Our Current Market Wildly Contrasts From Q4 2018


Is the market giving us a head fake? Find out what I mean right here.

Is the market giving us a head fake? Before I can answer this question, I should first explain what I mean by ‘head fake.’

If you had talked to me in the late summer/early fall of 2018, I would have said that home prices are falling. In fact, we hit such a lull in the fourth quarter that I was very curious about how the 2019 market would play out. We had seen such a massive shift in not only the number of home sales, but also how long they were taking to sell. At the time, it didn’t look so hot.

But the good news is that in February, we started to see a little bit of a pickup. The inventory for great homes was very limited—yes, there were a lot of homes on the market, but many were overpriced and/or didn’t show well. Homes that were fairly priced and showed well were just flying off the market.

We see prices continuing to rise, and my team and I believe that homes will continue to appreciate through 2019 and maybe even through 2020.

Now, with interest rates being at a 14-month low and employment as strong as it is, we’re actually starting to see the market pick up steam. In fact, the last three homes that my team and I have sold, some of which had been listed with another agent, sold with multiple offers within a week. On top of that, those homes sold for more than what each of the prior homes sold for. This just wasn’t happening in the fourth quarter of last year.

So is our market going through a head fake? I think so. We see prices continuing to rise, and my team and I believe that homes will continue to appreciate through 2019 and maybe even through 2020.

If you’re a seller who tried to sell in the last quarter of 2018 but didn’t have a great experience, my team and I are experts at relisting, rebranding, and selling homes that were previously listed on the market and failed to sell. Reach out to us—we’d love the opportunity to help you succeed in the market this time around. Until then: Happy selling!
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA

Is It Better to Buy Now or Wait?


Should you buy now, or should you wait?

Homebuyers: Is now the time to buy, or are you better off waiting? This is a tough question, and the answer to it depends on the client.

In fact, every time we get in touch with a new buyer that we’ll potentially work with, we have a 30- to 40-minute face-to-face meeting in our office. This gives the buyer the opportunity to see if we’re the right fit for them as their agent, and gives us the opportunity to learn more about them: What are they looking for? What gets them excited about a house? What’s their price range? How will their life change if we find for them what they want?

During that time, we can really come to understand whether or not it’s the right time for that client to buy. If you’ve never been in contact with us, we can’t really give you the best advice to help answer this question. That said, I’ll do my best in a general sense.

The market is currently giving us a little bit of a head fake. Had you asked me what was going on in the market in August of last year, I would have said that prices are flattening out or falling in many areas, and that we’re starting to see signs of a shift toward a more normalized market where homes will still sell for fair prices, but we won’t see these massive 10% to 15% appreciation rates year over year.

If you know that you want to buy in the next one or two years, buying now will likely result in you getting the lowest monthly payment.

About a month ago, however, we noticed yet another shift. Buyers are starting to feel comfortable with the new market norms, and with interest rates being at a 14-month low and employment as strong as it is, we’re actually starting to see home prices rise. In fact, the last three homes that my team and I have sold actually sold for not just above asking price, but also more than the last home sold.

So, if you’re a buyer who is waiting for prices to fall or are concerned that the market is going to crash (causing you to hesitate on the market), you may find yourself waiting longer than you expected. It is my personal opinion that we’ll see the market consistently appreciate year over year in the Orange County/Los Angeles area for the next one to three years.

Ultimately, the questions for those who are considering waiting are: Do you want to buy a home? And, more importantly, can you afford to buy? How long can you wait before buying?

If you know that you want to buy in the next one or two years, buying now will likely result in you getting the lowest monthly payment. But again, every situation is examined on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, though, if you’re thinking about buying, it may be a good idea to do so sooner than later, or you risk paying more over time.

For those who are thinking of buying a home and would profit from a face-to-face conversation with my team and me, feel free to reach out to us. We can learn more about each other and better illuminate whether or not now is the right time for you to get out in the market.
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA

The Truth About Redfin and Limited-Service Brokerages?


When it comes to buying a home, should you use Redfin or us?

In the past, I’ve always discounted Redfin, thinking that they’re devaluing our industry and undercutting other agents. However, as I’ve learned more about their models and approaches, I’ve realized that they actually do fill a gap in the industry for a particular type of clientele. The difference between Redfin and Realtors like me is the type of clients we serve.

To illustrate, let’s look at a Redfin review that I found online. The person gave Redfin five stars, the highest rating they could possibly give them. But when you read the person’s review, you start to learn a little more about how the company operates:

“I think that Redfin is a great option for millennials and not such a great option for other generations. First of all, the millennial generation uses the internet heavily and we like to do things by ourselves. Redfin has a no hand-holding approach and mostly does all the paperwork for you. You can go on practically unlimited home searches and tour all these properties without feeling pressured. Why? Because Redfin has separate touring agents that handle the touring for you. Then you have your assigned agent who does the negotiations and paperwork. Your assigned agent, however, does not do any hand-holding, so be prepared to do a lot of research on buying a home—meaning you should be hyper-aware of what to look for when buying a home because no one will tell you.”

This review really shed some light on how Redfin operates; it’s a little like hiring a financial planner instead of using eTrade, or hiring a travel agent instead of going to Expedia, Travelocity, or Kayak.

If my clients can’t manage their extracurriculars on top of doing all the research necessary to buy or sell a home, then I would say that no, Redfin is probably not the right option for them.

Nowadays, these sites allow people to do things on their own, and if you’re savvy and do your research, you may be able to get a great deal out of it.

However, if you do that, you’ll be spending a lot of your own time trying to figure it all out. Many people who aren’t savvy with the internet may actually end up spending more or having it cost them more than if they would have hired a professional.

Whether you’re a buyer or seller, you need to ask yourself, “What am I looking for?” When I talk to my clients about Redfin, I often tell them that if they hire Redfin or a similar limited-service brokerage, they’ll have to be very hands-on, doing much of the work on their own. Alternatively, they can hire me and my team, paying us slightly more, but they can still live their lives without having to do all this extra work.

If my clients can’t manage their extracurriculars on top of doing all the research necessary to buy or sell a home (including taking care of the pre-listing preparations in the event they’re selling), then I would say that no, Redfin is probably not the right option for them.

If you have any questions about the buying or selling process or if you want to learn more about how we operate in comparison to a limited service brokerage, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Until that point: Happy selling!
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA
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