People still buying at full price

[SD Realtor]

“is that an appropriate question? it doesn’t seem like the kind of question that you’re supposed to ask…”

Interesting point Drunkle… I guess it is one of those things that vary with the individual. As an anal engineer it is one that to me does seem appropriate. Your point is well taken though. When I buy a car I don’t ask the salesman what his cut is although if I hired a salesman to buy a car from another salesman then I might…

There are no hard and fast rules about it but to me it is common sense. Once upon a time I used my sister in law at Coldwell… I would do legwork and she would get full commissions. I guess as I have gotten older and crankier my expectations are higher but my reluctance to pose embarassing questions to people has gotten lower.

Amy – I understand your point. It is a matter of perspective from your angle right? From your p.o.v. the agent should have told you… However from her p.o.v. it is not any of your business. Why should you get a rebate if there is a 10k bonus? So are you saying that if the commission was 42k you should not get a rebate but if the commission is 52k you should? I guess that doesn’t make any sense to me. Note I am only playing a devils advocate role here. If you are expecting a rebate then my advice is to make sure ALL of the details are ironed out up front and ahead of time. What if the seller was only paying 2% instead of 3%. Or what if the seller offered only 2% but then offered a 1% bonus on top of it? You see what I am saying? Your expectations need to account for things like this. Just iron out the details with your realtor… Your agents broker may not even allow any rebates.

SD Realtor

[GunDoctor]

Thanks for the reply.
I understand the confidential remarks a bit more now.
I must say, ask. “what use are confidential remarks to buyers”?

I seems to me that the buyers are putting up all of the money. when people are keeping secrets / not informing you about issued dealing with YOUR money I smell a confict of interest. If there were no conflicts then there would be no need for confidential remarks, period. I see nothing wrong with stating these issue out for all to see. I don’t have a problem with my agent getting a 10k bonus. I would just like to know that tidbit so that I can weight that into my purchase decision. Could it be that the 10k is why he is pushing said name house over some other.

I will definately ask about remarks in the future when I buy.

On a side note. What are some of the more outlandish confidential remarks some of you in the business have observed? just curious.
gun

[GunDoctor]

Thanks for the reply.
I understand the confidential remarks a bit more now.
I must say, ask. “what use are confidential remarks to buyers”?

I seems to me that the buyers are putting up all of the money. when people are keeping secrets / not informing you about issued dealing with YOUR money I smell a confict of interest. If there were no conflicts then there would be no need for confidential remarks, period. I see nothing wrong with stating these issue out for all to see. I don’t have a problem with my agent getting a 10k bonus. I would just like to know that tidbit so that I can weight that into my purchase decision. Could it be that the 10k is why he is pushing said name house over some other.

I will definately ask about remarks in the future when I buy.

On a side note. What are some of the more outlandish confidential remarks some of you in the business have observed? just curious.
gun

[GunDoctor]

Thanks for the reply.
I understand the confidential remarks a bit more now.
I must say, ask. “what use are confidential remarks to buyers”?

I seems to me that the buyers are putting up all of the money. when people are keeping secrets / not informing you about issued dealing with YOUR money I smell a confict of interest. If there were no conflicts then there would be no need for confidential remarks, period. I see nothing wrong with stating these issue out for all to see. I don’t have a problem with my agent getting a 10k bonus. I would just like to know that tidbit so that I can weight that into my purchase decision. Could it be that the 10k is why he is pushing said name house over some other.

I will definately ask about remarks in the future when I buy.

On a side note. What are some of the more outlandish confidential remarks some of you in the business have observed? just curious.
gun

[GunDoctor]

Thanks for the reply.
I understand the confidential remarks a bit more now.
I must say, ask. “what use are confidential remarks to buyers”?

I seems to me that the buyers are putting up all of the money. when people are keeping secrets / not informing you about issued dealing with YOUR money I smell a confict of interest. If there were no conflicts then there would be no need for confidential remarks, period. I see nothing wrong with stating these issue out for all to see. I don’t have a problem with my agent getting a 10k bonus. I would just like to know that tidbit so that I can weight that into my purchase decision. Could it be that the 10k is why he is pushing said name house over some other.

I will definately ask about remarks in the future when I buy.

On a side note. What are some of the more outlandish confidential remarks some of you in the business have observed? just curious.
gun

[GunDoctor]

Thanks for the reply.
I understand the confidential remarks a bit more now.
I must say, ask. “what use are confidential remarks to buyers”?

I seems to me that the buyers are putting up all of the money. when people are keeping secrets / not informing you about issued dealing with YOUR money I smell a confict of interest. If there were no conflicts then there would be no need for confidential remarks, period. I see nothing wrong with stating these issue out for all to see. I don’t have a problem with my agent getting a 10k bonus. I would just like to know that tidbit so that I can weight that into my purchase decision. Could it be that the 10k is why he is pushing said name house over some other.

I will definately ask about remarks in the future when I buy.

On a side note. What are some of the more outlandish confidential remarks some of you in the business have observed? just curious.
gun

[recordsclerk]

Some of the confidential remarks are regarding alarm codes, entry codes and lock box combos, so some of this information should not get to the public for security reasons. I think the only thing wrong with larger commissions are if your agent tries to steer you into homes that offer them more money. They should show you the best home for your family based on information that you give them. The seller is the person that sets commissions, so it is a tactic that they use to sell their property. I guess they think that there are sleazy realtors out there that would guide unsuspecting clients to view their property based on commission. This may be true, but the ultimate decision to purchase a home is up to the buyer, so buyer beware.

[recordsclerk]

Some of the confidential remarks are regarding alarm codes, entry codes and lock box combos, so some of this information should not get to the public for security reasons. I think the only thing wrong with larger commissions are if your agent tries to steer you into homes that offer them more money. They should show you the best home for your family based on information that you give them. The seller is the person that sets commissions, so it is a tactic that they use to sell their property. I guess they think that there are sleazy realtors out there that would guide unsuspecting clients to view their property based on commission. This may be true, but the ultimate decision to purchase a home is up to the buyer, so buyer beware.

[recordsclerk]

Some of the confidential remarks are regarding alarm codes, entry codes and lock box combos, so some of this information should not get to the public for security reasons. I think the only thing wrong with larger commissions are if your agent tries to steer you into homes that offer them more money. They should show you the best home for your family based on information that you give them. The seller is the person that sets commissions, so it is a tactic that they use to sell their property. I guess they think that there are sleazy realtors out there that would guide unsuspecting clients to view their property based on commission. This may be true, but the ultimate decision to purchase a home is up to the buyer, so buyer beware.

[recordsclerk]

Some of the confidential remarks are regarding alarm codes, entry codes and lock box combos, so some of this information should not get to the public for security reasons. I think the only thing wrong with larger commissions are if your agent tries to steer you into homes that offer them more money. They should show you the best home for your family based on information that you give them. The seller is the person that sets commissions, so it is a tactic that they use to sell their property. I guess they think that there are sleazy realtors out there that would guide unsuspecting clients to view their property based on commission. This may be true, but the ultimate decision to purchase a home is up to the buyer, so buyer beware.

[recordsclerk]

Some of the confidential remarks are regarding alarm codes, entry codes and lock box combos, so some of this information should not get to the public for security reasons. I think the only thing wrong with larger commissions are if your agent tries to steer you into homes that offer them more money. They should show you the best home for your family based on information that you give them. The seller is the person that sets commissions, so it is a tactic that they use to sell their property. I guess they think that there are sleazy realtors out there that would guide unsuspecting clients to view their property based on commission. This may be true, but the ultimate decision to purchase a home is up to the buyer, so buyer beware.

[recordsclerk]

Some of the confidential remarks are regarding alarm codes, entry codes and lock box combos, so some of this information should not get to the public for security reasons. I think the only thing wrong with larger commissions are if your agent tries to steer you into homes that offer them more money. They should show you the best home for your family based on information that you give them. The seller is the person that sets commissions, so it is a tactic that they use to sell their property. I guess they think that there are sleazy realtors out there that would guide unsuspecting clients to view their property based on commission. This may be true, but the ultimate decision to purchase a home is up to the buyer, so buyer beware.

[Anonymous]

More on Carlsbad list prices:

Thanks for the info Amy, very helpful. Your post describes what my wife and I have been running into in this price range, especially within Carlsbad. We had to sell a couple years ago to move to NYC but are now back here due to work transfer. We have been actively looking the last 6 months, but have decided to sit it out for another year or two (at least).

Main reason is I think a fair amount of sellers are stuck trying to get back not only their large debt balances but also the massive upgrades they decided to add (in some cases). To answer your question, we’ve put in sub-list bids on a few homes but have seen a couple of them go into escrow at or near the list price. Both had asking prices well above what the buyer paid 1-2 years ago, so I looked into it a little further as I didn’t understand why (see below).

Some additional color for the blog, if anyone is interested. Hope some will find this helpful:

The Bay Collection (off Poinsettia just east of route 5) is a great example of what I mentioned above. Most of the sellers in there are currently asking considerably more than what they paid new just a couple years ago, arguably right at the peak of the market. Upon closer inspection, there are some pretty sizeable loan balances on these homes, especially the 2nd mortgages, which is pretty scary considering these homes were purchased very recently. The one home we really liked over there was owned by an investor who bought about 10 homes/commercial properties in the last 3 years and apparently now has 8 of them on the market (his realtor obviously didn’t need to disclose this, so my realtor helped us do the research). He was asking 300K more than what he paid and told us an offer near what he initially paid would be way too low, so we walked.

I didn’t show any addresses, but you can see the original (circa 2005) sales price, 1st and 2nd mortgage balances for the homes on the nicest circle in that tract. By the way, this is information that your realtor can and should provide (as many of you may already know)

Original Sale….Mortgage 1….Mortgage 2
——————————————-
1,650,000…1,000,000
1,100,000…..900,000….20,000
1,430,000…1,143,000
1,295,000…1,036,000…130,000
1,549,000…1,000,000…394,000
1,182,000…1,211,000
1,320,000…..680,000
1,199,000…1,220,000
1,407,000…..825,000…200,000
1,250,000…1,000,000…250,000
1,438,000…..986,000
1,000,000…..800,000…150,000
1,139,000…..838,000
1,656,000…1,324,000…165,000
1,191,000…..833,000
1,400,000…1,075,000…200,000
1,258,000…..710,000
1,390,000…..900,000
1,456,000…..975,000…375,000
1,900,000…1,000,000…400,000
1,240,000…1,105,000…240,000
1,265,000…1,000,000…250,000
1,245,000…..934,000
1,360,000…1,280,000…100,000
1,205,000…1,053,000
1,238,000…..980,000…250,000
1,234,000…..987,000…200,000
1,305,000…..700,000
1,435,000…1,000,000…291,000
1,250,000…1,000,000
1,412,000…..980,000
1,409,000…1,120,000
1,378,000…1,250,000
1,762,000…1,000,000…321,000
1,790,000…..870,000
1,351,000…1,201,000

Needless to say, this is fairly indicative of the situation in this price range across many parts of north and northeast county, especially some of the newer construction, at least based on the data I’ve examined. (there will be exceptions of course).

Also, it’s really worth looking at the difference between renting and buying right now. Be sure to factor in property taxes, HOAs, additional utility/maint bills, home depot weekend runs, opportunity cost of capital if the market sits flat-to-down, etc (as many have already pointed out on this site). In most neighborhoods, renting wins hands down, no question.

Sorry for the long post, just thought it might be helpful for anyone on the fence right now, as we were. I’m not an expert by any stretch, but would recommend that buyers do a deep dive on any home they are thinking of purchasing. Would also be great to hear about other folks’ experiences in north county and what they’ve seen in the last year or two.

[Anonymous]

More on Carlsbad list prices:

Thanks for the info Amy, very helpful. Your post describes what my wife and I have been running into in this price range, especially within Carlsbad. We had to sell a couple years ago to move to NYC but are now back here due to work transfer. We have been actively looking the last 6 months, but have decided to sit it out for another year or two (at least).

Main reason is I think a fair amount of sellers are stuck trying to get back not only their large debt balances but also the massive upgrades they decided to add (in some cases). To answer your question, we’ve put in sub-list bids on a few homes but have seen a couple of them go into escrow at or near the list price. Both had asking prices well above what the buyer paid 1-2 years ago, so I looked into it a little further as I didn’t understand why (see below).

Some additional color for the blog, if anyone is interested. Hope some will find this helpful:

The Bay Collection (off Poinsettia just east of route 5) is a great example of what I mentioned above. Most of the sellers in there are currently asking considerably more than what they paid new just a couple years ago, arguably right at the peak of the market. Upon closer inspection, there are some pretty sizeable loan balances on these homes, especially the 2nd mortgages, which is pretty scary considering these homes were purchased very recently. The one home we really liked over there was owned by an investor who bought about 10 homes/commercial properties in the last 3 years and apparently now has 8 of them on the market (his realtor obviously didn’t need to disclose this, so my realtor helped us do the research). He was asking 300K more than what he paid and told us an offer near what he initially paid would be way too low, so we walked.

I didn’t show any addresses, but you can see the original (circa 2005) sales price, 1st and 2nd mortgage balances for the homes on the nicest circle in that tract. By the way, this is information that your realtor can and should provide (as many of you may already know)

Original Sale….Mortgage 1….Mortgage 2
——————————————-
1,650,000…1,000,000
1,100,000…..900,000….20,000
1,430,000…1,143,000
1,295,000…1,036,000…130,000
1,549,000…1,000,000…394,000
1,182,000…1,211,000
1,320,000…..680,000
1,199,000…1,220,000
1,407,000…..825,000…200,000
1,250,000…1,000,000…250,000
1,438,000…..986,000
1,000,000…..800,000…150,000
1,139,000…..838,000
1,656,000…1,324,000…165,000
1,191,000…..833,000
1,400,000…1,075,000…200,000
1,258,000…..710,000
1,390,000…..900,000
1,456,000…..975,000…375,000
1,900,000…1,000,000…400,000
1,240,000…1,105,000…240,000
1,265,000…1,000,000…250,000
1,245,000…..934,000
1,360,000…1,280,000…100,000
1,205,000…1,053,000
1,238,000…..980,000…250,000
1,234,000…..987,000…200,000
1,305,000…..700,000
1,435,000…1,000,000…291,000
1,250,000…1,000,000
1,412,000…..980,000
1,409,000…1,120,000
1,378,000…1,250,000
1,762,000…1,000,000…321,000
1,790,000…..870,000
1,351,000…1,201,000

Needless to say, this is fairly indicative of the situation in this price range across many parts of north and northeast county, especially some of the newer construction, at least based on the data I’ve examined. (there will be exceptions of course).

Also, it’s really worth looking at the difference between renting and buying right now. Be sure to factor in property taxes, HOAs, additional utility/maint bills, home depot weekend runs, opportunity cost of capital if the market sits flat-to-down, etc (as many have already pointed out on this site). In most neighborhoods, renting wins hands down, no question.

Sorry for the long post, just thought it might be helpful for anyone on the fence right now, as we were. I’m not an expert by any stretch, but would recommend that buyers do a deep dive on any home they are thinking of purchasing. Would also be great to hear about other folks’ experiences in north county and what they’ve seen in the last year or two.

[Anonymous]

More on Carlsbad list prices:

Thanks for the info Amy, very helpful. Your post describes what my wife and I have been running into in this price range, especially within Carlsbad. We had to sell a couple years ago to move to NYC but are now back here due to work transfer. We have been actively looking the last 6 months, but have decided to sit it out for another year or two (at least).

Main reason is I think a fair amount of sellers are stuck trying to get back not only their large debt balances but also the massive upgrades they decided to add (in some cases). To answer your question, we’ve put in sub-list bids on a few homes but have seen a couple of them go into escrow at or near the list price. Both had asking prices well above what the buyer paid 1-2 years ago, so I looked into it a little further as I didn’t understand why (see below).

Some additional color for the blog, if anyone is interested. Hope some will find this helpful:

The Bay Collection (off Poinsettia just east of route 5) is a great example of what I mentioned above. Most of the sellers in there are currently asking considerably more than what they paid new just a couple years ago, arguably right at the peak of the market. Upon closer inspection, there are some pretty sizeable loan balances on these homes, especially the 2nd mortgages, which is pretty scary considering these homes were purchased very recently. The one home we really liked over there was owned by an investor who bought about 10 homes/commercial properties in the last 3 years and apparently now has 8 of them on the market (his realtor obviously didn’t need to disclose this, so my realtor helped us do the research). He was asking 300K more than what he paid and told us an offer near what he initially paid would be way too low, so we walked.

I didn’t show any addresses, but you can see the original (circa 2005) sales price, 1st and 2nd mortgage balances for the homes on the nicest circle in that tract. By the way, this is information that your realtor can and should provide (as many of you may already know)

Original Sale….Mortgage 1….Mortgage 2
——————————————-
1,650,000…1,000,000
1,100,000…..900,000….20,000
1,430,000…1,143,000
1,295,000…1,036,000…130,000
1,549,000…1,000,000…394,000
1,182,000…1,211,000
1,320,000…..680,000
1,199,000…1,220,000
1,407,000…..825,000…200,000
1,250,000…1,000,000…250,000
1,438,000…..986,000
1,000,000…..800,000…150,000
1,139,000…..838,000
1,656,000…1,324,000…165,000
1,191,000…..833,000
1,400,000…1,075,000…200,000
1,258,000…..710,000
1,390,000…..900,000
1,456,000…..975,000…375,000
1,900,000…1,000,000…400,000
1,240,000…1,105,000…240,000
1,265,000…1,000,000…250,000
1,245,000…..934,000
1,360,000…1,280,000…100,000
1,205,000…1,053,000
1,238,000…..980,000…250,000
1,234,000…..987,000…200,000
1,305,000…..700,000
1,435,000…1,000,000…291,000
1,250,000…1,000,000
1,412,000…..980,000
1,409,000…1,120,000
1,378,000…1,250,000
1,762,000…1,000,000…321,000
1,790,000…..870,000
1,351,000…1,201,000

Needless to say, this is fairly indicative of the situation in this price range across many parts of north and northeast county, especially some of the newer construction, at least based on the data I’ve examined. (there will be exceptions of course).

Also, it’s really worth looking at the difference between renting and buying right now. Be sure to factor in property taxes, HOAs, additional utility/maint bills, home depot weekend runs, opportunity cost of capital if the market sits flat-to-down, etc (as many have already pointed out on this site). In most neighborhoods, renting wins hands down, no question.

Sorry for the long post, just thought it might be helpful for anyone on the fence right now, as we were. I’m not an expert by any stretch, but would recommend that buyers do a deep dive on any home they are thinking of purchasing. Would also be great to hear about other folks’ experiences in north county and what they’ve seen in the last year or two.

[Author]

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