Spring 2021 San Diego Real Estate Update

The real estate market in San Diego, and really throughout the country, showed up in a surprising fashion in 2020. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and amid lockdowns, the market really was a saving grace, especially for sellers. We saw upwards of 10% price increases and record levels of equity growth. The only challenge we faced was excrutiatingly low levels of inventory. In other words, there were not enough homes for sale! And that, along with historically low interest rates, became the story of 2020.

Over the past 5 years, San Diego has seen inventory levels drop from a high of just over 5 months supply of homes, to about 1.5 months. With fewer homes for sale and plenty of buyer demand fueled by 2.5% interest rates, prices have skyrocketed, making this one of the hottest and most competetive markets ever! We are seeing multiple offers, as many as 25-30, per home! And buyers are not messing around as we see them come in tens of thousands over list price, with no contingencies, and even using escalation clauses stating they will pay X amount over the next highest offer.

One thing holds true, however. San Diego real estate is a rock solid investment. As inventory levels have dropped, and remained low, San Diegans have gotten creative as they try to find more ways to drum up inventory and create more opportunity for housing. From ADU’s (aka granny flats) to tiny homes, alternative living spaces have become all the rage. Even local government is on board by streamlining application proceses and waiving fees on approved pre-designed plans. Simply go to the county of San Diego website and select your floorplan that has already been approved for construction and away you go.

At the end of the day there is a reason we call America’s Finest City home. The weather, beaches, and hip urban neighborhoods allow us to explore and recreate in several ways. I mean where else can you surf in the morning, snowboard in the afternoon, and make camp in the desert for the evening? It’s all right here…and we love it! For your customized market report, home value, or a list of the hottest neighborhoods, please visit my real estate site at www.RealBrokerCA.com.

Live Free or Die!

free·dom; noun

The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

 

What a glorious concept and one we embrace in the good ole USA.  My question is, “Do you really embrace freedom?”  Do you love your job?  Or are you trapped?  I ask only because for the past 6 months I have experienced freedom in a way I haven’t in a long time.  Real estate is built for freedom.  We choose the  brokerage we affiliate with. We are typically independent contractors so we choose when we work, the clients we work with, and even the type of business we specialize in.  So it’s set up to be free, or at least flexible.

The twist is that at some point we allow it to conume us and the very reason we got into this in the first place is long forgotten.  Clients dictate our schedule. We work all weekend and late at night, often at the expense of our families and social life.  Enough I say!  YOU teach people how to treat you.  You choose.  You decide.

My path in real estate is not typical in that I elected to go down a leadership path.  I have spent the past 15 years running, growing, building real estate companies, and mentoring agents.  Often times acting as the managing broker with hundreds of agents under my license at any given time.  That cuts into your freedom.  Typical bankers hours, 2 weeks vacay, no overtime as it usually salaried work and beholden to everyone all the time.  In my last role I found myself turning right instead of left to go the office, just looking for reasons not to be there.

Then I got Real.  I decided what was important, and discovered I could truely work from anywhere, at any time.  Talk about freedom. Make the money I need to make, be anywhere I want to be. Still make an impact on my team, family, and industry.  I’m in!  I’m not tied to geography, office hours, or a desk.  I roam where I want, when I want.  Of course I need my mobile device and an occasional wifi connection.  By hey, no problem in this day and age.  Like the quote above says, it just takes a little courage to see things differently…and a little more happiness to creep into your life.  Now conversations with my wife are about how many days we can spend on the road in our RV this summer and what trips we want to take with our kids.  It’s a new world people.  Reach for the sky!

The Future of Real Estate

The real estate industry has been buzzing about “The future of real estate.”  Actually it has been a slow build over the past decade and the crescendo may be near.  So what’s all the buzz about?  Well, let’s look back to the days when we decided to give the keys to the castle to Realtor.com.  The idea was brilliant.  An avenue of getting our listings in front of the masses via their online portal.  And after all they were “The Official Website of the National Association fo Realtors.”  What could go wrong?  Well for starters some of the leadership of Realtor.com went to jail for securities fraud.  Next came the Zillow’s and Trulia’s of the world.  But I digress.

The buzz lately has been more about how real estate sales are transacted and the business models of the companies offering brokerage services.  Historically there have been a few models real estate companies employed.

1.  The traditional model, where the broker is the focus and provides lots of tools, training, marketing, etc to the agents, who in return take a lower commission split.
2. Independent/100% model.  Agents take on more responsibility of running a business and receive a higher split. In return they pay  monthly or transactional fees to offset the overhead the broker takes on.
3. Interdependent.  In this case the agents and broker share the costs, and in many cases the agent has an opportunity to earn a higher split, up to 100%, once an annual CAP has been paid.  There are typically additional costs the agent pays for such as office space, admin or tech fees, etc.

Add in the so-called discount brokers who offer consumers a lower fee to list homes, or in some cases rebates, or companies where the agents are employees vs. independent contractors, and the playing field becomes convuluted.  All of these models have their place and attract great agents by the way.  But how does “The future” come into play?

What we are seeing now are established brokerages trying to reinvent themselves, hybrid models being developing, and tech companies launching innovative new models.  And that’s where I take umbrage with “The future.”  Most of these brokerages are simply re-packaging old models or adding “bolt on” technology to appear futuristic.  To that I say good luck.

Welcome to Real.  Launched in 2014, a team of real estate professionals, technologists and venture capitalists joined forces to spark this revolution by creating Real, a technology-powered, full-service brokerage.  Our mission is simple:  Always find ways to make agents lives better.  And we do that by building and owning the tech.

Our Difference?  Creating a brokerage powered by a digital platform that frees agents.  In the past, brokerages offered agents “value” by providing brand recognition, access to listings, a desk a fax machine, and paper marketing tools like business cards, letterhead, and yard signs, while measuring their success in agent sales.  Real uses technology to provide agents with the tools, marketing materials, contracts, platforms, technology, lead management, listings, and support they need through a fast, intuitive, technology-driven platform.  And the difference between Real and other tech-based brokerages is our platform is built with agents in mind, not the consumer.

Now, we offer a ton of value for the consumer.  We just do it through our agents, who are empowered to work from anyplace and never have to worry about sacrificing service or worry about the experience they create for their clients.  While Real’s technology grants our agents the ability work from anywhere, any time, our true difference lies in the way we treat our agents, and our redefinition of success.

By marrying industry leading technology, with an agent-centric approach that disposes of archaic industry standards, Real has become one of the fastest growing technology driven brokerage in the United States.  If you’d like to learn more about the Real platform, please visit us at joinreal.com or reach out to me directly.  I’d love to share our platform and answer any questions.

 

California Real Estate Market is on Fire!

The CA real estate market is on fire, however as seasonality kicks in more inventory will be coming and that means more competition and choices for home buyers. If you are thinking about selling your house, now may be the time.  Get a free price evaluation here:  Free Home Value Estimate

Where do people want to live?

What season of life are you in? It says a lot about where you might want to live!

 

The Real Deal…A look back at the 2017 San Diego real estate market.

2017 will be remembered as the year of shrinking inventory.  We finished the year with a 10 year low inventory level. There were just 2905 single family detached homes fro sale as of December 31, 2017. What will 2018 hold for the market? Great question, but for now here’s a recap video for you.  I’d love your thoughts and feedback.

2017 San Diego real estate recap 

Keeping it Real…

It. Just. Got. Real. Welcome to Real Broker! Specifically, welcome to Real Broker CA. So who is Real?

Your success is Real’s mission.

Real is a technology-powered brokerage for agents who believe innovation is the key to serving clients better & reaching goals faster. In essence, Real is YOU, powered by tech.

What makes Real different than other tech-based brokerages? I get asked that a lot! Simply, our vision and mission is to, “Always look for ways to make agents lives better”. In other words, unlike other brokers, we built the Real platform for our agents. They are our clients. While we deliver an awesome app for buyers and sellers to find homes, complete valuations, learn about neighborhoods and schools, our tech was built to help our agents deliver these services at the highest level possible.

Now here’s the twist. We also have a platform for independent brokers who may be looking for an exit strategy. Maybe you want to focus on selling and not managing your agents. Perhaps you want to give up the back office admin, compliance, and oversight. Oh, and just maybe you want the best tech platform for your agents. Well I present, “Powered by Real“.

Give your agents a better platform. High-powered tech. 24/7 support and E&O. Better commission splits. Or, if you want to grow your business, consider a branch office operation. Maintain your local branding and autonomy. Offload your agent support to Real. Let us help you recruit the best agents. Earn 100% commission AND overrides on your agents.

No matter what your current business set up is, Real is ready to help. We operate in 26 states, and are up and running throughout the CA market. If you would like more info, want to demo our tech, or just have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’d love the opportunity to share our platform and business model with you. Thanks…and keep it Real!

Jason Lopez
CA Broker of Record
Real Broker
CalBRE #01180851
619-248-6434
JoinReal.com

San Diego Real Estate Snapshot

Here we are in Q4 of 2017 and the holidays are upon us. Although with temperatures soaring, 90 degrees at the beach and over 100 inland, it feels more like summer in Palm Springs than fall in San Diego. So are real estate prices keeping pace with temps? Let’s take  a look.

As you can see the median price in San Diego is near the 5 year high, currently standing at $539,000. This data represent all property types, areas, and price points. There are a few other data points I like to track as they represent the actual activity that is happening. Whenever I’m asked, “How’s the market”, this is what I think about first, closed units.

Look at that “heart rate monitor” vibe! Over the past 5 years you can see the trend, right? Sales building up on the front end of the year and then sliding back in the second half. What jumps out to me is since 2015 the drop was slightly less then the prior year. In January of 2015 sales bottomed out at 2029. January 2016 was 2113, and January 2017 was 2199. We’ll see what happens this year, but don’t be surprised if the bottom is up a bit.

One of the major challenges facing San Diego, and really all of CA, is the low inventory levels. This has led to rising prices and more competition among buyers. In fact the recent CA Association of Realtors economic report showed that 60% of all sales had multiple offers. Here is the current Active Inventory level.

OK, as you can see it’s been a downhill roll the past 5 years. At the end of Sept. inventory stood at 6101, which represents a 1.9 month supply of inventory, making this a very strong sellers market. Typically our inventory is around 12-15 thousand homes. If you have been thinking of selling, we are at or near the top of the market. One question you might ask yourself is, “Where will I go if I sell and how much will it cost me?” Great question. Affordability in the market right now is in the still historically low interest rates, not prices. Meaning more than likely you will have a lower monthly payment which will save you money over the long run.

New listings coming to the market and the next slide, pending sales, or homes that go under contract are interesting. In Sept. there were 3899 new listings that came on the market. Remember there were 6101 total actives, so new listings made up over half of that! That means homes are selling fast, so as a buyer you must be ready to move when something that meets your needs comes on the market. A strong agent will know about these newest listings first and a really strong agent will know before they hit the market.

Pending sales stood at 3072 at the end of Sept. There were 3899 new listing that hit the market and over 3000 went under contract. Again, this demonstrates how fast things are moving. As a buyer it can be frustrating if you don’t have that great agent out there hunting down that perfect home. Sellers, be prepared to deal with multiple offers, and think about your purchase side as well. I’d be happy to assist or answer any questions, just reach out anytime.

I get asked about this all the time!

Maybe the most asked question I get is, “What are the crime stats in this area?”  That’s a tough one because perception is not always reality.  However, the San Diego Union tribune releases this handy interactive map that shows exactly what is happening and where.  Simply click here to access the map.

 

How would making $100,000 in 7 weeks make your life different?

I know.  I know.  Sounds to good to be true, right?  Well that’s the beauty of selling real estate in S. California.  It only takes a handful of transactions to make great money.  You probably think real estate agents make money hand over fist.  Some do.  But the average agent in California, regardless of experience, sells about 4 homes per year.  Think about that.  How would you feel if you only got paid 4 times each year?  Frustrated, anxious, nervous?  I’ve always said, “If you are only going to sell 4 homes per year, do it as fast as possible and take the rest of the year off”.

So back to my question.  If there was a way you could make $100,000 in 7 weeks, would that interest you?  I sure hope so!  Here’s the answer, it’s called BOLD.  What is BOLD?  Well it’s an intense 7 week course conducted by MAPS Coaching, the coaching company for Keller Williams.  BOLD delivers accountability, and mindset strategies that top agents use to close more transactions.

Here’s what the Maps BOLD website says, “Written by Dianna Kokoszka, BOLD teaches techniques that propelled Kokoszka’s million-dollar real estate career and secured her place as the industry’s “queen of systems and scripts.  BOLD conditions agents with powerful mindset exercises, language techniques, and lead generation activities. This trans-formative program increases sales through the relentless pursuit of leads and business-building activities. Discover the results BOLD will have on your life and career. Choose abundance for your life. Last year, BOLD graduates INCREASED their CLOSED TRANSACTIONS by 50% and INCREASED their INCOME by 114%.”

Let’s have some fun.  The average sales price in my office is right around $450,000.  Using a 3% commission rate that is $13,500 gross commission per closing.  On average agents write 14 contracts during BOLD.  That comes to $189,000 in written business during the 7 weeks of BOLD.  What if you did half that?  Would that be OK?  If so, and you are an agent in San Diego that would like to attend the FREE First Step to BOLD, please register here.  This is open to agents from any office without obligation.