The San Diego premiere of Owned, A Tale of Two Americas is scheduled for a matinee showing on Saturday, March 23rd at the La Costa Cinepolis!
The producer, Giorgio Angelini, will be here and we’ll do a Q&A session after the film. I’m hoping to talk him into bringing an outakes/blooper reel too. There will also be a reception/party afterwards onsite. Our two daughters, Kayla and Natalie will also attend!
This will be a private event, with no tickets sold. Seating is limited.
If you’d like to come, email Donna at donna.klinge@compass.com
Here is a link to previous blog posts and the five-year history of the project:
Our CEO, Robert Reffkin, shrugged it off, which is fine and what he should do:
“What you talk about is a representation of what you are focused on,” Reffkin said. “We don’t tear down competitors, we don’t pay attention to the noise, what we focus on is empowering agents.”
But as a Compass guy, I’m going to address some of Ryan’s specific concerns for those consumers and agents who might be curious and want to know the truth:
1. Robert Reffkin told us that because we’re in the Top 20 markets, the company was going to concentrate on supporting and growing those already in play – which sounds great to us agents. I don’t know how you rate the Top 20, but here’s where we are: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Orange County, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington D.C., plus nine other smaller cities – which makes 24 markets. Close enough.
2. Compass agents grow their business quickly after joining Compass? I don’t remember that claim specifically, but every agent knows your business usually takes a hit when you change companies. Ryan said York at MoxiWorks contradicted the claim, but that’s not true. York said that the Compass market share was lower than claimed, but he checked the Compass production only, when Compass said it was the agents’ cumulative total for the year. Agents count their annual sales volume, regardless of their brokerage, so the Compass and MoxiWorks measurements were apples and oranges – for Ryan to misconstrue what happened is disingenuous.
3. Ryan says Cigna isn’t our insurance company, but looks like they are to me:
We saved $4,000+ per year and have a lower deductible.
4. Ryan claims Compass is losing money and wants to know about the turn-around plan? There’s $1 billion in the bank, and Compass will likely do an IPO in the next 24 months. But agents are focused on selling homes – if we make any money on stocks or stock options, it will be icing on the cake.
5. Ryan said that Compass ‘strongly encourages’ agents to use the in-house tools. Nobody has ever asked or told me to use the Compass tools. Furthermore, the Compass agents I know are all seasoned professionals who used their own tools long before working at Compass.
After his release went public, Ryan said this:
“I believe competition raises the level of play, and I welcome it,” Gorman said. “But when a competitor fails to uphold the basic ethics and integrity that this industry has together worked so hard to build, and puts the people I care about in jeopardy, I cannot sit on my hands.”
“The ‘talk’ coming from Compass behind closed doors is disturbing, and yet even in public forums, such as this publication, the inconsistencies, exaggerations and flip-flops by Compass executives are deeply concerning.”
The NRT sales volume is around 5x what we sell at Compass, and this guy goes ballistic over half-truths and innuendo, most of which is wrong or inconsequential? Why?
My mom fell and broker her hip last week, so I’ve been visiting her in the Bay Area over the last few days. It was a clear day on the way up, so I took a few photos – note the water discoloration from the runoff (click to enlarge):
Yesterday, we celebrated the life of Gary Thompson, the greatest salesman I’ve ever known. Gary and I worked at ReMax by-the-Sea together for a couple of years, and then he was with us at Klinge Realty for 10+ years.
Gary honed his craft by selling cookware door-to-door back in the 1960s, and became the company’s #1 salesman nationwide. He trained dozens of others, and his impact was evident – more than 100 people showed up yesterday, and twenty rooms were booked at the Carlsbad Inn by old friends who flew in from across the country to pay their respects.
He started selling real estate for Re/Max in Colorado, and eventually made his way to Carlsbad 20+ years ago. He joined the local Rotary Club, where he was a very active member, and was an Oceanside Senior Angler – Gary loved to fish!
Locals will remember his toothpicks (his anti-smoking device), and his love for Carlsbad. He used to walk the beach every day, and was a regular around downtown – you may have seen us having breakfast at Don’s Country Kitchen! Gary took pride in having sold the proprietor his first house, and he may have ate enough breakfasts there to pay it off!
I loved seeing him at his open houses, where he would be conducting a clinic on salesmanship. Nobody worked an open house like Gary; because not only did he know the right things to say, but he also delivered them in a way that caused people to appreciate his expertise, and want his help.
Gary was a fan of the blog, and described it being the new-age way to educate clients. He loved talking real estate with people, and helping them become better consumers – which we agreed is an agent’s primary responsibility.
In our new era of flashy advertising and teams hustling buyers into homes, Gary’s old-fashioned style of caring about his clients will be sorely missed.
We ended up with three offers on our Gladstone listing, and a bidding war!
Bidding wars don’t just happen; somebody has to spur them on, coordinate them effectively, and keep the focus on winning and losing, and not the price.
The home had its foibles too.
It only has two bedrooms, the third ‘bedroom’ is unpermitted, the kitchen and bathrooms were gussied up but mostly original, and it backs to the full assortment of power lines. The worst part was not having any recent comps that painted a solid picture on value, leaving it up to the buyers to get comfortable – I helped, and thankfully they had good agents too.
We are listed for $499,000, and I nudged two offers north of $530,000!
This was published on April, 2, 2014. The SD Case-Shiller is 28% higher today than it was then, and the trading hasn’t thinned out much, at least not yet. We had 2,850 NSDCC sales in 2014, and 2,801 last year:
Below is a Q&A with Jim Klinge, the head of San Diego-based Klinge Realty and the creator of BubbleInfo.com, a realty blog.
BUSINESS INSIDER: What is the most underreported story in housing?
JIM KLINGE: The health of the real estate market. We’re back to peak pricing – and higher – around coastal San Diego during the toughest mortgage underwriting in the history of the world.
BI: What is the biggest change you’ve seen since the bust in terms of the typical buyers’ profile?
JK: No change – almost all are owner-occupants. Surprisingly, having direct access to recent sales via the internet hasn’t made buyers more critical about price. Over the last 12 months, it’s been the opposite – people are paying prices that are 5% to 10% higher than recent sales. Because they are so familiar with the values, you’d think they would be more discerning, but the fear of loss supersedes all – they just want to buy a house, and are tired of losing.
BI: What is the biggest mistake buyers are making these days?
JK: Not researching realtors. They think we’re all the same, so they just grab one.
BI: What is the biggest mistake sellers are making these days?
JK: Not researching realtors. Many just grab the one who mails them the most propaganda.
BI: How much higher can the Sun Belt markets climb?
JK: The prime markets could easily rise another 10% to 20%, price-wise, in the next 2-3 years. But it will be on very thin trading, which makes you question how legit it is, and whether it will sustain.
Here’s our first listing of 2019 that is undergoing a full tune-up in time for open house this weekend – we can move quick but not in a hurry! (John Wooden)
On Sunday we won a bidding war between contingent offers, and one of the stipulations was to get this home on the market by today!
An affordable way to buy a quality one-story home in Carlsbad! Located at the end of the drive with tranquil views over the valley, this upgraded townhouse has the entire living area at the entry level (2brs&2ba), with only the loft being upstairs and nicely converted into third bedroom. New paint, newer dual-pane windows, central A/C, 2-car side-by-side garage, and one of the largest yards with plenty of privacy! Every comp in Tamarack Point over the last 12 months was higher priced – nice deal!
