Bidding wars provide several advantages to home sellers, centering around the additional leverage they enjoy during the negotiations.
But not every seller gets to experience the thrill.
How about those sellers who aren’t receiving any offers? First, decide if you want to sell, or not sell today. If you don’t care about selling today, then sit tight and hope for the lucky sale.
For the sellers who are motivated to sell before their listing gets stale, just lower the price early and often until showings and offers commence.
Generally, buyers are willing to pay your price, or close to it, during the first 7-10 days of a fresh new listing. After that, the showings die down and sellers are more willing to accept the reality.
My pricing-accuracy guide for sellers:
If you are getting offers, the list price is about right.
If you are getting showings but no offers, your price is 5% to 10% wrong.
If you aren’t getting any showings, your price is more than 10% wrong.
Eventually, the market will catch up, and an offer will trickle in.
If the listing has been active for months, you are going to get low offers. All that buyers know is that your current price isn’t right, and they are going to take a crack at you.
Don’t take it personally – if you were in their shoes, you’d do the same thing.
How much below list price are we talking? Roughly 10% to 15% below list price – lower than that and buyers won’t bother.
The typical knee-jerk reaction by sellers is to reject the offer outright, or counter-offer with a price that is only 1% or 2% off the list price to show everyone who’s the boss.
Let’s assume that both buyers and sellers are motivated. Where can you expect a typical negotiation to end up?
The eventual sales price tends to be around the midpoint of the buyer’s original offer, and the sellers’ first counter offer.
Buyers and sellers are prone to dis-engage, rather than battle, so you want to get this over with as quickly as possible. Two counter-offers from each side is about the max, because it will take a week to process that many. If no agreement is reached by then, it’s too easy to give up.
So working it backwards, any buyer or seller can plot out their next two moves. Resolve all the other negotiable points in the first counter, and keep the remaining counters focused on price alone.
Once the sellers make their first counter-offer, you can predict where the negotiations will end up, roughly. Select two prices in between, and make them easy to digest by selecting a nice round number. Making a bigger move early does help to keep the other party engaged.
Regardless of how many times the players have been through this process, don’t skip it. This is a new deal, with new players, and going back and forth with counters is the best way to discover more about whom you will be dealing with over the next 30-45 days. You don’t want to rush anyone into a deal.
Auctions have a seat at the house-selling table, and their ultra-low opening bids are eye-catching for buyers hungry for new product. Will one player emerge from the pack to dominate the space, or will every realtor be offering an auction option some day? These guys are figuring it out – it’s better to cozy up to agents, rather than try to replace.
From the wsj.com:
The hors d’oeuvres and drinks were flowing at an Auction.com broker party in Midtown last week when Rick Sharga shushed the crowd of commercial real-estate brokers to explain to them why the online property-sales service is their friend, not their competitor.
About 75 brokers from the New York region were at the event, lured in part by Auction.com’s promise to give away five $1,000 gift certificates. The service—one of the largest online property-auction sites—also is offering brokers $5,000 for simply listing one of the properties they represent on the site, whether or not it’s actually sold.
“We believe the best model is a hybrid model” that combines traditional brokerage and Auction.com’s online bidding service, Mr. Sharga, an executive vice president with the firm, told the crowd.
Auction.com is launching a major push to develop stronger ties with brokers as part of a broader effort to expand its commercial-property business. The firm, which started online real-estate auctions in 2008, has been listing commercial property since 2009.
But so far its volume has been dominated by residential sales.
The firm expects to sell 1,000 to 1,500 commercial properties this year and 50,000 to 60,000 homes.
The Paris attacks didn’t impact our weekly stats – there were 56 new pendings, which were just above the average over the last ten weeks. The current inventory of houses for sale Under $800,000 is the lowest since May – and it may not get much better!
Click on the link below for the complete NSDCC active-inventory data:
The Paris terror attacks are another example of the despicable horror being perpetrated throughout the world.
Will they impact our local real estate market?
Buyers drop out every day for a variety of reasons – mostly because the houses they can afford are not up to their standard. This terrorist act will cause some to pause the home search and wait until next year to see what happens. But there will always be buyers available for the quality properties.
Will sellers panic?
After the 9/11 attacks, our local real estate market stalled for a couple of weeks. But it bounced back quickly, and within a month it was back to normal.
The sellers are the key. Will they hurry up and list their home now, instead of waiting for spring? It’s doubtful that a terrorist attack in Paris will change the plans of home sellers here – especially about their price. Until we experience another attack in America, sellers will shrug it off and proceed will their plan.
If you are thinking of selling your home, it is tempting to wait until spring before going on the market. Here are reasons why you should drop everything and call me today!
Virtually no competition – Sell when everyone else isn’t!
Inventory is picked clean – Buyers would love to see new choices.
Fewer looky-loos means less showing hassles – Motivated buyers only.
Holiday decorations = Instant staging.
Price Discovery – If no takers, cancel after 2 weeks and try again next year.
Rates have gone up, and the Fed hasn’t done anything yet! The best way to combat rising rates is for the seller to offer a rate buydown. The Estates off CV Road is offering to buy down your rate today to 2.625% for a 10-year interest-only loan, which is a nice incentive. Offering a rate buydown is cheaper when rates are lower – paying to get the buyer a 30-year fixed rate below 4% in spring may be costly.
In other parts of the country where the weather is bad, it’s understandable to take the holidays off. But here it’s going to be 74 degrees today – which is great home-selling weather!
The bottom of the San Diego market was April, 2009 – we’ve been on a six-year run, and overdue for a burst of inventory. If that happens on your street or neighborhood, you’ll be glad you sold now.
The stats from the first ten months of the year looked good.
How do the last couple of months compare to previous years?
Are we reaching the buyer-exhaustion stage, where the inventory is so picked over that sales are suffering?
September-October Detached-Home Sales, La Jolla to Carlsbad:
Year
# of Sales
Median Sales Price
Avg DOM
2011
414
$820,500
84
2012
586
$799,851
73
2013
529
$1,000,000
55
2014
480
$1,022,500
55
2015
460
$1,075,000
46
The buyers have been remarkably resilient, and if there were more higher-quality homes for sale at reasonable prices, I think sales would be even higher. When is a good time to sell? When everyone else isn’t!
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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.
