The Benefits of Working With a Buyer's Agent

Even in a hot market like ours, it's important to have representation by your side when buying a home. Here are the major benefits of working with a buyer's agent.

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When you're buying a home, it's extremely beneficial to hire a buyer's agent and stick with them.

In our market with limited inventory, we see a lot of buyers thinking they can go directly to a home's listing agent and that the agent will cut their commission, giving them a price benefit. In reality, though, the listing agent has a contract with the home seller for the total amount of commission of the sale. They offer a portion of it to the person that brings a buyer. Whether that person is themselves, somebody on their team, or a third-party agent, they will get paid that same amount.

Wouldn't you want somebody representing you and your interests in the negotiation?

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Let an agent take care of coordinating all those showings you want to go on.

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That listing agent has known the seller at least as long as it took to get the home on the market, if not longer, whereas they've only known you for 15 minutes or so. Who do you think is going to win in that negotiation?

Another benefit to having a buyer's agent is that they can coordinate all the different showings. When you want to look at five or six houses, you don't have to try and schedule around open houses and availability. Let your agent take care of those things.

Additionally, buyer's agents have access to 'coming soon' properties that haven't even been listed yet. For example, I have a list of 12 of these properties currently that I share with my clients. They're not my listings, but I know about them because I network with all the other agents in the area. If you want that inside track, you need to find somebody who does their homework to benefit you.

Another great example of the benefits of having a buyer's agent is the marketing. One of the agents in our office has a client looking specifically in the Escala complex in Mission Valley where there's just nothing on the market. Our agent is putting together a letter about that buyer and mailing it to the entire complex to find out who is thinking about selling their house to see if we can put together a deal.

If you're looking to buy a home, we'd love to represent you, but we want you to at least reach out to a couple buyer's agents to find the best fit for you. Just give me a call or send me an email soon. I look forward to hearing from you!

Your Holiday Real Estate Market Wrap Up

Happy holidays! Today I’m here with your final market update for 2016, as well as my market predictions for the new year.

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Looking to buy a San Diego home? Click here for full MLS access

Happy Holidays! I’m here with your year-end market wrap up. I’ll also give you a sneak peak into the 2017 real estate market.

The final numbers for 2016 are coming in. San Diego’s median price point hit $507,000, which is the first time we have broken $500,000 since November of 2005.

As a result, there have been some concerns about the market topping out again. However, we still have not matched the most recent market peak of $517,000. Historically, each peak in the real estate market exceeds the previous peak, so we technically have a bit of a run up to go.

Still, home sellers hold all of the cards right now thanks to incredibly low inventory. Year over year, low inventory has driven our market trends. I expect that to be the case in 2017. So far, this year has mapped out almost exactly like 2015, and I predict 2017 will be more of the same.

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I predict 2017 will be more of the same.

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More inventory will hit the market mid-January, and there should be a big rush through spring. The market will slow down again next fall.

What’s interesting is that we are still seeing a lot of market activity this holiday season. Why? For years, there has been talk about how interest rates need to go up. Well, it’s finally happening. Rates went up a half point over the last few weeks, and with the Fed raising their rates, there is some concern about inflation. As rates jump up, housing affordability goes down.

That’s it for our 2016 real estate market wrap up. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

Get Into the Spirit of Sharing This Thanksgiving

Today I’ll go over a quick market update about how the election has impacted interest rates. I’d also like to invite you to a special event we’re having on December 7th!

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

Today I’m here with your Thanksgiving market update. I’d also like to invite you to a special event we’re holding on December 7th!

Whether or not you are thankful for the outcome of this election, Wall Street has been a big fan of a Trump presidency. The stock market has increased, the bond market decreased, and, as a result, mortgage interest rates are starting to rise. Over the last week, we’ve seen a half-point bump, and interest rates now hover in the neighborhood of 4%. 

Interest rates should continue to rise, so if you’ve been thinking about buying a home, it’s important to keep that in mind. Every 1% increase in interest rates means a 10% loss in home affordability for buyers. The good news for buyers is that fall is typically one of the best times to get a deal, as sellers are highly motivated at this time of the year.

Now, on December 7th, we will give back to the community. This year, we are supporting an organization called Spirit of Sharing, which helps military families here in Southern California. During the holidays, many of these families struggle, so we are hosting a food and toy drive here at the office from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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We’ll see you on December 7th!

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There will be some special guests at our event. Santa Claus will stop by from 4:30 to 6 p.m., so bring the family down to take some photos. Branden Oliver, the San Diego Chargers running back, will also make an appearance. Spirit of Sharing is near and dear to his heart, so he is glad to be here and support our efforts to help this organization.

So, stop by our office on Wednesday, December 7th from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Most of our special guests will be here between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and we will also have snacks, drinks, music, and Christmas videos. Come have a great time and support a great cause.

Finally, I want to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for continuing to support us; we really appreciate it. I would also like to thank my team — it’s been great working with you all this year — and my family, who always support me in my endeavors.

Have a great Thanksgiving! If you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Otherwise, we’ll see you on December 7th. I look forward to seeing you all!