San Diego Real EstatePodcast with Max Folkers Max Folkers

Our Bay Park office has many amenities, but none are better than the “man cave” that we’ve turned into a community event center. Here’s a better look at the space so you can see why it’s so incredible. Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access On my latest appearance on “The American Dream," I joined host Lili Fifield and Darlene De La Paz from Pazable Creations in our Bay Park office to talk a little bit about the area and to take a closer look at our own little secret place in our office.  From cornhole to ping pong to plenty of TVs, we’ve created our own little man cave here at RE/MAX Pacific. However, now we want to make it a center for the community.  We’ve already had private events in it and we’re actually leasing it out now for events. There’s a ton of space to hang out, play ping pong, and even play with your pets. See for yourself starting at 1:30 in the video above. “ We’d love for you to come and check out the space sometime. ” We’d love for you to come check out the space for yourself some time. If you’re in the area here in Bay Park, come take a little break and join us!  If you have any other questions for me in the meantime or any real estate needs that I can assist you with, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access San Diego is once again leading the nation, though not necessarily in a good way. Home sales are down 20% year over year. As a result, we have more inventory than last year; currently, there are 1,900 more homes on the market than we had at this time in 2018. This is a good thing for homebuyers, but if you’re a seller, you can expect the market to be a bit slower. Home prices are actually still up, having increased 2.5% over last year. As of January, the median home price was $542,000, which is down from last summer’s peak of $583,000. We expect those numbers to adjust with the seasons, so it remains to be seen how the spring and fall markets will play out this year. “ Keep in mind that real estate is always hyperlocal here in San Diego, and we’re subject to big swings. ” Keep in mind that real estate is always hyperlocal here in San Diego, and we’re subject to big swings. The higher-end homes in areas like Rancho, Santa Fe, and La Jolla are actually down 28% in terms of price. On the flip side, Oceanside is up 39% year over year. Here in Bay Park, we’re down about 8% from January of 2018. Mind you, those are very small sample sizes, and home prices can change dramatically, which is why we tend to look at San Diego County as a whole. I wouldn’t give too much credence to those figures. If you have any questions, you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, or would like to have a more in-depth discussion of market trends, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to be your real estate resource.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access With the end of the year well in sight, it’s time to reflect on some recent developments in our housing market. Though we’re more than halfway through November, the September market numbers have only just been released, and so we’ll be taking a look at those today. There’s always a little bit of a lag in when market statistics come out, but the figures we’ll discuss in this update still have a significant bearing on what’s happening now. First, the number of home sales has dropped by 17.5% year over year—constituting the lowest level we’ve seen in years. Since the peak of $583,000, median home prices have gone down as well, decreasing to $575,000. But fear not: The median home price is still up 4% year over year. Another notable change is the fact that homes are sitting on the market for longer than they have been in the recent past. There are 38% more active homes right now in San Diego County than there were in September of 2017. And with this uptick in inventory, 26.4% of available homes have undergone price reductions. “ The key to succeeding in today’s market, regardless of your real estate goals, is to partner with a professional agent who can guide you through current conditions. ” Why is all of this happening? One major contributing factor is the increase in interest rates, which are up 1% since last year. They’re now at the highest level they have been at the past seven years, and they're expected to continue going up. With that said, interest rates are still low from a historical perspective. If you’re thinking of buying or selling, realize that change equals opportunity. As we move away from what was a complete seller’s market, buyers now have a greater chance of success. The shift toward a more balanced market doesn’t mean sellers are without options, though. Sellers can still succeed—it just may not happen as quickly. And that’s okay. Longer wait times are actually a sign of a healthy market. Ultimately, the key to succeeding in today’s market, regardless of your real estate goals, is to partner with a professional agent who can guide you through current conditions. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access Bay Park is home and I have another great property!  I recently listed 3855 Baker Street and I'm excited to show you! Bay Park is one of the hottest neighborhoods in San Diego right now, and what’s unique about this property is it’s a part of the first wave of homes with intentionally built accessory dwelling units. We’re actually starting to see more and more multi-generational families take an interest in these types of properties because they either want to take advantage of the rental income or they want to keep their family close. “ The owners spared no expense in renovating everything. ” This property is listed at just under $1.3 million, and it features a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom main house, a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom attached granny flat, a detached two-car garage, and a rooftop deck with a view of the water. As you can see in the video above, the owners spared no expense in renovating everything. It has top-end appliances, an open floor plan, and plenty of space. This part of Bay Park doesn’t get a lot of traffic noise, and you’d be within walking distance of the nearest school. We’ve had some people already take an interest in this property, but so far we haven’t received any offers, so there’s still time for you to check it out. If you’d like to schedule a tour of this property for yourself or if you have any questions about it, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access I was recently a guest on the talk show, “The American Dream,” where I spoke to host Amy Scruggs about a few key issues affecting the San Diego real estate market. Today I want to fill you in on the discussion so that you can stay in the know. Midterm elections are coming up—let’s talk about property taxes. There’s something interesting coming up on the ballot called Prop 5. This proposition specifically deals with sellers over the age of 55. Many are familiar with Prop 13, which preserves people’s property tax bases at 1% of what they purchased the property for. Older clients might also be familiar with Props 60 and 90, which allow them to transfer their tax bases when they sell a house. For example, a client of mine bought their house on Scripps Ranch about 25 years ago. They’ve since retired and want to get back to the beach. The house they’re going to sell was purchased for $500,000—25 years later, they’ll probably be able to sell it for about $1 million. To get back to a single-family home on the beach, $1 million won’t cut it, so they’ve got a couple tough choices to make: They can either find something for less than $1 million and keep that $500,000 tax base, or they can find their dream home, say, for around $1.2 million. In that second scenario, their tax base is $1.2 million. As someone who is retired, possibly on a fixed incoime, that’s a huge hit. Pitched by the California Association of Realtors, the exciting thing about Prop 5 coming up in the November elections is that it will change the process of transferring your tax base. Instead of transferring your tax base once, as with Props 60 and 90, you’ll be able to transfer it several times and even to a property that’s more expensive than the one sold. “ Pitched by the California Association of Realtors, the exciting thing about Prop 5 coming up in the November elections is that it will change the process of transferring your tax base. ” There are some aspects to the calculations that will adjust it up a bit, but you won’t take nearly the hit you would have on a newly assessed property of $1.2 million. It’s a game-changer. This is great advice that can really help people know how to navigate the process and give them some hope and opportunity. It absolutely could do a lot for San Diego, where inventory is very low. If passed, Prop 5 should really open up a lot of inventory, since there are a lot of seniors sitting in their houses because they can’t afford to move. I am very grateful to have been a guest on “The American Dream,” and I’d like to thank Amy Scruggs for hosting the segment. If you have any questions regarding Prop 5 or property taxes in general, please feel free to reach out to us at the Max Folkers Real Estate Team. We’d be happy to help.

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access Our August weather is pretty hot, but is the real estate market beginning to cool down? Though we’re still seeing some strong numbers in terms of appreciation, we may soon reach the peak of our market. There are a couple of key indicators that this may be the case. First, there has been a significant drop in the number of homes sold recently. Second, there has been a fairly dramatic rise in inventory.  “ While early signs of a market cool down are appearing, no one can say what exactly the future may hold. ” Beyond these two conditions, the number of mortgage applications being submitted has dropped to a four-year low. Some of this may be due to rising interest rates and diminishing affordability, but it’s also possible that our market may be cooling soon. The bottom line is this: No one has a crystal ball, but we Realtors do like to keep a pulse on the market. So while early signs of a market cool down are appearing, no one can say what exactly the future may hold. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.