[urbanrealtor]

Lets assume some sort of intervention is the most politically viable option. Lets assume that because people who are really hurting tend to un-elect those who would make such decisions.

Lets assume some of the government intervention has to be implemented locally. Lets assume that part would be required since real estate markets have a large local component.

Considering that politics works on some of the same supply and demand logic as everything else, it is likely that an innovative politician will exploit this whether or not it is Aguirre.

A better question is what would be a less irritating or offensive relief measure look like?

Here’s my version:
Require any bank with loans on property in the city limits to cooperate with short sales (in a timely manner) if the situation met a certain set of criteria.

It would just mean a modest change to their SOP and would likely create minor changes in the inventory. What it would mean (that would be good) is that fewer agents would blacklist shortsales.
Maybe it would make competition more robust than it is now.

This is just an idea. I would appreciate feedback (including from those who disagree).

Does anybody have a better idea that Mr. Mike?

Not being rhetorical. Really. Does anybody have a more desirable version of intervention?

[urbanrealtor]

Lets assume some sort of intervention is the most politically viable option. Lets assume that because people who are really hurting tend to un-elect those who would make such decisions.

Lets assume some of the government intervention has to be implemented locally. Lets assume that part would be required since real estate markets have a large local component.

Considering that politics works on some of the same supply and demand logic as everything else, it is likely that an innovative politician will exploit this whether or not it is Aguirre.

A better question is what would be a less irritating or offensive relief measure look like?

Here’s my version:
Require any bank with loans on property in the city limits to cooperate with short sales (in a timely manner) if the situation met a certain set of criteria.

It would just mean a modest change to their SOP and would likely create minor changes in the inventory. What it would mean (that would be good) is that fewer agents would blacklist shortsales.
Maybe it would make competition more robust than it is now.

This is just an idea. I would appreciate feedback (including from those who disagree).

Does anybody have a better idea that Mr. Mike?

Not being rhetorical. Really. Does anybody have a more desirable version of intervention?

[urbanrealtor]

I recently closed my first REDC auction and I will share my experience. If you already know all this, just skip past but it might be useful to some. Its not all that exciting but you really might find it helpful.

This includes:
inadequate inspection periods
unfair contracts
unfairly manipulated bidding process
incompetent escrow process

Before the auction:
They have several open houses. By several I mean 3 to 10 days of being held open and hosted by agents. The auctioneer calls this the “inspection period”. This is the only time you have a chance to inspect for defects or problems. Additionally, they put a boilerplate of the purchase agreement on their website during this time.

The contract:
The contract is the most simple contract I have ever seen in my career. It essentially says that upon success at the auction, the buyer must immediately submit a deposit. That deposit is held with the escrow like a normal escrow. The deposit is not refundable for almost any reason. It also states that the buyer cannot inspect or visit the property during the escrow.

During the auction:
First my editori
I have to admit that I have never been to an auction other than the pbs or charity style silent auction. Sorry if that seems a bit elitist. I grew up in the wine country. Also, yes, my wife drives a Prius (the shame). The auction sounds like and has the feel of a cattle auction like when I was very young in Wisconsin. Often they are held in an auditorium.

There are hundreds of folding chairs in rows. At the front of the auditorium there is a stage. On that stage are 2 or 3 screens. These show the property that is being auctioned at that moment as well as any special notations about it (eg: plumbing has been removed, no financing available).

There are 2 podiums on that stage. One has the announcer. He announces the item as it becomes available. The other is for the auctioneer. He does that cartoonish numerical chanting.

To win an auction, one must raise his number sheet to show that he agrees to the price being stated by the auctioneer. For example if the auctioneer says “One hundred. One ten” he is saying “I am bid $100,000. Is someone willing to go to $110,000?” The person willing to go to $110,000 will raise his sheet. Generally the increments are 5, 10, 25. If the auctioneer adds an increment and nobody goes for it, he goes to the next lower increment. So, if he was bid 100k and nobody raised their sheet for 110k, the auctioneer would then say “$105k?”.

In addition to the auctioneer are several people wearing tuxedos who point out and flag people who raise their number sheets. Their job is to continually look enthusiastic or clown around and keep the energy level high. I do not know what the real term for them is but I refer to them as “fluffers” (which is a bit vulgar) or “touts” (which is the term I will use here). They clap a lot and continually yell things like “sell it” and other such nonsense as they walk up and down the aisles. As people raise their sheets a tout will come around and yell “hup” or blow a whistle or something.

Many properties (though certainly not all or even most) will have no minimum bid (or an absurdly low minimum). When the bidding starts on these, the auctioneer will start at $1000 (or something similar). He will then immediately go to $25k or $50K. The touts will yell and signal that someone has met the number until the bids are in the $100k range. The weird part here is that they will point towards the back as if someone back there is running up the bid price. When I noticed on a couple of these, that I could not see who was bidding, I positioned myself in the front for the next one, looking back on the crowd and behind the touts. So far as I can tell they never actually had bidders for those lower numbers. They just faked it and bid up the price themselves. I am not absolutely sure of this but that sure is what it looked like.

Winning the auction:
The auctioneers have “escorts” (“thugs” was taken) take you to an onsite escrow desk. At that escrow desk, an escrow representative takes your deposit and has you sign escrow instructions. You have 5 minutes or so to read the 3 pages you are signing. You are charged an additional 5% beyond the winning bid. That surcharge is the fee to the auctioneer.

After the auction:
The escrow process went fine until it was time to close. The escrow erred in the following ways:
They called the client on a Saturday a week and half prior to close and announced they had closing docs for her that day. She called me in a panic. Nice. They had apparently misread the date.
They wrote up a closing statement with multiple inaccurate charges (all of which were overcharges). Seriously, stuff like 2 recording fees for one deed.
They reproduced the closing docs in a size and format that the recorder could not accept.
They realized after signing that they had not gotten the HOA docs. This meant they could not close. I had to track down individual board members and have them fill out forms.
They realized 4 days after signing that they had not ever gotten a signed grant deed back from the seller.

While I did try to warn her, I doubt that the buyer will every work with me again. I really don’t blame her. It was a nightmare.

[urbanrealtor]

I recently closed my first REDC auction and I will share my experience. If you already know all this, just skip past but it might be useful to some. Its not all that exciting but you really might find it helpful.

This includes:
inadequate inspection periods
unfair contracts
unfairly manipulated bidding process
incompetent escrow process

Before the auction:
They have several open houses. By several I mean 3 to 10 days of being held open and hosted by agents. The auctioneer calls this the “inspection period”. This is the only time you have a chance to inspect for defects or problems. Additionally, they put a boilerplate of the purchase agreement on their website during this time.

The contract:
The contract is the most simple contract I have ever seen in my career. It essentially says that upon success at the auction, the buyer must immediately submit a deposit. That deposit is held with the escrow like a normal escrow. The deposit is not refundable for almost any reason. It also states that the buyer cannot inspect or visit the property during the escrow.

During the auction:
First my editori
I have to admit that I have never been to an auction other than the pbs or charity style silent auction. Sorry if that seems a bit elitist. I grew up in the wine country. Also, yes, my wife drives a Prius (the shame). The auction sounds like and has the feel of a cattle auction like when I was very young in Wisconsin. Often they are held in an auditorium.

There are hundreds of folding chairs in rows. At the front of the auditorium there is a stage. On that stage are 2 or 3 screens. These show the property that is being auctioned at that moment as well as any special notations about it (eg: plumbing has been removed, no financing available).

There are 2 podiums on that stage. One has the announcer. He announces the item as it becomes available. The other is for the auctioneer. He does that cartoonish numerical chanting.

To win an auction, one must raise his number sheet to show that he agrees to the price being stated by the auctioneer. For example if the auctioneer says “One hundred. One ten” he is saying “I am bid $100,000. Is someone willing to go to $110,000?” The person willing to go to $110,000 will raise his sheet. Generally the increments are 5, 10, 25. If the auctioneer adds an increment and nobody goes for it, he goes to the next lower increment. So, if he was bid 100k and nobody raised their sheet for 110k, the auctioneer would then say “$105k?”.

In addition to the auctioneer are several people wearing tuxedos who point out and flag people who raise their number sheets. Their job is to continually look enthusiastic or clown around and keep the energy level high. I do not know what the real term for them is but I refer to them as “fluffers” (which is a bit vulgar) or “touts” (which is the term I will use here). They clap a lot and continually yell things like “sell it” and other such nonsense as they walk up and down the aisles. As people raise their sheets a tout will come around and yell “hup” or blow a whistle or something.

Many properties (though certainly not all or even most) will have no minimum bid (or an absurdly low minimum). When the bidding starts on these, the auctioneer will start at $1000 (or something similar). He will then immediately go to $25k or $50K. The touts will yell and signal that someone has met the number until the bids are in the $100k range. The weird part here is that they will point towards the back as if someone back there is running up the bid price. When I noticed on a couple of these, that I could not see who was bidding, I positioned myself in the front for the next one, looking back on the crowd and behind the touts. So far as I can tell they never actually had bidders for those lower numbers. They just faked it and bid up the price themselves. I am not absolutely sure of this but that sure is what it looked like.

Winning the auction:
The auctioneers have “escorts” (“thugs” was taken) take you to an onsite escrow desk. At that escrow desk, an escrow representative takes your deposit and has you sign escrow instructions. You have 5 minutes or so to read the 3 pages you are signing. You are charged an additional 5% beyond the winning bid. That surcharge is the fee to the auctioneer.

After the auction:
The escrow process went fine until it was time to close. The escrow erred in the following ways:
They called the client on a Saturday a week and half prior to close and announced they had closing docs for her that day. She called me in a panic. Nice. They had apparently misread the date.
They wrote up a closing statement with multiple inaccurate charges (all of which were overcharges). Seriously, stuff like 2 recording fees for one deed.
They reproduced the closing docs in a size and format that the recorder could not accept.
They realized after signing that they had not gotten the HOA docs. This meant they could not close. I had to track down individual board members and have them fill out forms.
They realized 4 days after signing that they had not ever gotten a signed grant deed back from the seller.

While I did try to warn her, I doubt that the buyer will every work with me again. I really don’t blame her. It was a nightmare.

[urbanrealtor]

I recently closed my first REDC auction and I will share my experience. If you already know all this, just skip past but it might be useful to some. Its not all that exciting but you really might find it helpful.

This includes:
inadequate inspection periods
unfair contracts
unfairly manipulated bidding process
incompetent escrow process

Before the auction:
They have several open houses. By several I mean 3 to 10 days of being held open and hosted by agents. The auctioneer calls this the “inspection period”. This is the only time you have a chance to inspect for defects or problems. Additionally, they put a boilerplate of the purchase agreement on their website during this time.

The contract:
The contract is the most simple contract I have ever seen in my career. It essentially says that upon success at the auction, the buyer must immediately submit a deposit. That deposit is held with the escrow like a normal escrow. The deposit is not refundable for almost any reason. It also states that the buyer cannot inspect or visit the property during the escrow.

During the auction:
First my editori
I have to admit that I have never been to an auction other than the pbs or charity style silent auction. Sorry if that seems a bit elitist. I grew up in the wine country. Also, yes, my wife drives a Prius (the shame). The auction sounds like and has the feel of a cattle auction like when I was very young in Wisconsin. Often they are held in an auditorium.

There are hundreds of folding chairs in rows. At the front of the auditorium there is a stage. On that stage are 2 or 3 screens. These show the property that is being auctioned at that moment as well as any special notations about it (eg: plumbing has been removed, no financing available).

There are 2 podiums on that stage. One has the announcer. He announces the item as it becomes available. The other is for the auctioneer. He does that cartoonish numerical chanting.

To win an auction, one must raise his number sheet to show that he agrees to the price being stated by the auctioneer. For example if the auctioneer says “One hundred. One ten” he is saying “I am bid $100,000. Is someone willing to go to $110,000?” The person willing to go to $110,000 will raise his sheet. Generally the increments are 5, 10, 25. If the auctioneer adds an increment and nobody goes for it, he goes to the next lower increment. So, if he was bid 100k and nobody raised their sheet for 110k, the auctioneer would then say “$105k?”.

In addition to the auctioneer are several people wearing tuxedos who point out and flag people who raise their number sheets. Their job is to continually look enthusiastic or clown around and keep the energy level high. I do not know what the real term for them is but I refer to them as “fluffers” (which is a bit vulgar) or “touts” (which is the term I will use here). They clap a lot and continually yell things like “sell it” and other such nonsense as they walk up and down the aisles. As people raise their sheets a tout will come around and yell “hup” or blow a whistle or something.

Many properties (though certainly not all or even most) will have no minimum bid (or an absurdly low minimum). When the bidding starts on these, the auctioneer will start at $1000 (or something similar). He will then immediately go to $25k or $50K. The touts will yell and signal that someone has met the number until the bids are in the $100k range. The weird part here is that they will point towards the back as if someone back there is running up the bid price. When I noticed on a couple of these, that I could not see who was bidding, I positioned myself in the front for the next one, looking back on the crowd and behind the touts. So far as I can tell they never actually had bidders for those lower numbers. They just faked it and bid up the price themselves. I am not absolutely sure of this but that sure is what it looked like.

Winning the auction:
The auctioneers have “escorts” (“thugs” was taken) take you to an onsite escrow desk. At that escrow desk, an escrow representative takes your deposit and has you sign escrow instructions. You have 5 minutes or so to read the 3 pages you are signing. You are charged an additional 5% beyond the winning bid. That surcharge is the fee to the auctioneer.

After the auction:
The escrow process went fine until it was time to close. The escrow erred in the following ways:
They called the client on a Saturday a week and half prior to close and announced they had closing docs for her that day. She called me in a panic. Nice. They had apparently misread the date.
They wrote up a closing statement with multiple inaccurate charges (all of which were overcharges). Seriously, stuff like 2 recording fees for one deed.
They reproduced the closing docs in a size and format that the recorder could not accept.
They realized after signing that they had not gotten the HOA docs. This meant they could not close. I had to track down individual board members and have them fill out forms.
They realized 4 days after signing that they had not ever gotten a signed grant deed back from the seller.

While I did try to warn her, I doubt that the buyer will every work with me again. I really don’t blame her. It was a nightmare.

[urbanrealtor]

I recently closed my first REDC auction and I will share my experience. If you already know all this, just skip past but it might be useful to some. Its not all that exciting but you really might find it helpful.

This includes:
inadequate inspection periods
unfair contracts
unfairly manipulated bidding process
incompetent escrow process

Before the auction:
They have several open houses. By several I mean 3 to 10 days of being held open and hosted by agents. The auctioneer calls this the “inspection period”. This is the only time you have a chance to inspect for defects or problems. Additionally, they put a boilerplate of the purchase agreement on their website during this time.

The contract:
The contract is the most simple contract I have ever seen in my career. It essentially says that upon success at the auction, the buyer must immediately submit a deposit. That deposit is held with the escrow like a normal escrow. The deposit is not refundable for almost any reason. It also states that the buyer cannot inspect or visit the property during the escrow.

During the auction:
First my editori
I have to admit that I have never been to an auction other than the pbs or charity style silent auction. Sorry if that seems a bit elitist. I grew up in the wine country. Also, yes, my wife drives a Prius (the shame). The auction sounds like and has the feel of a cattle auction like when I was very young in Wisconsin. Often they are held in an auditorium.

There are hundreds of folding chairs in rows. At the front of the auditorium there is a stage. On that stage are 2 or 3 screens. These show the property that is being auctioned at that moment as well as any special notations about it (eg: plumbing has been removed, no financing available).

There are 2 podiums on that stage. One has the announcer. He announces the item as it becomes available. The other is for the auctioneer. He does that cartoonish numerical chanting.

To win an auction, one must raise his number sheet to show that he agrees to the price being stated by the auctioneer. For example if the auctioneer says “One hundred. One ten” he is saying “I am bid $100,000. Is someone willing to go to $110,000?” The person willing to go to $110,000 will raise his sheet. Generally the increments are 5, 10, 25. If the auctioneer adds an increment and nobody goes for it, he goes to the next lower increment. So, if he was bid 100k and nobody raised their sheet for 110k, the auctioneer would then say “$105k?”.

In addition to the auctioneer are several people wearing tuxedos who point out and flag people who raise their number sheets. Their job is to continually look enthusiastic or clown around and keep the energy level high. I do not know what the real term for them is but I refer to them as “fluffers” (which is a bit vulgar) or “touts” (which is the term I will use here). They clap a lot and continually yell things like “sell it” and other such nonsense as they walk up and down the aisles. As people raise their sheets a tout will come around and yell “hup” or blow a whistle or something.

Many properties (though certainly not all or even most) will have no minimum bid (or an absurdly low minimum). When the bidding starts on these, the auctioneer will start at $1000 (or something similar). He will then immediately go to $25k or $50K. The touts will yell and signal that someone has met the number until the bids are in the $100k range. The weird part here is that they will point towards the back as if someone back there is running up the bid price. When I noticed on a couple of these, that I could not see who was bidding, I positioned myself in the front for the next one, looking back on the crowd and behind the touts. So far as I can tell they never actually had bidders for those lower numbers. They just faked it and bid up the price themselves. I am not absolutely sure of this but that sure is what it looked like.

Winning the auction:
The auctioneers have “escorts” (“thugs” was taken) take you to an onsite escrow desk. At that escrow desk, an escrow representative takes your deposit and has you sign escrow instructions. You have 5 minutes or so to read the 3 pages you are signing. You are charged an additional 5% beyond the winning bid. That surcharge is the fee to the auctioneer.

After the auction:
The escrow process went fine until it was time to close. The escrow erred in the following ways:
They called the client on a Saturday a week and half prior to close and announced they had closing docs for her that day. She called me in a panic. Nice. They had apparently misread the date.
They wrote up a closing statement with multiple inaccurate charges (all of which were overcharges). Seriously, stuff like 2 recording fees for one deed.
They reproduced the closing docs in a size and format that the recorder could not accept.
They realized after signing that they had not gotten the HOA docs. This meant they could not close. I had to track down individual board members and have them fill out forms.
They realized 4 days after signing that they had not ever gotten a signed grant deed back from the seller.

While I did try to warn her, I doubt that the buyer will every work with me again. I really don’t blame her. It was a nightmare.

[urbanrealtor]

I recently closed my first REDC auction and I will share my experience. If you already know all this, just skip past but it might be useful to some. Its not all that exciting but you really might find it helpful.

This includes:
inadequate inspection periods
unfair contracts
unfairly manipulated bidding process
incompetent escrow process

Before the auction:
They have several open houses. By several I mean 3 to 10 days of being held open and hosted by agents. The auctioneer calls this the “inspection period”. This is the only time you have a chance to inspect for defects or problems. Additionally, they put a boilerplate of the purchase agreement on their website during this time.

The contract:
The contract is the most simple contract I have ever seen in my career. It essentially says that upon success at the auction, the buyer must immediately submit a deposit. That deposit is held with the escrow like a normal escrow. The deposit is not refundable for almost any reason. It also states that the buyer cannot inspect or visit the property during the escrow.

During the auction:
First my editori
I have to admit that I have never been to an auction other than the pbs or charity style silent auction. Sorry if that seems a bit elitist. I grew up in the wine country. Also, yes, my wife drives a Prius (the shame). The auction sounds like and has the feel of a cattle auction like when I was very young in Wisconsin. Often they are held in an auditorium.

There are hundreds of folding chairs in rows. At the front of the auditorium there is a stage. On that stage are 2 or 3 screens. These show the property that is being auctioned at that moment as well as any special notations about it (eg: plumbing has been removed, no financing available).

There are 2 podiums on that stage. One has the announcer. He announces the item as it becomes available. The other is for the auctioneer. He does that cartoonish numerical chanting.

To win an auction, one must raise his number sheet to show that he agrees to the price being stated by the auctioneer. For example if the auctioneer says “One hundred. One ten” he is saying “I am bid $100,000. Is someone willing to go to $110,000?” The person willing to go to $110,000 will raise his sheet. Generally the increments are 5, 10, 25. If the auctioneer adds an increment and nobody goes for it, he goes to the next lower increment. So, if he was bid 100k and nobody raised their sheet for 110k, the auctioneer would then say “$105k?”.

In addition to the auctioneer are several people wearing tuxedos who point out and flag people who raise their number sheets. Their job is to continually look enthusiastic or clown around and keep the energy level high. I do not know what the real term for them is but I refer to them as “fluffers” (which is a bit vulgar) or “touts” (which is the term I will use here). They clap a lot and continually yell things like “sell it” and other such nonsense as they walk up and down the aisles. As people raise their sheets a tout will come around and yell “hup” or blow a whistle or something.

Many properties (though certainly not all or even most) will have no minimum bid (or an absurdly low minimum). When the bidding starts on these, the auctioneer will start at $1000 (or something similar). He will then immediately go to $25k or $50K. The touts will yell and signal that someone has met the number until the bids are in the $100k range. The weird part here is that they will point towards the back as if someone back there is running up the bid price. When I noticed on a couple of these, that I could not see who was bidding, I positioned myself in the front for the next one, looking back on the crowd and behind the touts. So far as I can tell they never actually had bidders for those lower numbers. They just faked it and bid up the price themselves. I am not absolutely sure of this but that sure is what it looked like.

Winning the auction:
The auctioneers have “escorts” (“thugs” was taken) take you to an onsite escrow desk. At that escrow desk, an escrow representative takes your deposit and has you sign escrow instructions. You have 5 minutes or so to read the 3 pages you are signing. You are charged an additional 5% beyond the winning bid. That surcharge is the fee to the auctioneer.

After the auction:
The escrow process went fine until it was time to close. The escrow erred in the following ways:
They called the client on a Saturday a week and half prior to close and announced they had closing docs for her that day. She called me in a panic. Nice. They had apparently misread the date.
They wrote up a closing statement with multiple inaccurate charges (all of which were overcharges). Seriously, stuff like 2 recording fees for one deed.
They reproduced the closing docs in a size and format that the recorder could not accept.
They realized after signing that they had not gotten the HOA docs. This meant they could not close. I had to track down individual board members and have them fill out forms.
They realized 4 days after signing that they had not ever gotten a signed grant deed back from the seller.

While I did try to warn her, I doubt that the buyer will every work with me again. I really don’t blame her. It was a nightmare.

[urbanrealtor]

Other agents please give me your feel on this also.

I see the wider drop as somewhat misleading.
Here is why. Housing movements do not homogenize easily.
If that average were to come true I think it would mean coming down 70% in El Cajon conversions and 3% in PB coastal.

Here is what I am seeing anecdotally.
Please sound off if you are seeing something else.
What I am seeing in the central San Diego areas is prices actively finding the bottom constantly.
The current range seems to be in the 300 for 2bedrooms department. That seems to be a number I am hearing repeated by all-cash buyers.

When doing my foreclosure tours (yes thats me) financial distress seminars, I find lots of attendees holding onto huge wads of cash and asking where to put it.

I have counseled one such buyer through 8 rejected offers in Little Italy. Thats because in each case the prices brought in buyers from out of area or out of country or just built enought enthusiasm with the price point.

At my suggestion, one of the agents in my office lowered the price of her listing next to the Ralph’s in Hillcrest to $300k. This was back in January. She had 9 full-price offers within a week.
Of course they all died because the bank drug its feet on a short sale.

What are you all seeing?

[urbanrealtor]

Other agents please give me your feel on this also.

I see the wider drop as somewhat misleading.
Here is why. Housing movements do not homogenize easily.
If that average were to come true I think it would mean coming down 70% in El Cajon conversions and 3% in PB coastal.

Here is what I am seeing anecdotally.
Please sound off if you are seeing something else.
What I am seeing in the central San Diego areas is prices actively finding the bottom constantly.
The current range seems to be in the 300 for 2bedrooms department. That seems to be a number I am hearing repeated by all-cash buyers.

When doing my foreclosure tours (yes thats me) financial distress seminars, I find lots of attendees holding onto huge wads of cash and asking where to put it.

I have counseled one such buyer through 8 rejected offers in Little Italy. Thats because in each case the prices brought in buyers from out of area or out of country or just built enought enthusiasm with the price point.

At my suggestion, one of the agents in my office lowered the price of her listing next to the Ralph’s in Hillcrest to $300k. This was back in January. She had 9 full-price offers within a week.
Of course they all died because the bank drug its feet on a short sale.

What are you all seeing?

[urbanrealtor]

Other agents please give me your feel on this also.

I see the wider drop as somewhat misleading.
Here is why. Housing movements do not homogenize easily.
If that average were to come true I think it would mean coming down 70% in El Cajon conversions and 3% in PB coastal.

Here is what I am seeing anecdotally.
Please sound off if you are seeing something else.
What I am seeing in the central San Diego areas is prices actively finding the bottom constantly.
The current range seems to be in the 300 for 2bedrooms department. That seems to be a number I am hearing repeated by all-cash buyers.

When doing my foreclosure tours (yes thats me) financial distress seminars, I find lots of attendees holding onto huge wads of cash and asking where to put it.

I have counseled one such buyer through 8 rejected offers in Little Italy. Thats because in each case the prices brought in buyers from out of area or out of country or just built enought enthusiasm with the price point.

At my suggestion, one of the agents in my office lowered the price of her listing next to the Ralph’s in Hillcrest to $300k. This was back in January. She had 9 full-price offers within a week.
Of course they all died because the bank drug its feet on a short sale.

What are you all seeing?

[urbanrealtor]

Other agents please give me your feel on this also.

I see the wider drop as somewhat misleading.
Here is why. Housing movements do not homogenize easily.
If that average were to come true I think it would mean coming down 70% in El Cajon conversions and 3% in PB coastal.

Here is what I am seeing anecdotally.
Please sound off if you are seeing something else.
What I am seeing in the central San Diego areas is prices actively finding the bottom constantly.
The current range seems to be in the 300 for 2bedrooms department. That seems to be a number I am hearing repeated by all-cash buyers.

When doing my foreclosure tours (yes thats me) financial distress seminars, I find lots of attendees holding onto huge wads of cash and asking where to put it.

I have counseled one such buyer through 8 rejected offers in Little Italy. Thats because in each case the prices brought in buyers from out of area or out of country or just built enought enthusiasm with the price point.

At my suggestion, one of the agents in my office lowered the price of her listing next to the Ralph’s in Hillcrest to $300k. This was back in January. She had 9 full-price offers within a week.
Of course they all died because the bank drug its feet on a short sale.

What are you all seeing?

[urbanrealtor]

Other agents please give me your feel on this also.

I see the wider drop as somewhat misleading.
Here is why. Housing movements do not homogenize easily.
If that average were to come true I think it would mean coming down 70% in El Cajon conversions and 3% in PB coastal.

Here is what I am seeing anecdotally.
Please sound off if you are seeing something else.
What I am seeing in the central San Diego areas is prices actively finding the bottom constantly.
The current range seems to be in the 300 for 2bedrooms department. That seems to be a number I am hearing repeated by all-cash buyers.

When doing my foreclosure tours (yes thats me) financial distress seminars, I find lots of attendees holding onto huge wads of cash and asking where to put it.

I have counseled one such buyer through 8 rejected offers in Little Italy. Thats because in each case the prices brought in buyers from out of area or out of country or just built enought enthusiasm with the price point.

At my suggestion, one of the agents in my office lowered the price of her listing next to the Ralph’s in Hillcrest to $300k. This was back in January. She had 9 full-price offers within a week.
Of course they all died because the bank drug its feet on a short sale.

What are you all seeing?

[urbanrealtor]

I grew up in Kaiser. My dad was a department chief there. That was in the bay area.
I spent a lot of time listening to complaints growing up from my peers and their parents.

So far as I can tell, the biggest issue is that they are a big company and work out of big office buildings and therefore are not as personal. You have to get a referral. They don’t recommend holistic or alternative treatments. I once listed to a roommate explain to me how Kaiser had killed his father by taking him off a macrobiotic diet. Now I am of the opinion that eating organic sprout sandwiches was unlikely to cure his colon cancer but his frustration was that he did not feel listened to.

Thats a legitimate gripe (though I am not sure how it can be safely addressed).

However, I am willing to (as I suspect most consumers are) forgo seeing my specific physician in favor of seeing someone today or right away.

What are other gripes people have?
I am curious to hear.

[urbanrealtor]

I grew up in Kaiser. My dad was a department chief there. That was in the bay area.
I spent a lot of time listening to complaints growing up from my peers and their parents.

So far as I can tell, the biggest issue is that they are a big company and work out of big office buildings and therefore are not as personal. You have to get a referral. They don’t recommend holistic or alternative treatments. I once listed to a roommate explain to me how Kaiser had killed his father by taking him off a macrobiotic diet. Now I am of the opinion that eating organic sprout sandwiches was unlikely to cure his colon cancer but his frustration was that he did not feel listened to.

Thats a legitimate gripe (though I am not sure how it can be safely addressed).

However, I am willing to (as I suspect most consumers are) forgo seeing my specific physician in favor of seeing someone today or right away.

What are other gripes people have?
I am curious to hear.

[urbanrealtor]

I grew up in Kaiser. My dad was a department chief there. That was in the bay area.
I spent a lot of time listening to complaints growing up from my peers and their parents.

So far as I can tell, the biggest issue is that they are a big company and work out of big office buildings and therefore are not as personal. You have to get a referral. They don’t recommend holistic or alternative treatments. I once listed to a roommate explain to me how Kaiser had killed his father by taking him off a macrobiotic diet. Now I am of the opinion that eating organic sprout sandwiches was unlikely to cure his colon cancer but his frustration was that he did not feel listened to.

Thats a legitimate gripe (though I am not sure how it can be safely addressed).

However, I am willing to (as I suspect most consumers are) forgo seeing my specific physician in favor of seeing someone today or right away.

What are other gripes people have?
I am curious to hear.

[Author]

Posts