To get together 15 years after your drummer died (which ended the band) and to play like this is phenomenal. There is only the Big Four; The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led Zeppelin.
Check out our new listing of a practically-new single story home with a pool in a private setting!
2299 E. Lincoln Ave., Escondido
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,496sf
Lot size = 10,618sf
3-car tandem garage
YB: 2022
HOA + MR = $239/mo.
LP = $1,299,000
Resort-style living in the hills of Escondido! The very comfortable 2,496sf has been tastefully designed with brand new wide-plank flooring, light and bright interior, high ceilings and the extra-large modern great room featuring a dazzling kitchen with walk-in pantry! Owned solar, central air conditioning, and 3-car tandem garage too. The salt-water swimming pool is 35’x12′ and has the pebble finish, new vacuum cleaner, and solar-panel heating! The 10,618sf lot has new desert-Mediterranean landscape which is very low maintenance, and leaves you more time to hike to Dixon Lake and go fishing! This would be $2,000,000+ at the coast! Check it out!
https://www.compass.com/listing/2299-east-lincoln-avenue-escondido-ca-92027/1811248354588860985/
3 Easy Kitchen Fixes – Make your home sell faster!
A kitchen renovation is at minimum $30,000. So when it comes to selling your home, the thought of updating your kitchen sounds daunting to say the least. HB recently interviewed expert stagers to get their thoughts on what homeowners could do to fix their kitchen. I love all three ideas so I wanted to share them with you; plus it’s officially spring, so sellers are getting ready for the spring selling season!
Getting your home ready to sell is a tricky process. There are a few home additions you can add to increase your home’s value, from sunrooms to finished basements. But those enhancements take time and money! Before you go knocking down walls, remember small details can make a big difference. To that end, we suggest focusing your energies on the room that really makes the difference. Christina Haack said it best: “kitchens sell homes”.
1) Decluttering – Feel free to take this idea throughout your entire house! Even if you’re NOT selling, your partner will thank you if you declutter your home. Make sure to go through all your cabinets too. That way you can dispose of your expired foods, lotions, spices, etc. Also removing all the cards and magnets on your refrigerator makes such a difference!
Be careful, though: it’s easy to fall into the trap that decluttering means a completely empty space. Celebrity interior designer Cheryl Eisen, founder of Interior Marketing Group, suggests a balance between purpose and restraint.
“Minimalism doesn’t mean stark—it means thoughtfully curated,” Eisen says. “Keep counters mostly clear, allowing the high-end finishes to take center stage. A single, neutral-toned linen tea towel draped over the oven handle or a discreet ceramic bowl adds softness while maintaining the home’s polished aesthetic.”
See before and after photos from the article:
2) Arrange the Kitchen like a Movie Set – I like this one too! Sometimes folks will take out everything out of the home when it comes time to sell, which can look cold and not as home-y. A bowl of fruit (even if it’s fake), a cookbook, and colorful dish towels are always my go-to’s.
3) Focus on the Cabinets & Countertops – When buyers see peeling paint on kitchen cabinets, they immediately think “gut renovation.” Rather than pay for brand new cabinets, a lot of folks will repaint the current cabinets and swap out the hardware to something more modern. See before and after photos from the article.
Happy updating! – KK
Kayla Klinge
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Klinge Realty Group
Compass
I mentioned the problems I’ve been having with the blog. I changed hosts, to no avail, and I have two sets of customer-service tech people doing their best to keep us going.
There have been 10,000+ visits per month for quite a while, but now it’s up to 10,000 PER WEEK?
The bots have descended!
We put an end to it today, and you should see improved performace from now on:
I’ve produced this blog for almost twenty years free of charge, and I’m fine with it being a resource for all. But they are burying me now – the blog has been down more in the last month than in the last 20 years combined, and it has to stop.
If you happen to search AI for real estate advice, I hope it has a familiar tone!
I thought the inventory surge would be heavily weighted towards the higher-end homes, but the lower end is feeling it too. Could it be that we’re just early?
If both categories end up hitting the same or similar peaks in inventory as last year, then there won’t be much impact on the buyers or to the market. It just means the new listings showed up earlier than usual.
If the surge continues, and there are 100+ more unsold listings laying around not selling in each category, then it’s going to feel somewhat bloated. But buyers are already used to ignoring the additional unsolds. They would have to think there is a panic among sellers for there to be a noticeable change in the market.
