We were #11 of California-based brokerages.
Congratulations to our power broker, Gretchen Pearson, and all of our 1,075 agents!
BOLDSF.COM | insights, observations, commentary | San Francisco Bay Area real estate
Showing posts with label the business of real estate;. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the business of real estate;. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Our Power Broker Rating
RIS media has just come out with their national "Power Broker" ratings based on sales volume. Our brokerage, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices - Drysdale Properties" is listed as #55 (out of 1,000) !!
We were #11 of California-based brokerages.
Congratulations to our power broker, Gretchen Pearson, and all of our 1,075 agents!
We were #11 of California-based brokerages.
Congratulations to our power broker, Gretchen Pearson, and all of our 1,075 agents!
Thursday, July 6, 2017
RISMedia Power Broker Rankings
A report out today from RIS Media today shows that our brokerage, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices - Drysdale Properties, is in the top 10 of northern California-based brokerages by sales volume.
We're also in the top 30 brokerages state wide.
Overall we stand in the top 100 brokerages nation wide.
Not bad for a company that's just a few years old.
Good to know®
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Value - Perception and Reality
Interesting study just published by Quicken Loans compares what people applying for refinance mortgages think their homes are worth compared to the value ultimately determined by an appraiser. There's quite a difference based on geography:
Of course we're most family with the San Francisco market where the average 2-bedroom/2-bath condo sells for more than $1.2 million. According to this study owners seeking to refinance that condo would estimate its value as about $25,000 less than the appraiser.
Frankly, I'm surprised there's such a LITTLE gap between the home owners estimate of value and the appraiser's calculation. To me this suggests most owners seeking to refinance their mortgage are well informed about home values in their area. San Francisco is almost obsessed with the cost of housing so maybe it's not surprising at all.
On the other hand, it's common to talk to prospective SELLERS who have an overly optimistic idea of the value of their property. It would be interesting for someone to do a study of sellers initial perception/expectation of sales price vs. the actual sales price.
You can see the full Quicken report here.
Of course we're most family with the San Francisco market where the average 2-bedroom/2-bath condo sells for more than $1.2 million. According to this study owners seeking to refinance that condo would estimate its value as about $25,000 less than the appraiser.
Frankly, I'm surprised there's such a LITTLE gap between the home owners estimate of value and the appraiser's calculation. To me this suggests most owners seeking to refinance their mortgage are well informed about home values in their area. San Francisco is almost obsessed with the cost of housing so maybe it's not surprising at all.
On the other hand, it's common to talk to prospective SELLERS who have an overly optimistic idea of the value of their property. It would be interesting for someone to do a study of sellers initial perception/expectation of sales price vs. the actual sales price.
You can see the full Quicken report here.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Listings, Search Engines, and Accuracy
Not all real estate search engines are the same (doh!). In a fast moving market like ours today clients, especially sellers, want their listings to show up right away on all the various search engines This is especially true if there's been a significant change to the listings -- a price reduction, for example.
Here's a good example:
This agent had entered a price reduction into the MLS on 8/21/15.
As of today (8/25/15) that price reduction is only showing up on realtor.com.
The search results summary shown at the top show that Zillow and Redfin were still displaying the old price of $588,850. Clicking through to see the detail, Redfin actually shows the correct, reduced price but Zillow does not.
The likely reason for this discrepancy is the way these search engines get their data. Realtor.com gets feeds directly from the hundreds of MLS (multiple listing services) across the country. Zillow, Trulia and other aggregators also depend on direct feeds from real estate brokers as well as direct input from individual agents.
The bottom line for clients is: stay as close to the MLS for information as you can. Most MLSs in our area have a public version that anyone can search. For currently active listings (properties not already in contract), it's the most accurate source. You can usually set up (or have your agent set up) a search that will e-mail regarding new listings or change in status of a listing. The aggregators can do this too but, as shown above, it may take a while.
Here's a good example:
This agent had entered a price reduction into the MLS on 8/21/15.
The search results summary shown at the top show that Zillow and Redfin were still displaying the old price of $588,850. Clicking through to see the detail, Redfin actually shows the correct, reduced price but Zillow does not.
The likely reason for this discrepancy is the way these search engines get their data. Realtor.com gets feeds directly from the hundreds of MLS (multiple listing services) across the country. Zillow, Trulia and other aggregators also depend on direct feeds from real estate brokers as well as direct input from individual agents.
The bottom line for clients is: stay as close to the MLS for information as you can. Most MLSs in our area have a public version that anyone can search. For currently active listings (properties not already in contract), it's the most accurate source. You can usually set up (or have your agent set up) a search that will e-mail regarding new listings or change in status of a listing. The aggregators can do this too but, as shown above, it may take a while.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Warren Buffet / Berkshire Hathaway's Real Estate Brokerage
I noticed two articles recently about the real estate brokerage business including
quotes from Ron Peltier, chief executive of HomeServices America, owned by Berkshire Hathaway:
The second is a more general article in conjunction with the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting:
Some interesting quotes from the articles:
"The single most-challenged
sector of the market is the first-time home buyer," he said.
"Historically, they make up 40 percent of the existing home market. In the
last 18 months to two years, it has been 27 to 28 percent. Twelve percent of
the market has been missing. It's troubling."
----
HomeServices is the second-largest
U.S. independent real estate brokerage, and part of a Berkshire unit that was
on Wednesday rechristened Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
----
U.S. home resales in March fell to
a 1-1/2 year low, dropping to an annual rate of 4.59 million units according to
the National Association of Realtors.
[In our market there was a drop in
the number of sales for March this year compared to last year, 439 vs.
489. That's the lowest for March since 2009. For the first quarter
of 2014, the number of sales was 1090, just slightly lower than the first
quarter of the previous two years.]
----
In the first quarter, Berkshire
reported a $24 million pre-tax loss from "real estate brokerage and
other" items within Berkshire Hathaway Energy, as spending rose on
employment and marketing. Revenue rose 21 percent to $405 million.
Some of that extra marketing was to
rebrand local brokerages as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. That puts the
Berkshire name on "For Sale" signs, and Peltier said it is helping
business.
"The brand is golden," he
said. "We have received an incredible number of comments from every market
we've launched in that the values associated with the Berkshire brand translate
into values that consumers look for: integrity, honesty, trust, value."
----
As he sometimes does, Warren
Buffett likes to welcome the 40,000 visitors to the Berkshire Hathaway
annual meeting today with a last minute deal, this time a $2.8 billion
acquisition of an electric transmission company in Alberta, Canada, that will
further build out the holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Hypocrisy / Deceptive Advertising
Everyone in the real estate business is always looking for an edge -- something that will differentiate you from the competition.
We've seen brokerages try all sorts of things from commission discounts with reduced service, flashy web sites, focus on high-end properties, free estimates, balloons on for-sale signs, spot advertising on web sites -- it's all out there.
At the end of the day, our business relies mostly on personal relationships. Successful transactions for both sellers and buyers depend on the trust developed between the principal and their agent.
Key to developing that trust is for each party to do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it.
So how do you trust a brokerage that prominently promises on its web site:
Yet, in the last six months this brokerage has seven transactions recorded in the MLS, two of which they represented both buyer and seller!
Let's be clear. In California there's nothing illegal about what's called "dual agency" in which the same brokerage represents both buyer and seller as long as it's disclosed to all parties and agreed to and I have no reason to think this brokerage did not obtain the necessary consent from both buyer and seller in these transaction to act as a dual agent.
But if you're going to promise in your advertising that you will never represent both sides in the same transaction (and by inference suggest that your level of integrity is higher than your competition) and then turn around and do exactly what you promised not to do, what does that say about how you're going to handle your responsibilities in a real estate transaction.
Most buyers and seller don't have the ability to check claims like this since this information isn't readily available to the public. Unfortunately, it's just another due diligence step for buyers and sellers when selecting an agent.
We've seen brokerages try all sorts of things from commission discounts with reduced service, flashy web sites, focus on high-end properties, free estimates, balloons on for-sale signs, spot advertising on web sites -- it's all out there.
At the end of the day, our business relies mostly on personal relationships. Successful transactions for both sellers and buyers depend on the trust developed between the principal and their agent.
Key to developing that trust is for each party to do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it.
What Makes Us Better? We Will Not Cheat On You. Could you imagine going to court and having the same lawyer represent you and the other side? How silly would that be? At XXXXXX, our agents will only represent either a buyer or a seller in an agreement, never both.
Yet, in the last six months this brokerage has seven transactions recorded in the MLS, two of which they represented both buyer and seller!
Let's be clear. In California there's nothing illegal about what's called "dual agency" in which the same brokerage represents both buyer and seller as long as it's disclosed to all parties and agreed to and I have no reason to think this brokerage did not obtain the necessary consent from both buyer and seller in these transaction to act as a dual agent.
But if you're going to promise in your advertising that you will never represent both sides in the same transaction (and by inference suggest that your level of integrity is higher than your competition) and then turn around and do exactly what you promised not to do, what does that say about how you're going to handle your responsibilities in a real estate transaction.
Most buyers and seller don't have the ability to check claims like this since this information isn't readily available to the public. Unfortunately, it's just another due diligence step for buyers and sellers when selecting an agent.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Protected Views?
Over and over again you'll hear the mantra that views are not protected when it comes to real estate in San Francisco. If your fabulous view of San Francisco Bay from your living room window (for which you paid a premium when you bought the house) gets blocked by the neighbor across the street who legally adds an additional story to his house, you're out of luck.
But there is an exception.
As noted in the new listing for 827 De Haro Street, "The spectacular views north are protected by a recorded view easement restricting ht of neighbor's hm."
You get an idea why this is important from this Google Street view:
View Larger Map
Click here to see the MLS listing.
So, if you can strike a deal with your neighbor, the potential view blocker, you can protect your view. Unfortunately, there's no indication as to how much that view easement cost.
But there is an exception.
As noted in the new listing for 827 De Haro Street, "The spectacular views north are protected by a recorded view easement restricting ht of neighbor's hm."
You get an idea why this is important from this Google Street view:
View Larger Map
Click here to see the MLS listing.
So, if you can strike a deal with your neighbor, the potential view blocker, you can protect your view. Unfortunately, there's no indication as to how much that view easement cost.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Business of Real Estate
The San Francisco Association of Realtors MLS has quietly introduced new "new lease property types for single family, apartment, and commercial listings.
The new lease property types will also include a variety of listing price styles
such as per month, per week, per day, as well as per square footage."Properties for lease, especially residential properties, are common in the MLS that serves north bay communities but this is the first time I know of that the SFMLS has allowed them.
For commercial leases, this begins to infringe on what has been until now almost the exclusive territory of LoopNet. While both LoopNet and the SFMLS have carried listings of commercial properties for sale, LoopNet has been the only widely available database of commercial properties for lease.
On the residential side, since landlords already have Craigslist to post their rental/lease residential properties and many landlords won't pay real estate agents a commission for finding a tenant, it will be interesting to watch whether these new categories of listings have any real effect on how the residential rental market works.
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