[Farls]

I think after all is said and done the “desirable” areas will get hit hard too. As an example, during the last downturn Magic Johnson sold his oceanfront house in Maui for a $200K loss…and it was not nearly the most expensive home on the street. He wasn’t desperate to sell…that’s all the market would bear at the time….

These areas won’t be filled with as many desperate sellers with 100% financing….or toxic ARM’s as an entry-level area…But, when market psychology and the herd mentality turn even more negative it will bring all prices down.

Just my two cents…

farls

[Farls]

CNN World News shown in Europe and Asia just showed a big segment on this complete with parts of the video…..mentioning Sam by name & everything….Good exposure for Sam…what a guy…..(joking)

SD Realtor…I saw your post (and video)about the initial investigation weeks ago as you mentioned. I would have thought there was more discussion about his fraudulent activities. I’m sure there’s quite a paper trail…including commission checks to him for all the deals being questioned… I’m shocked he was able to get all the documents done without a real buyer being present. Maybe his wife was the notary who processed everything?? How has he still been able to operate his business with all this evidence against him?

My guess is that Sam & wife will be long gone to Mexico soon since they posted bail and were released…

Farls

[Farls]

Ahhh..Powayseller you’re bringing back many memories of that lively thread…..I wonder how “Irrational Donna” feels about her downtown investment condo now and all her “instant equity”….

Farls

[Farls]

Due to the market continuing to go into the toilet maybe he’ll have to change his name to Bob CondoTiny.

[Farls]

I’m with Bugs on this one….Where does it say anything about the “cartel” setting house prices? The article is talking about commissions…..I have no problem with the way the system operates. Remember…as a seller you are free to negotiate your commission with any agent before the listing agreement is signed. If you don’t like the commission rate…find another agent who will work for “your price”. Buyers don’t pay the agent anything anyway…(Yes, you could say every buyer’s agent’s commission is built into the sales price). If the buyers want a rebate on the commission then make that arrangement before working with an agent.

Why do they constantly argue that Realtors are always getting 6% when even their own article mentioned that commissions on average were around 5.1% in 2003? The more agents and discount offices…the more pressure on commissions. (As the market slows…and non-productive agents are forced to quit…maybe this rate will actually start increasing).

You really should not blame an agent if people are willing to pay him/her price for their services. Good agents make top dollar because they can show their clients why they charge what they do….Again, no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head to force them to pay a full commission…If you don’t like it find a different agent.

It’s understandable for the large companies to protect their interests…Who can blame them. Problems arise when one party in a transaction is represented by a discounter..or maybe someone who just put the property in the MLS for a fee…The agent on the other side of the transaction (from the larger company) now has to do most of the work for the other party (in addition to his client) to get the deal to properly close escrow..

I don’t think there are too many companies that specifically tell their agents not to show properties from certain companies. It may be a cool thing to say while standing around the water cooler…But most agents are so desperate for a deal and a paycheck that they would not do this. (Especially with consumers doing so much homework themselves on the internet).

On the topic of the internet… Powayseller..the link above has another link to an article you referenced many months ago..The one I was talking the other day:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/10/real_estate/buyers_target_commissions/index.htm .

It talks about how 77% of buyers START THEIR SEARCH by looking at homes on the internet. You linked the same article a long time ago and from that time had been incorrectly saying that 80% of buyers FIND their home on the internet. (I’m not trying to fight with you…just straightening out this topic…I enjoy your posts).

Farls

[Farls]

Powayseller…Several times you have posted the summary from that previous article saying that 80% of buyers buy a home that THEY THEMSELVES FOUND on the internet. That is wrong…and it’s not what the article says. If you can still find a link to that article it says that 70+% of homebuyers SEARCH for homes on the internet. There’s a big difference between simply surfing for homes on the internet and actually finding the one specific home that they end up buying. I think you have twisted the article (not on purpose…but it’s been mentioned by you numerous times)to lessen the work that the Realtor does to match the buyers particular budget, wants and needs to that of the specific home they end up buying.

SDR…nice post…great info….

By the way…today I’m posting from Phuket, Thailand…what a beautiful day at the beach today…

[Farls]

Poppa,
I already knew you were an experienced agent….as I said so in my last post. I agree that if you’ve done that many deals you have to be good at it…..I think you’re a master at spinning the information in the direction that it helps you best…and helps your paycheck the best. As shown by you saying that prices are still increasing…just not as much now.

I was surprised how strong you came on pimping your own websites….and saying that prices have still been increasing.

So, when you were working with your buyers and sellers today were you telling them the same thing? Or were you telling your buyers that prices are increasing and they should buy fast…while telling your sellers that prices are declining and they need to price their homes aggressively? Did you tell them there’s no such thing as a housing bubble? Are you doing their loans too?

I don’t think a 3-hour ethics course at the Board of Realtors office automatically gives someone great ethics…You either have them or you don’t. I feel just fine with my ethics….

Why would you attack my web name? Sorry it’s not as creative as yours…

But, thanks for replying and happy fathers day tomorrow.

[Farls]

PoppaKoppa B.S.

The people who read these threads will not fall for your B.S….I know you’re an experienced Realtor….and I’ve spent a lot of time on this board defending Realtors and the profession as a whole. But you just made all my arguments go down the toilet. You sound like a snake-oil salesman with no ethics.

Have you really been telling your clients until now that the market is still appreciating?

How do you explain it when your listings sell for lower than a previous comp?

Take your weak advertising/lead generation attempts somewhere else.

PoppaKoppaSoundsLikeAnUnethicalCarSalesman.com

[Farls]

“Our very survival depends on it.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. You watch too much Fox News.

I just want to be saved from George Bush.

[Farls]

I hate politics…..

1. I think the #1 terrorist in the world in George Bush.

2. I think the “War on Terror” is a joke….and definitely not necessary…The Fox News daily “Terror Alert” makes me want to throw up…

3. I don’t support the Iraq invasion. I don’t support the troops. I’m sympathetic to their situation and I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes. In my opinion they are dying for nothing.

4. I think Duke Cunningham was just performing “Business as Usual”…and all votes are for sale in one way or another.

5. I don’t trust the U.S. government one bit….

6. How is it that George Bush was rich before becoming President even if he’d never really had a successful business? Ah…the Good-Ol-Boy network.

7. I think our military should be a bunch of computer nerds that can blow up a beer can from 1000 miles away. Fighting on the ground is ridiculous in this day and age. Who in their right mind would join the military anyway???

8. Diplomacy is better than war.

9. The money spent for the Iraq war would have been much better spent on education or not spent at all… What a total waste of money.

10. I’m an American living abroad and happy that I won’t be paying a cent towards this ridiculous war.

11. I think the dollar should be worth much less than it is….as the printing press is running overtime.

12. At some point…the government debt and personal debt for Americans will have to be paid. How do they expect to do this?

13. Where I live…college grads who speak english will work “call-center” or other similar jobs for $5-$10/day without benefits and be happy with it. So, U.S. jobs will continue to be exported…Can you blame the business owners?

14. People who love America so much should travel the world more and see what else is out there….

Farls

[Farls]

ok lostkitty…I promise no fighting……

Offices are closing because the number of sales are way down….something like 24 months in a row vs. the same month the previous year. So, the market has been slowing for 2 years and only now are the newspapers reporting it as a fact. (Because they were always sidetracked by the median price.) Therefore, income from the offices is also down. In this case…the company had nearby offices and could simply relocate the agents and reduce the overall company expenses.

Also, maybe it was time to either re-new their leases…or vacate?

Farls

[Farls]

Lostkitty,

You’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re bashing sdrealtor in response to my post. I have never met sdrealtor but I believe from his posts that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to listing and selling real estate. Maybe at the end of the year he’ll give a bonus post with all his sales figures…..

The better agents will thrive in a slowing market as there will be less competition…Inexperienced and unproductive agents will find few easy deals…and will quit the business. So, yes it’s possible for agents to have a great year even in a slowing market.

Also, just because the office closed….doesn’t means the ranks were thinned at all. The agents were merely transferred to another office. But it does signal a “tightening of the belt” by a local business in response to the slowing market.

Farls

[Farls]

Real Estate Office Closures

A friend of mine who works for McMillin says they recently closed offices in both Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo and moved those agents to their other offices in either Carmel Mountain Ranch or Scripps Ranch. Too much overhead…and not enough business….

Farls

[Farls]

I’m not sure if this has been discussed as I’ve been away from the board for awhile. McMillin had plans to build a high-rise condo complex somewhere downtown on land they already own…but have cancelled the entire plan due to bad market conditions. I’m sure the building plans, permits, etc…have been in the works for several years. They’re just going to wait and hold onto the land until the market gets better. That may be quite awhile…….Just another sign of the times….

Farls

[Farls]

Actually, I’m not at all interested in the way Bob does his business so there’s no need for me to contact him. I’m more interested to see how much business he actually does. Even though he may be a great guy with a solid business background I suspect he doesn’t sell very many homes. If you’re going to be promoting him so strongly I think you owe it to the people visiting the site to show if he actually sells homes…or just puts out good data. We had this discussion awhile back……..

Farls

P.S. Powayseller, I think you were right to sell your home when you did…and I feel the market is in for a big correction….I’m shocked at the journalists who continue to print articles saying prices are still increasing across the board…So, we do agree on these and many other areas of the market…

[Author]

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