The number of REALTORS (doesn’t count people with licenses that don’t join the Realtor Association) has grown from 876,000 in 2002 to 1,357,000 in 2006. As of last month, the number sits at 1,363,000. In California, the number of members has dropped about 5,000 to 195,329 from last year.
The annual bill to remain a member is due in January (at least around here). I’m thinking that’s when we’ll see more drop out of the Association.
We’re already seeing some indicators. Some brokerages around the county have lost a lot of their agents and we’ve seen some close. I’ve talked to a few Brokers in the SF Bay Area that are with discount brokerages over the past few months and they are having a tough time since they count on volume to make their business plan work. One has already closed their doors, another plans to close when their franchise agreement is up for renewal, and another has moved to a traditional brokerage.
It’s a challenging time for many in this current market…
One thing great about living on the Central Coast is that it’s always nice to come home after visiting another area! Driving into town from the Bay Area you can tell that our air quality here is much better, the deep blue sky giving it away.
While driving through San Luis Obispo, it appears that more companies are using a street next to 101 to advertise. The road next to 101 at Los Osos Valley Road (where they are going to put in the car dealerships next to the Dalidio Ranch) had multiple moving vans with their large lettering and a radio station’s jug parked on this street. All that was missing was the 1-800-Got-Junk truck.
Greetings from the SF Bay Area!
My wife and I battled the mall crowds today. Not too bad. Even the Frys Electronics trip went pretty well.
I was watching the local news last night and there was a report about a problem with mosquitos in swimming pools of foreclosed homes. I talked to a Realtor friend in Silicon Valley early this week and he said the bank on a foreclosure listing he has sent a crew to drain the pool and put a covering over it right when they took posession. Looks like not all banks are doing this.
Ryan’s Mortgage Blog:
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I can’t believe it’s already the holiday season. Besides for the fluctuation in the stock market, it has been a pretty slow week because of the Holiday. Mortgage rates are still on the slight decline, offering some great year-end refi deals.
It will be interesting to see how much consumers spend on “Black Friday” which is typically the busiest spending day of the year. Because of the housing slump, credit problems, and high gas prices many experts predict lower than expected sales. Maybe retailers are anticipating this and will be offering even better deals to us consumers over the next four weeks. Wishful thinking huh?
Since this is the time of year that many donate to charities I thought I would share this article for you. There is always someone out there trying to make money off of innocent, thoughtful people by deceiving people. There are several scammers out there trying to market fake charities. The FTC wrote up an article on how to handle donating your money and dealing with Telemarketers. Here is the link
I hope everyone enjoys their holiday! RBaker@PeregrineLending.com
Best of Caravan – San Luis Obispo
This week’s Best of Caravan is the Beautifully Restored 1923 home in Old Town SLO. The restoration process has retained the original look, appeal and charm of times long ago, with all the major systems updated. The carriage house- the second structure on the property , built in 2001 was constructed with the same materials and style as the main house. The carriage house also includes a 2- car garage and office. Completing this idyllic picture is the private patio, located between the two structures. This one truly is an award winning property, earning the Obispo Beautiful Award for Historical Restoration!
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Click for more photos and info
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(Best of Caravan is chosen by one of our team of local expert Realtors as the property that stood out on the weekly Broker’s caravan of new listings. If the photo is missing or the link doesn’t work, this means the property is no longer on the market.)
This following headline comes from a real estate law website:
Agent faces consequences for drafting side agreement in sale
A dual agent who drafted a side agreement between the buyer and seller in attempting to close a sale found that the extra paperwork exposed him to increased liability, as the buyer later sued him for negligence in connection with the agreement, and won.
I’ve blogged in the past about dual agency but since it’s been awhile, I thought I’d write about this topic again.
Dual agency is when a real estate agent represents both the Buyer and Seller in a transaction. In the industry, this is also known as “double ending” the transaction. Most agents get real excited when you mention double ending as this means they will make twice as much on the commission since they get both sides of the transaction.
Some Buyers still think there is an advantage of dealing directly with the Listing Agent but I don’t see ANY advantage. It’s like having a divorce lawyer that represents both the husband and wife. You want someone representing you 100%, not 50% which is as good as you’re going to get if you let an agent represent both sides.
I guarantee you that most agents will do what it takes to hold a transaction together to make both ends of the commission. Do you think they will working for the Buyer’s best interests, the Sellers, or their own??
If you think you’re going to save money by buying a house directly from the Listing Agent, chances are that you are wrong. A good Buyers agent that knows how to negotiate will save you more AND help keep you out of court.
