Sell Today in San Diego for Top Dollar

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

10 Reasons to List Your Home During the Holidays

Don’t miss out on the real estate opportunities during the holidays! It’s a great time to sell in San Diego. While it snows in other parts of the country, buyers want to relocate to a warmer year-round climate, such as what we experience here in Southern California.

We have a secret to share with you. This year, we’re expected to sell about 3,600 homes in the area. By the month of October, we sold 2,450 homes. We expect November to pick up into December. That means 5,000 homes will sell by the end of the year. Can you believe that?

**Homes look the best during the holidays.v They’re decorated and festive. They emit compassion. You can attract buyers with the way you decorate your property, inside and out.

Buyers now are serious and motivated. This time of year, no one window shops. If someone browses and pursues listings between now and New Year’s, they have an important reason to move. They’ll likely need to close by the end of the year, too. That’s why you need to reach out to these buyers! Make your home stand out. If they’re in a hurry, they’ll be willing to pay top dollar.

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, reach out to me! Happy holidays, everyone

The 90-Day Scale Cycle in San Diego

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We often notice many real estate agents take the fourth quarter off. They think it’s not a busy time anyway, so they're not missing out on business. However, at KW Carmel Valley, we roll through this time of year. We have some of the best business all year during this time!

Last month, our agents sold over 120 million dollars worth of property. That tells us transactions are happening and there for the taking! You have to keep working to get them.

Here’s a tip to keep in mind. Many agents start planning out the new year as if it started on January 1st. They forget we’re in a 90-day sale cycle. That means January 1st is actually October 1st! (However, we move a little quicker in southern California, so it would actually be November 1st.) Regardless, it’s too late to start on January 1st. You should have a plan at the beginning of each sale cycle.

Be prepared all year long! If you haven’t started your business plan yet, now is the time. Get a head start. Don’t fall behind, and avoid the frustration while you still can.

Give me a call or email today. Let’s talk about your business plans! I’m happy to help.

What’s the Key to Becoming a Real Estate Mogul?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Today I want to talk a little about agent expansion. Here at Keller Williams, it’s becoming part of our language, and it’s the next level of opportunity for our top agents.

We all know how an agent’s team is set up. At the top, you’ve got the rainmaker. As they grow their business, they hire an executive assistant and the remainder of their administrative team who manage all the non dollar-producing activities.

Once they continue to grow their team to about 40-60 transactions per year, they hire that lead buyer’s agent. Then, when they are ready to go to the 6th level, they hire that lead listing specialist. At this point, the agent is running a business where they are able to buy and sell a lot without having to go on a ton of appointments while creating leverage.

At some point, they will hit a ceiling in their market, where it will cost them more to do business in that market than it would net them in a return. That’s where agent expansion comes in. Gary Keller has taught us that agents can take their brand and franchise it into other business locations around the country. The key to doing that lies in slightly reorganizing your team structure.

This is how the expansion agent sets up their team. It’s like a tripod. On one leg, they bring leveraged lead generation in-house so all those leads are being generated and converted on the team level. The administrative leg of the team still does all the contract to close work. Then, the sales leg represents the traditional team, the agents on the ground.

The beauty of this system is that you can run your business from any market and expand to any market. Matt Fetick just opened an expansion team in London, for example. Expansion takes the lid off of what we know is possible for agents. So, if the millionaire real estate agent toolkit was the key to a million dollars in net income as an agent, this is the key to a $100 million net income.

I’d love to talk more about agent expansion if you are interested. Give me a call or send me an email to set up a time.

What Do Worsening Real Estate Conditions Mean for You?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

October is in full swing here in San Diego, and it's starting to get a bit chillier outside. Does this mean it's the slow season for real estate? If history is any indication, we're probably going to see the number of home buyers decrease.

The other day, I was reading a great article that mentioned that August signaled the end of the home buying season here in California. We're seeing more listings sit on the market for a longer time and sell for a bit less money. Historically, it's nothing to be concerned about this time of year. However, when taking a look at the amount of inventory with new construction and the national and international economic uncertainty, it's starting to look like the market is making more than just a seasonal shift.

I was talking to Gary Keller recently and he said to look out for a surprise in the market over the next 6-8 months. This brings me to the next thing I want to remind you about: The Shift Book. Gary wrote it back in 2007-2008, and it really taught our agents how to thrive when the market changes. We can't know for certain whether the market is going to change next year, but we do know that the market will change eventually.

To get a bit more information about The Shift Book, click here! Pick yourself up a copy if you want to learn how to stay on top even when the market shifts!

Join the BOLD Training Program

RSVP Here!

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Today, I'd like to offer you a unique opportunity to attend a training class with us here at Keller Williams.

This is a national program called BOLD, which stands for Business Objective a Life by Design. Nationally, there have been over 59,000 students in the BOLD program.

The program itself lasts seven weeks, and in those seven weeks, those 59,000 agents averaged 14 transactions per agent. That's two transactions a week per agent!

Now, in Southern California there is more competition and prices are higher. However, agents who participated in the BOLD program got 6.3 transactions over the course of seven weeks. If the average commission is $15,000, that's over $100,000 commission income in seven weeks! That definitely improves your business.

If you are interested, RSVP here! As always, if you have any questions for me, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How Is Technology Changing Real Estate?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

For those of you who don’t know, Inman is a company that specializes in real estate technology and media. I recently attended a bi-annual conference with Inman where the brightest minds in real estate technology meet twice a year to talk about trends that could disrupt the way we do business.

There are two things that I took away from this conference. The first is that leaders in technology and venture capitalists are out for your money. They are looking to dismantle the real estate transaction, commoditize the agent, and profit from it.

The second thing was really an “a-ha” moment for me. The reason all of these search websites (like Zillow and Trulia) are able to dominate the search market is because they are not required to play by the same kind of rules and aren’t held to the same high standards as us. Some of these companies’ business models hinge on them breaking rules we are forced to abide by. You have the same opportunity that Zillow does online, you just have to work at getting yourself in front of the consumer.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Can You Expect from the San Diego Market Moving Forward?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Every year, we watch for several things: how many new listings are hitting the market, how many are going into escrow or pending, and how many are closing escrow and actually selling. All of this leads us to the simple supply and demand economics of our local real estate market.

If you're an agent and you're working in the market, you know we're currently down on inventory. In fact, on the detached housing market, we're down to only 2.8 months of inventory. This means if we didn't list any new homes in the next 3 months, we would sell off everything we have available and run out of inventory. Historically, anything under 3 months of inventory is considered an extreme seller's market, meaning a seller can name their price, within reason, and that buyers are going to have a tough time getting into homes because of multiple offer situations.

These conditions are very dependent on the price point. Anything below about $600k-$750k is selling incredibly fast. These homes are selling quickly and for top dollar when priced reasonably. On the other hand, when homeowners price their home 10% over the most recent sale, we know they have eliminated 90% of the buying market. This is a valuable tip to remember when selling if you want to make the most of the process!

All in all, the market is looking strong. Days on market are coming down and we've sold about 14% more inventory this year than the same time last year, and prices are on the rise. As we move to the end of summer and get ready to enter an election year, you can expect things to get interesting!

If you have any questions or need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to assist you in any way possible.

What Is Our Lead Follow Up System Like?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Most experienced agents that I consult with are already great at generating leads. They have marketing programs, open houses, and more leads than they know what to do with. Therefore, the biggest opportunity in most of their businesses is often in lead conversion. 

So, today I want to share my simple, yet effective, lead conversion program.

Our process consists of using two accordion folders, one with 31 tabs for the days of the month, and another with 12 tabs for the months of the year.

When I am on the phone and set up a follow-up appointment, let’s say a week in advance, I go to my accordion folder and count out 7 days. Then, I cut that in half as a personal practice. I drop the lead sheet in there. That way when it comes time for me to reach out again, I can pull out that lead sheet and know who to call and what to talk about. It’s a simple, yet effective system that will ensure you never miss a lead again.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Key to Getting Offers Accepted

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Today, I want to share what we teach our agents to get their offers accepted in a competitive market.

We utilize a great tool called an escalation clause. Most agents go back and forth with the sellers before making the highest offer the buyer can stomach, only to find out later that the buyer would have paid higher once they lose out on the home. The escalation clause ensures that this never happens.


When you write an offer, you need to write a short clause that says something to the effect of, "Buyer is willing to pay $1,000 more than the highest verified sales price." Feel free to contact me at JTaylor@kw.com or 858-255-1652 for the exact verbiage that we use. 
 
This is a great tool, but it's crucial you have a conversation with the listing agent so that they understand what it means. In essence, it doesn't matter how many offers they get or how high they're willing to go because your buyer is willing to offer $1,000 more! You also need to have a conversation with your buyer to find out what they're willing to do.

If you have any questions about this strategy, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always here to help you out!  

What's Going on in the San Diego Marketplace?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Are you curious about what market conditions are like in San Diego County? If so, stick around for a quick market update.

Year-over-year we've seen massive improvement in the market. Once again, we're seeing multiple offers, sellers naming their prices, and buyers gladly paying what's asked. At this time last year, we were sitting at 3.3 months of unsold inventory; right now, we're at only 2.6 months! 


The market is so hot right now that the average home is selling in only 34 days! When I'm talking to buyers or sellers, I act with urgency. After all, if there's one thing we know about this market, it's that these wonderful conditions won't last long. You'll be doing your buyers a huge favor by getting them to act quickly.

Do you have questions about how you can best service your clients in this competitive market? Give me a call or shoot me an email at any time for the real estate assistance you deserve. I would love to help you grow your business this summer!

Jerimiah and Jim on The Mary Goulet Show #4

Jerimiah and Jim on The Mary Goulet Show #3

Jerimiah and Jim on The Mary Goulet Show #2

Jerimiah and Jim on The Mary Goulet Show #1

Is Your Failure to Delegate Costing You Money?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

If you would like to see the five things that you should be doing as an agent, click here. 

Today, I want to discuss the importance of delegating responsibilities in your business.

As real estate agents, it can be hard to delegate the workload to others because we feel we are the best at what we do. At Keller Williams, we know that there are 196 things you need to do in each and every transaction, but only 5 of them get you paid! Obviously, this means delegating is the best way for you to focus in on the dollar-producing activities!

Most agents hand something off to their assistant and circle back to them later to see if it got done. If the task didn't get done, rather than equipping that person with skills to get it finished, most agents will try to finish the task themselves. These agents then task-switch and find something else for the assistant to do. The problem with this process, or lack of process, is its massive inefficiency.

It's your job to be more passionate about not taking the work back and empowering your assistant to get the job done! The goal is to let that person fail forward long enough to accomplish the task and get it to completion. While this can sometimes result in minor problems or bumps in the road, allowing them to experience the ups and downs of the job without interference will help them improve. The better your assistant is at getting these tasks done, the more time you have to do what you do best!

If you would like to see the five things that you should be doing as an agent, click here. If you have any questions, I'm always available via phone or email. I would love to hear from you soon!

How Can You Make San Diego Real Estate Work for You?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

Email me today for your FREE copy of Gary Keller's The Millionaire Real Estate Investor.

Today, I want to offer some quick tips on investing in real estate.

As real estate brokers, we often fail to realize that we see the best opportunities in the San Diego market before everyone else has a chance to take advantage of them. Those who do realize it wonder if they have the time, money, and experience to make an investment pay off.

The truth is, a profitable investment in real estate is at your fingertips! To help you realize the goal of successful real estate investing, I want to offer you a free copy of Gary Keller's The Millionaire Real Estate Investor. In it you'll find all you need to know about making the right investments at the right time. Click this link to receive your free copy, where you'll learn the art of flipping homes, buying homes and selling them for profits, buying homes and holding them for rent, and investing in notes.

There are so many opportunities in The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and I look forward to sharing them with you!

How to Strategize for a Busy Spring Market

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? 
 Email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation.

 

As agents, we know it's imperative to study the market so we can keep our clients aware, build a great business, and generally be aware of shifts in the market.

We've seen 2.7% more listings come to the market year-to-date. In that same time period, we've had 13% more homes that have gone pending. Since we've seen so much activity this early on in the year, we have 16% fewer homes on the market than at the same time last year. That's right - inventory is incredibly low, at only 2.5 months. 

Sales price to list price is an indicator of what the seller can expect. Recently, we saw the list-to-sales price drop to 96.1%, but that trend is reversing. In other words, we're heading back into an appreciating market where multiple offer situations will be more common. 

As an agent, my number one goal is to get the listing. I'm not going to fight the seller on the price as hard as I would 30 days ago because we're in a market where, although it might take a little longer, I will be able to get the price that they desire. Coming into the summer selling season, he who has the largest listing inventory is going to win big!

Keep an eye out for future videos, where I will discuss how you can increase your listing inventory! Thanks for tuning in, and I look forward to hearing from you soon! 

Why Is Choosing the Right Vendors so Important?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? If you're a current sales professional looking to control your own income and success in a new industry, or you're an existing real estate agent who needs more help to reach your goals, email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation. I'll share with you what a sales career at Keller Williams looks like, as well as the great income you will earn helping San Diego homeowners sell and buy homes in our greater San Diego County area.

 Hello, and welcome back! Today, I want to touch briefly on the topic of vendor relationships.

As real estate agents, we understand that we're just one piece of the puzzle in a real estate transaction. There are escrow, title, mortgage, and transaction coordinators, as well as home inspectors, lenders, and insurance folks. Bottom line: there are A LOT of people involved in a real estate transaction. We encourage you to make sure you're in business with the best vendors because the referrals you make will impact what people think of your team!

From a business perspective, you need to analyze the relationships you have with your vendors. Money cannot be exchanged between myself and my lender directly, but referrals can. It's a huge leverage point that can lead to increased business, so it's in your interest to work with the best loan officer, who has the best programs, and treats customers with the respect that you do. For sending this loan officer clients, you want to make sure they help you prospect, promote and sell your brand, and are generally an advocate for your team.

On my team, we make sure everyone we work with provides us at least one closed piece of business a year. If you want to take a look at a comprehensive packet we provide to our vendors, you can contact me for the packet by clicking here.

If you have any questions about vendor relationships, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to help you continue to grow your business!

It Only Takes 8 Words to Revive a Lead

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? If you're a current sales professional looking to control your own income and success in a new industry, or you're an existing real estate agent who needs more help to reach your goals, email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation. I'll share with you what a sales career at Keller Williams looks like, as well as the great income you will earn helping San Diego homeowners sell and buy homes in our greater San Diego County area.

 We're all familiar with dead leads, but what if I told you there is a way to revive them? 

The thing is, we often make the mistake of deciding on behalf of the consumer that they are or aren't a buyer, seller, or investor. In other words, we label them as uninterested in being our client. 

My advice for you today is to stay curious. It's as simple as sending an eight-word email, phone call, or text to ALL the prospects you labeled "dead" leads. I personally would send all the three, but do whatever is most comfortable for you! 

For the simple eight-word script, click here!

If you have any questions about this topic, give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to give you a hand!

How Will Rising Interest Rates Affect Affordability in San Diego in 2015?

Thinking about a career in San Diego real estate sales? If you're a current sales professional looking to control your own income and success in a new industry, or you're an existing real estate agent who needs more help to reach your goals, email me today for a private San Diego real estate career consultation. I'll share with you what a sales career at Keller Williams looks like, as well as the great income you will earn helping San Diego homeowners sell and buy homes in our greater San Diego County area.

Hello and welcome to 2015! 

Last year was a pretty interesting one for real estate in the San Diego area. We finished the year with the same amount of inventory we started the year with, but saw significantly less buyer demand as 2014 came to an end. What does this trend mean for prices, sales, and real estate in general as we begin a new year?

When we look at the market overall, we're still seeing rates near all-time lows. Interest rates are currently hovering around 3.5%, but we're not expecting that to last much longer. The real estate market, like all markets, is cyclical - it goes up and it goes down. Since the crash and the recession that followed, we've seen great appreciation in the market, and sellers have been making solid gains. 

Our market is in a similar position to where we were in 2003. The Federal Government is incentivizing home buying with low down payment programs, decreasing FHA mortgage insurance premiums, and generally making money more available. Lenders are also stepping up to the plate, making loans easier to get. This is all fantastic news for buyers and sellers today.

The thing to keep an eye on is interest rates - at some point they are going to rise. When they do, we expect the increase to spur home buying activity. Sellers need to see that as an opportunity to make their move. As more sellers and buyers flood the market, it has an impact on prices and thus affordability goes down. This downward trend will happen, as it always does - it's simply a matter of when. 

No one can know for sure when we'll see these wonderful conditions come to an end. What we know is, as always, the best priced homes, that are staged appropriately and marketed to the right audience, sell every day! 

If you have questions about our market, or would like real estate assistance of any kind, we would love to hear from you! Give us a call or shoot us a quick email, and we'll help you in any way we can!

Thanks, and make it a great day!