San Diego Real Estate Podcast with Dale Downing Dale Downing

We’ve pinpointed the perfect day of the week for you to list your home for sale. Here’s what you need to know. Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes  Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report When is the best time of the week to list your home for sale?  Friday, Sunday or Wednesday? So, you are probably saying to yourself the weekend is when the buyers/sellers out there are using the sites to look at and for homes? The weekend is actually the slowest. The busiest days according to some of the “big boys” (HouseCallRealty, Zillow, Redfin) are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Thursday and Friday being the heaviest searched days of the entire week. Now, most of these sites will put the most recent to the market listings at the top of their searches over homes that have been on the market for many days. So, if you’re trying to get the most internet views—and, let’s face it, everybody is literally glued to their phones with instant access to everything—then Wednesday is the best day for your home to go “live” on the market. It may seem like a minor tip, but it can be the difference in selling your home in 7 days as opposed to 40 days. The more views, the better the chance of receiving a quality offer. So, if you’re interested in other real estate tips on how to get the most possible money for your home please contact me immediately and I will be glad to help you out. On a side note: If you are in need of a fantastic full-service plumber that does everything right like a great contractor should, contact Eastlake Plumbing here. **A broker is licensed to render real estate advice. If you desire tax, legal or lending advice, consult the appropriate professional. Videos and marketing by Broker are intended to help educate the public. Laws and real estate practices may change at any time. All information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and determined on a case-by-case basis. If your property is listed, please disregard it as it is not our intention to solicit. We cooperate fully with other brokers. Equal Housing Opportunity and a member of the National Association of Realtors.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, you need a professional, full-time agent by your side. Here’s why. Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes  Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report There are approximately 22,000 to 30,000 licensed agents in San Diego county alone depending on which publication you believe. With that said, 90% are part-time and 90% of the home sales are done by the top 10%. So, if you’re in the market to buy or sell why would you consider an agent who basically just passed a multiple-choice test, and not use a full-time professional realtor with hundreds of transactions under their belt? Because they’re your friends, cousins, or neighbors brother? Most agents do only three transactions a year. Let’s put it this way, would you go to a doctor or lawyer that practices part-time? Heck no. So why would you trust a part-time real estate agent on your largest financial investment you will ever make? Personally, I love dealing with these agents because I can manipulate and save my buyers or sellers thousands of dollars because these part-timers just want to get a check it’s not about what is best for their clients. So if you are a buyer or seller and you have been referred to an agent give me a call and I will let you know experience level, how many transactions they have done, everything you will need to know to make sure your largest investment is handled by a professional. By the way, this applies to lenders as well. **A broker is licensed to render real estate advice. If you desire tax, legal or lending advice, consult the appropriate professional. Videos and marketing by Broker are intended to help educate the public. Laws and real estate practices may change at any time. All information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and determined on a case-by-case basis. If your property is listed, please disregard it as it is not our intention to solicit. We cooperate fully with other brokers. Equal Housing Opportunity and a member of the National Association of Realtors.

Discount brokerages/shops are becoming more and more common these days, but today I’ve got an important message to share about their services. Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes  Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report As many of you may know, the real estate market is changing. For those of you who have thought about selling in the next few weeks, months, or the coming years, you’ve likely noticed the impact of these changes first-hand during your preliminary research. Discount brokerages/shops have been popping up all over the country and here in San Diego County. They promise dramatically decreased commissions and a quick sale. As someone who’s passionate about a great deal myself, I understand this completely. However, what these brokerages don’t tell you is that discounted fees will also mean discounted service and ultimately the price they get for your property. You may save a few thousand dollars in commission, but the diminished level of service/marketing/contacts/negotiating skills will potentially cost you tens of thousands because it’s not what they do. True professional Realtors fight to get you as much money for your home as possible. In the age of the internet, online services can serve as a convenient alternative to more traditional methods of securing goods or services. However, is the supposed convenience actually worth it when it means your bottom line will be drastically lower? Online and discount services like these are driving home prices and values down all over the country and San Diego County which is why certain communities around the country are going so far as to try to ban them. “ Are you really saving money with the discount shops and online brokerages? ” The bottom line is this: These services may initially sound like a good deal, but they’re actually very harmful to the industry and to your success as a seller. Traditional, full-time agents like me will have the knowledge, experience, and track record you need and deserve when it comes time to sell your home. When it comes to real estate, you get what you pay for. Don’t trust your success to a discount brokerage/shop that can only offer discounted results. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you soon. If you have any more questions about our market or you have any real estate needs at all, please reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you. **A broker is licensed to render real estate advice. If you desire tax, legal or lending advice, consult the appropriate professional. Videos and marketing by Broker are intended to help educate the public. Laws and real estate practices may change at anytime. All information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and determined on a case-by- case basis. If your property is listed, please disregard as it is not our intention to solicit. We cooperate fully with other brokers. Equal Housing Opportunity and member of the National Association of Realtors.

Home prices are increasing, but inventory is shrinking in our San Diego market. If you are a buyer, buy now—do not wait any longer. Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes  Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report Ok, so we’re halfway through 2018... so what’s happening in the market today? 1. New homes coming on the market are up about 4%, which is great for buyers but still lower than we would like. 2. Homes entering escrow are about the same—again, everything sells in San Diego. 3. Home prices have increased 6% - 8% depending on where you live in San Diego County, which is exactly what I said a year ago. And for you renters, if you were looking to buy a $500,000 house last year and decided to wait, you just lost $40,000 in equity.   “ Stop waiting to buy—there is not going to be any major crash. ” 4. Total homes for sale is down about 2%—inventory is continuing to shrink and the number of days a home is on the market is continuing to shrink as well. This is great for sellers, but tough on buyers, but if you have a good agent/broker who can package your offer correctly, you will get a house. 5. Most activity seems to be with the move-up sellers and buyers—lots of activity for smaller homes/condos/townhomes and less competition for more expensive property. So don’t waste any more time—move up. And you renters out there, stop missing out on $40,000 a year. Call me and I will help you. It’s what I do. If you have any more questions about our market or you have any real estate needs at all, please reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you. **A broker is licensed to render real estate advice. If you desire tax, legal or lending advice, consult the appropriate professional. Videos and marketing by Broker are intended to help educate the public. Laws and real estate practices may change at anytime. All information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and determined on a case-by- case basis. If your property is listed, please disregard as it is not our intention to solicit. We cooperate fully with other brokers. Equal Housing Opportunity and member of the National Association of Realtors.

Do you have private mortgage insurance? If so, here’s something very important that you should know. Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes  Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report I know a lot of you out there are paying for PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) which can be as much as $400 a month. Private Mortgage Insurance is a premium you are charged because when you purchased your home you didn’t have 20% of the purchase price to put as a down payment. This protects the lender in the event you (borrower) stops making payments. If you haven't noticed, housing prices have been on the rise for several years and many of you now have 20% equity -- And what a shock— your lender isn’t telling you this. “ You can save yourself $200 to $400 a month. ” You need to call me right away!! I will run comparables (comps) based on recent sales in your neighborhood and give you a good idea if you now have 20% equity which will potentially save you hundreds of dollars a month. If you do, contact your lender straightaway to have them run an official appraisal to validate your current equity and eliminate your PMI!! Start saving $$$$$$$$ today! If you’re curious about this or have questions about the value of your home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help! **A broker is licensed to render real estate advice. If you desire tax, legal or lending advice, consult the appropriate professional. Videos and marketing by Broker are intended to help educate the public. Laws and real estate practices may change at anytime. All information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and determined on a case-by- case basis. If your property is listed, please disregard as it is not our intention to solicit. We cooperate fully with other brokers. Equal Housing Opportunity and member of the National Association of Realtors.

. Want to sell your home? Get a home value report  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale Does this sound like you?   “I’m going to wait a year before I buy a home.”   “I’m saving up more money.”  The market is going to crash.”  This was said to me a ton in 2017. Now a year has passed, and that $500,000 home you were looking at last year is currently worth approximately $540,000.  Interest rates have also gone up, just like we all predicted.  What does this mean?  Your mortgage payment has gone up about $200 a month because interest rates are higher and the same house is now a year older and $40,000 more.   Most people cannot save fast enough to beat the market so you are losing money every month you wait – thousands of dollars a year. If 2018 mirrors 2017 which is supposed to happen, home prices and interest rates will go up, making it more expensive to buy a home.  My advice is simple: Don’t wait any longer. Buy a home now – it’s an investment in your future. Homeownership is great and building your wealth is fantastic, so jump in with both feet.  If you are thinking of selling and buying a new home because you are downsizing or upgrading, there are a few things you should know.  My clients often say, “I think I will wait for the market to go up a little more so I can put more money down on my next property.”  I totally understand this thought process. But, as your house increases in equity or value - guess what?   Your replacement home is also increasing in value and interest rates are rising so your purchasing power on your new home is decreasing – costing you money. Unless you plan on cashing your chips and moving completely out of state, it doesn’t matter when you sell and buy. If the market goes down, the value of your replacement property goes down; if the market goes up, the value of your replacement property goes up. So, if you are thinking about selling, do it now. Interest rates are still relatively low, but they are expected to go up even more. Sell your home now so that you can lock in a low interest rate for your replacement property.  **A broker is licensed to render real estate advice. If you desire tax, legal or lending advice, consult the appropriate professional. Videos and marketing by Broker are intended to help educate the public. Laws and real estate practices may change at anytime.  All information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and determined on a case-by- case basis. If your property is listed, please disregard as it is not our intention to solicit. We cooperate fully with other brokers. Equal Housing Opportunity and member of the National Association of Realtors.