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TESTIMONIALS FROM VERY RECENT STUDENTS:

• "Great presentation, wealth of knowledge, wisdom and uncanny ability to share and pass them on." -- GS - Van Nuys

• "The review course was awesome." -- LF - Palm Springs

• "Passed with flying colors - contribute it to your excellent teaching skills and fantastic study materials." -- MK - Walnut Creek

• "My gosh, was it easy & easy to access." -- TR - Online

• "Your class in Vista was unbelievable." -- EA - Vista

It will be an unforgettable experience that you don’t want to miss. PSAR will present its 2019 Officers and Directors Installation Dinner on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Admiral Kidd Conference Center, 33050 McDonough Road, San Diego, 92136 (some GPS devices may show the address as 33050 Acoustic Ave.).

Bigger and better than ever, this year’s Installation Dinner is destined to be the biggest real estate event of the year, as we welcome the 2019 board of directors in this exclusive venue. Located on military property on Naval Base Point Loma at the Harbor Drive Annex, the Admiral Kidd Conference Center is virtually surrounded by the splendor of the San Diego Bay and downtown skyline and offers breathtaking views of the San Diego Bay. The facility features a lovely lawn setting and a deck overlooking the bay.

The installation event will celebrate success in the REALTOR® community with the top producers in the industry. The program will feature the swearing in of the 2019 PSAR board of directors including Robert Calloway as 2019 PSAR president. Also announced will be winners of the East County Realtor of the Year, South County Realtor of the Year, East County Affiliate of the Year and South County Affiliate of the Year. Additional awards will include Broker-Office Manager of the Year for both East County and South County.

Don’t be late. Networking with colleagues and industry peers will start at 6 p.m. Stella Artois premium beer and wine (Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon) will be hosted. This will be your opportunity to reconnect with old friends and engage with new friends, raising your profile, expanding your influence, telling your story and generating referrals and greater business.

Dinner will begin at 7 p.m. Farmer’s table appetizer display will include assorted cheese and crackers and veggie display. Hors-d'oeuvres will be passed. Hors-d’oeuvres will include fresh roasted tomato bruschetta, smoked salmon and cucumber roulade, bacon wrapped scallops and beef empanadas. Plated dinners choices will include chicken Marsala (breast of chicken simmered in rosemary Marsala wine sauce), grilled New York steak (with carmelized onions and a rich bordelaise sauce) or vegetarian (pasta primavera). Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wine will be served with dinner.

Tickets are priced at $85 per person, which is a tremendous bargain. RSVPs can be made at blog.psar.org/installation. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for this special night. Several different affordable sponsorship opportunities are currently being offered. This is a prime advertising opportunity to situate your brand in front of other industry professionals and get the attention your brand deserves. More sponsorship information is available by contacting Sally Valdez at PSAR at (619) 579-0333.

Special guest speaker at the PSAR Installation Dinner will be Sammy Lee Davis, a veteran who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was awarded the nation’s highest military medal for valor, the Medal of Honor.

Davis took some ribbing in the Army because he shared a name with the famous entertainer. Much later, long after his military days were over, he would again gain some acclaim among his old comrades, this time as the “real Forrest Gump.” That’s because news footage of Davis receiving the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson appeared in the 1994 “Forrest Gump” motion picture with Tom Hanks’ head in place of Davis. Gump’s functional Medal of Honor citation was loosely based on Davis’ real one.

Early on November 18, 1967, his unit of 11 guns and 42 men were transported via helicopter into an area west of Cai Lay to set up a forward fire-support base. Shortly after midnight the next morning, Private First Class Davis’s Battery C came under heavy mortar attack. Almost simultaneously, an estimated 1,500 Vietcong soldiers launched an intense ground assault, failing to overrun the Americans only because a river separated the two forces. Davis’s squad was operating a 105 mm howitzer that fired 18,000 beehive darts in each shell. When he saw how close the enemy had come, Davis took over a machine gun and provided covering-fire for his gun crew. But an enemy recoilless rifle round scored a direct hit on the howitzer, knocking the crew from the weapon and blowing Davis sideways into a foxhole.

Convinced that the heavily outnumbered Americans couldn’t survive the attack, Davis decided to fire off at least one round from the damaged artillery piece before being overrun. He struggled to his feet, rammed a shell into the gun, and fired point-blank at the Vietcong who were advancing five deep directly in front of the weapon; the beehive round cut them down. An enemy mortar round exploded nearby, knocking Davis to the ground, but he got up and kept firing the howitzer. When there were no more rounds left, he fired a white phosphorus shell, and then the last round he had a “propaganda shell” filled with leaflets. On Nov. 19, 1968, exactly one year and one day after the nightlong firefight at Cai Lay, Davis received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon Johnson.

Davis is the author of “You Don’t Lose ‘Til You Quit Trying: Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient.” The book is available on Amazon.

REGISTER HERE

Wednesday, October 24, 2018
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
PSAR East County
1150 Broadway
El Cajon, CA 92021

Presented by PSAR's Tech Committee

 

• Introduction to zipForms® Plus
• Automate for faster and more accurate contracts
• Get contracts and disclosures signed faster
• Create legible disclosures
• This class will be one hour of demonstration followed by 1/2 hour of hands on Q&A.
• The Tech Lunch & Learn Workshops are open to all REALTORS® and Affiliate Members regardless of what Association they are members of.
  

The Tech Lunch & Learn Workshops are open to all REALTORS® and Affiliate Members regardless of what Association they are members of.

BE SURE TO BRING YOUR:

• Lunch and a beverage
• Laptop or other mobile device
• Paper & pen to take notes
• Questions for discussion

Cost: FREE  - REGISTER HERE

 

REGISTER HERE TODAY!

 

Here is the latest in a series of occasional articles on “Best Practices” from PSAR members.

By PSAR Broker & REALTOR® Joe Garzanelli

Brokers are wired for achievement. But, it’s not easy being a broker. We get busy. We get overwhelmed. And we can need to constantly remember to keep the main thing the main thing.

No broker wants to be seen as a “flash-in-the-pan,” short-timer with lots of fanfare that soon fizzles. However, only over time, the true value of a broker as a leader can be made clear.

I’ve been a broker for more than 40 years, and I’ve been in real estate for 50 years. So, what would I consider as important leadership traits for successful brokers and all other real estate professionals? Here are a few traits I’ve learned along the way:

• Brokers are continual learners.
  The world is always evolving. Because of technology, things are changing fast. And, what makes a successful broker today will not keep him or her as a successful broker tomorrow. So, the most successful brokers are consistent learners. Learning is the lifestyle of leadership. They never rest on their laurels; rather, they are continually getting smarter and updating their skills. The moment you stop learning is when you stop leading. The moment you think you know it all you’re dead in the water. The cliché is true that you either make dust or you’ll eat dust.

• A broker’s work ethic is on display.
  Everyone in the brokerage can clearly see a successful broker’s strong work ethic. They are willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. While others live to avoid pain, a successful broker will do the things others are unwilling to do. And, hard work is the foundation of their success. They are never satisfied because there’s always something they can do better. Plus, they learn the entire business, not just their position.

• Resilience and persistence is a broker’s middle names.
  The most successful brokers are leaders who have persisted in their profession long after others would have given up. Resilience is the ability to bounce back and recover from loss, failure, stress or disappointment. It’s the ability to keep going. The best brokers understand that success is sometimes three steps forward and two steps backwards. Nobody goes through life with an unbroken chain of successes. Everybody has failures and mistakes. We all embarrass ourselves. We all have pain. We all have problems. We all have pressures. But, the people who make it in life have endurance, resilience and persistence.

• The best brokers surround themselves with excellence.
  The best brokers are transparent and willing to be open about their strengths and weaknesses. They know how to prioritize their activities and play to their own strengths to achieve maximum results. Plus, they’re not afraid to seek assistance because everyone has something to contribute. They’re smart enough to realize that you can’t become the best version of yourself without a little help along the way. They never claim to have it all together in every area. So, they recruit to their team both talented younger people and veteran professionals who add different perspectives and help the overall organization. The perspective of those who see the world differently can add something indispensable to your brokerage.

• The best brokers are humble leaders.
  Successful brokers experience trials, endure failures and know what it’s like to be last and hungry. In those times, they learn humility and accept the fact that earning respect is a process. So, when their moment of breakout leadership eventually arrives, they accept the rewards of recognition with humility and gratitude, not pride. They enjoy sharing the credit.

 

Code of Ethics Training REQUIRED BEFORE DECEMBER 31ST

NAR Requires that members must complete 2.5 hours of ethics training, meeting specific learning objectives every two years. 

All REALTORS with licenses expiring in 2019 or 2020 must complete the Code of Ethics training by December 31, 2018.  

 

Don't beat yourself up next year by forgetting to take care of this now! You have options today.

 

FREE ONLINE CODE OF ETHICS TRAINING: REGISTER HERE

 

FREE LIVE CLASSROOM ETHICS TRAINING

Chula Vista Sign up:  REGISTER HERE

or 

Sign up online at psar.org:  REGISTER HERE

 

PSAR's Chula Vista Service Centers Schedule:

NOTE: When you have successfully completed the online course, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail from www.realtor.org. Please forward the completion confirmation to PSAR at education@psar.org. Note that completion of this Ethics course will not meet the BRE license renewal requirement.

Here is the latest in the real estate market in the San Diego’s East County region in the following zip codes: 91901, 91905, 91906, 91916, 91917, 91931, 91934, 91935, 91941, 91942, 91945, 91948, 91962, 91963, 91977, 91978, 91980, 92004, 92019, 92020, 92021, 92036, 92040, 92066, 92070, 92086. The following statistics on housing market activity in the East County is from the HomeDex Housing Market Report for August 2018.

• The median sales price for a detached single-family home in East County reached $535,000 in August 2018, which was 5.4 percent higher than the $507,500 price in August 2017. The August 2018 monthly figure for detached homes is higher than the year-to-date median sales price of $522,000.
•  For attached homes, the median home price in the East County was $330,000 in August 2018, which was 11.9 percent higher compared to the $295,000 price the same month a year ago. The August 2018 monthly figure for attached homes is higher than the year-to-date median sales price of $320,000.
• The average number of days in August for an East County home on the market (the time between when a property is listed and an offer is accepted) was 31 days for detached homes and 17 days for attached homes. In August 2017, the numbers were 32 and 22 days, respectively.
• Closed sales totaled 304 detached units in August 2018, which was a 24.9 percent year-over-year drop compared to the 405 units sold in August 2017. For attached home sales, closed sales totaled 103 in August, a 12 percent decline from August 2017’s total of 117. 
• The percentage of original list price received for detached homes was 98.4 percent in August, a 0.3 percent change from 98.7 percent in August 2017. For attached homes, the percentage was 99.3 percent in August, a 0.4 percent difference from 99.7 percent in August 2017.
• The number of new detached listings on the market in August totaled 672, a 21.7 percent increase from the 552 new listings in August 2017. For new attached listings, the total was 143 in August, a 9.2 percent increase from the 131 new listings in August 2017.
• The year-to-date totals for detached listings was 6,285 through August, a 7.4 percent increase from 5,854 listings through August 2017; the year-to-date total for attached property listings was 1,663 through August, a 17.2 percent increase from the 1,491 listings through August 2017.
  According to HomeDex, the economy is under scrutiny, but certainly not deteriorating. While some housing experts are starting to look for recessionary signs such as fewer sales, dropping prices and even foreclosures, others are taking a more cautious and research-based approach to their predictions. Housing starts are performing admirably, prices are still inching upward, supply remains low and consumers are optimistic. A report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said that rising home prices, higher interest rates and increased building material costs have pressured housing affordability to a 10-year low. Nationally, median household income has risen 2.6 percent in the last 12 months, while home prices are up 6 percent.

SOLD OUT

California’s housing market faltered in August for the fourth straight month as high home prices continue to take a toll on demand statewide, according to the latest report from the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

Home sales in San Diego County declined by 10.4 percent in August in a year-over-year comparison. Regionally, Southern California had the largest decline, with sales falling 8 percent in year-over-year. Orange and Los Angeles counties saw year-over-year declines of 10.4 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.

In its August home sales and price report, C.A.R. said the statewide median home price edged higher $596,410, up 0.8 percent from $591,460 July 2018 and up 5.5 percent from a revised $565,320 in August 2017.

In San Diego County, C.A.R. reported that the median single-family housing price was $660,000 in August 2018, compared to $650,000 in July 2018. The August 2018 figure was 9.1 percent higher from the $605,000 registered in August 2017.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 399,600 units in August, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and multiple leasing services statewide. The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2018 if sales maintained the July pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

It was the first time in two years for single-family detached home sales to fall below the 400,000 sales benchmark. August’s sales figure was down 1.8 percent from the revised 406,920 level in July and down 6.6 percent compared with home sales in August 2017 of 427,630.

“Home sales activity remained on a downward trend for the fourth straight month as uncertainty about the housing market continues to mount,” said C.A.R. President Steve White. “Buyers are being cautious and reluctant to make a commitment as they are concerned that home prices may have peaked and instead are waiting until there’s more clarity in the market.”

“While home prices continued to rise modestly in August, the deceleration in price growth and the surge in housing supply suggest that a market shift is underway,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “We are seeing active listings increasing and more price reductions in the market, and as such, the question remains, ‘How long will it take for the market to close the price expectation gap between buyers and sellers?’”

Other key points from C.A.R.’s August 2018 resale housing report included:

• The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 21 days in August 2018, compared to 18 days in July 2018 and 18 days in August 2017. Meanwhile, in San Diego County, the median number of days a home remained unsold on the market was 18 days in August 2018, compared to 14 days in both July 2018 and August 2017.
•  Statewide active listings rose for the fifth consecutive month after 33 straight months of declines, increasing 17.2 percent from the previous year. August’s listings increase was the biggest in nearly four years. Much of the listings increase is attributable to lower-priced properties. The number of homes available for sale and priced below $750,000 grew more than twice as much as homes priced above that price level. With fewer homes being sold, statewide inventory is starting to climb. The unsold inventory index, which is a ratio of inventory over sales, rose again in August from 2.9 months from August 2017 to 3.3 months in August 2018. The index measures the number of months it would take to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
• California condominium/townhome median price in August 2018 was $474,570, compared to $486,330 in July 2018 and $446,850 in August 2017.
• The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.55 percent in August, up from 3.88 percent in August 2017, according to Freddie Mac. The five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate also increased in August to an average of 3.87 percent from 3.15 from August 2017.

In other recent real estate and economic news, according to news reports:

• San Diego County home prices in July increased 6.2 percent in the past year year, faster than the nationwide average of 5.9 percent, but slower than other California cities, according to the most recent S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city index. In July, Las Vegas was the number-one metro area yet again with a 13.7 percent annual increase. It was followed by Seattle at 12.1 percent and San Francisco at 10.8 percent. The monthly change for local home prices from June to July 2018 was 0.0 percent, according to the report.
• Realtor.com, operated by the National Association of REALTORS®, reports that the coastal cities of San Jose, Seattle and San Diego were the three markets with the biggest inventory jumps over last year, all posting increases of 28 percent or more. As a result, the increased inventory has led to an increase in price discounts. Realtor.com found that Seattle had an 8 percent increase in price discounts, San Jose had a 7 percent rise in price discounts, and the cities of San Diego, Riverside, Indianapolis, Riverside, and Los Angeles all had a 5 percent spike in price discounts from a year ago. Nearly 40 of the 45 largest markets saw an increase in the share of price discounts over last year.
• LendingTree reports that San Diego is the second most difficult place in the U.S. to get into a home, behind only Los Angeles. San Francisco came in third. San Diego has an average leverage ratio of 3.62, or the ratio of mortgage cost to borrower's income. The region's leverage ratio is based on a median mortgage amount of $442,000, and a median borrower household income of $122,000. The study used Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, which includes more than 7 million mortgages originated in 2017, to calculate the leverage rate of borrowers in the 50 largest cities in America. The median amount borrowed was divided by the median borrower income for all purchases in the HMDA database for 2017.
• Foreclosures and delinquency rates have dipped to a 12-year low, according to CoreLogic. Measuring the number of homeowners who were late on their mortgage payments by more than 30 days, the monthly analysis found that only 4.3 percent of mortgages in June were delinquent nationwide, compared to 4.6 percent the year previous and the same 4.3 percent in March. While the downtick may seem small, the number of Americans failing to make payments on their homes has been falling steadily over the past decade. Neither the delinquency rate nor foreclosure rate has been this low since 2006.
• WalletHub, a company that offers free credit scores and credit reports updated daily, compared 182 U.S. cities based on 65 key metrics, including movie costs, open hours of breweries and fitness centers per capita, and San Diego came in as the tenth most fun city in America. More specifically, San Diego came in at #10 in number of attractions, #9 in parkland acres per capita, #8 in festivals per capita and #1 for fitness centers per capita. Other categories in which the city scored well included: playgrounds per capita (#19), restaurants per capita (#16, dance clubs per capita (#11) and bar accessibility (#30). Overall, San Diego hosts more than 35 million visitors each year, with that number expected to increase by 3.5 percent in 2018, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority.
• Near record-low unemployment in the San Diego metropolitan region continued in August, with the rate falling to 3.4 percent from 3.5 percent in July. The state Employment Development Department reported there were 1,529,800 employed in San Diego County in July and just 54,300 unemployed. The unemployment rate in San Diego was below the state level of 4.2 percent and the national level of 3.9 percent. Economists say that even with a strong economy, there will be some “frictional unemployment” due to workers changing jobs. The lowest unemployment rate in San Diego in recent years was 2.9 percent in December 1999, while the highest was 10.9 percent — more than one in 10 workers — in March 2010 during the Great Recession.
• For the first time in at least 20 years, there are now more job openings than there are people looking for work. There are more jobs than people out of work, something the American economy has never experienced before. There are 6.7 million job openings and just 6.4 million available workers to fill them, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It’s time to get your ZOMBIE on! The 4th annual PSAR Zombie 5k Run/Walk will be held Saturday, Oct. 6, at Rohr Park, 4548 Sweetwater Road, Bonita. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The run/walk begins at 9 a.m.

The PSAR Charity Committee is inviting all PSAR members to gather your family and friends together to compete in this fun event for all ages. Two local nonprofits will benefit from event proceeds, including Rady Children’s Hospital and South Bay Community Services.

Participants are invited to dress up in their best zombie attire, or you can just come as you are. Halloween costumes are welcomed, too. Entry fee is $10 for adults and children over age 5. Admission is free for children under age 5. Entry fee includes a t-shirt with logo if registration is completed prior to Friday, Sept. 28th. To register, visit https://gozombie.eventbrite.com , or call (619) 421-7811. Sponsorships are available. Volunteers are needed to help accommodate the crowds and assist with race course activities.

In addition to the 5k, don’t miss on enjoying all sorts of special activities for kids of all ages, including face painting in a variety of artful designs, music, colorful balloons and inflatable bounce house, as well as prizes and awards for the ever-popular best costume contest and cuties costume for your four-legged member of the family. Yes, of course, the PSAR Zombie 5k is pet friendly.

Last year’s 3rd annual event raised $4,000. The event was a lot of fun and organizers received rave reviews from participants.

Last year, PSAR members Robert Cromer and Kim Peterson received a note from Kourtney King, corporate and community development officer with Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation. The note said the following:

“Thank you for having me at your fun event and for supporting Rady Children’s Hospital. It was a great morning filled with so much energy. The young patients at Rady Children’s Hospital inspire me each and every day. When faced with a chronic illness, they show courage. When battling a life-threatening disease, they call upon their strength. When there are setbacks, they show resilience. And through it all, despite the many challenges, they never give up home. Hope is the gift you give our families.”

PSAR’s Zombie Run/Walk proceeds also will benefit a South Bay Community Services (SBCS) transitional housing program for former foster youth and/or homeless youth while they finish school or complete job training.

According to SBCS, foster youth are often removed from their homes for various reasons, such as abuse, neglect or abandonment. While some may be adopted, reunited with family or find the right permanent foster family, many face instability as they move from placement to placement. It is not uncommon to hear that a child has been moved 15 times to different homes, not to mention schools and new surroundings.

The transition to adulthood is even more difficult. Support ends at age 18 years and for emancipated youth even sooner. Foster youth transition to adulthood alone often with no guidance, financial support, shelter or sense of place. They are among the highest at risk to end up homeless, unemployed or in prison.

SBCS is a Chula Vista-based community based organization providing holistic comprehensive support for children, youth and families in crisis to help them heal and create self sufficient lives. SBCS supports local residents with housing assistance, counseling, life skills and job readiness training.

Written By Richard Griffin