Risk can be expensive for any real estate company. Attend this advisory to learn about issues other Brokers have faced so that you can avoid making the same mistakes. These meetings will be facilitated by Broker, Nikki Coppa.  Ms. Coppa currently serves on numerous leadership committees for both the C.A.R and NAR.

Topics:
New & Recurring Legal Claims to be aware of
Hottest C.A.R. Legal Hotline Questions

Upcoming Event on Thursday October 3rd, 2019:

California home sales fell to the lowest level in more than 10 years in January 2019, according to the latest housing market report for home sales and prices from the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R). Housing demand in the state remained subdued for the ninth consecutive month in January as economic and market uncertainties sent home sales to their lowest level since April 2008, said C.A.R.

Existing, single-family home sales statewide totaled 357,730 in January on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, down 3.9 percent from the revised 372,260 in December and down 12.6 percent from January 2018 of 409,520. January marked the ninth consecutive month of decline and the sixth month in a row that sales were below 400,000, dipping to the lowest level since April 2008.

Sales in San Diego in January 2019 were down 17 percent from December and 10 percent lower from January 2018, according to C.A.R.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 357,730 units in January, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. The statewide annualized sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2019 if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

“California continued to move toward a more balanced market as we see buyers having greater negotiating power and sellers making concessions to get their homes sold as inventory grows,” said C.A.R. President Jared Martin. “While interest rates have dropped down to the lowest point in 10 months, potential buyers are putting their homeownership plans on hold as they wait out further price adjustments.”

C.A.R. said the statewide median home price declined to $538,690 in January 2019, which was down 3.4 percent from $557,600 in December and up 2.1 percent from a revised $527,780 in January 2018.  

In San Diego County in January 2019, the median home price was $610,000, which was 1.4 percent lower than the $618,500 figure for December 2018 and 3.4 percent higher than the $590,000 figure for January 2018.

“While we expected the federal government shutdown during most of January to temporarily interrupt closings because of a delay in loan approvals and income verifications, the impact on January’s home sales was minimal,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “The decline in sales was more indicative of demand side issues and was broad and across all price categories and regions of the state. Moreover, growing inventory over the past few months has not translated into more sales.”

Other key points from C.A.R.’s January 2019 resale housing report included:

-- The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home rose from 27 days in January 2018 to 37 days in January 2019, compared to 32 days in December 2018. Meanwhile, in San Diego County, the median number of days a home remained unsold on the market rose from 21 days in January 2018 to 28 days in January 2019, compared to 27 days in December 2018. 

-- Statewide active listings rose for the 10th consecutive month in January after nearly three straight years of declines, increasing 27 percent from the previous year. All major regions recorded an increase in active listings, with the Bay Area posting the highest increase at 57 percent, followed by Southern California (29.7 percent), Central Valley (19.5 percent) and the Central Coast (14.5 percent).

-- The Unsold Inventory Index (UII), which is a ratio of inventory over sales, increased year-to-year from 3.6 months in January 2018 to 4.6 months in January 2019. The index measures the number of months it would take to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. The jump in the UII from a year ago can be attributed to the double-digit sales decline and the sharp increase in active listings.

-- Forty of the 51 counties reported by C.A.R. posted a sales decline in January with an average year-over-year sales decline of nearly 19 percent. Twenty-eight counties declined by double-digits on an annual basis, and 10 counties experienced an increase in sales from a year ago.

-- The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 4.46 percent in January, up from 4.03 percent in January 2018, according to Freddie Mac. The five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate also increased in January to an average of 3.91 percent from 3.47 from January 2018.

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

-- A new LendingTree report found that 63 percent of homebuyers in San Diego County last year shopped around for a mortgage before settling on a home. The report also found that just 39 percent of the buyers had good or excellent credit, and the typical down payment was 12 percent of the purchase price. LendingTree ranked the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. based on an average of the city’s rank in three categories that contribute to the competitiveness of homebuyers in an area. Based on shopping for a mortgage, credit and the down payment percentage, Denver, Los Angeles, and Portland, Ore., have the most competitive buyers in the country. Buyers in these areas have higher than average credit scores and the ability to put down a larger down payment.

-- San Diego's Real Housing Price Index declined at the fifth fastest rate nationwide in November 2018 at 0.1 percent, according to First American Financial Corp. While the decline may seem marginal, the rate of that drop was exceeded only by San Jose (with a 0.7 percent decline), Boston (0.4 percent), Portland, Ore. (0.2 percent) and Pittsburgh (0.2 percent). Seattle tied San Diego with a 0.1 percent decline. 

-- According to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller, San Diego’s home prices rose 3.32 percent in 2018, the third slowest of the 20 cities covered by the index. National home prices were up 5.2 percent in a year, with Las Vegas leading the pack with a 12 percent gain.

-- According to a Zillow report, San Diego County experienced the third-highest year-over-year jump in housing inventory in the U.S. in January. Zillow said San Diego saw its year-over-year “for sale” inventory climb 31.9 percent in January to 9,810 units. Inventory has increased the most in five West Coast markets, giving home shoppers more options and ever-so-slowly tilting the market toward buyers, Zillow said. On an annual basis, inventory grew 42.9 percent in San Jose, 36.9 percent in Seattle, 29.1 percent in Los Angeles and 25 percent in San Francisco.

-- Also according to Zillow, a declining percentage of existing homes have been selling above the asking price nationally and San Diego County is no exception. Zillow found that just 17.4 percent of existing homes in San Diego County sold above their asking price in November 2018, and just 16.4 percent sold above their asking price in December 2018. An average of 29.9 percent of existing homes sold above their asking price in San Diego County in 2017, while that number dropped to 25.7 percent in 2018, Zillow said.

-- According to Redfin, San Diego County was the third least affordable housing market in the U.S. for millennials in 2018. While the median household income for a San Diego millennial was $78,433, the median priced home was only affordable to 24.3 percent of those households, Redfin found.

-- Also according to Redfin, home affordability is declining in San Diego despite more inventory. Redfin reported there were 10 percent more homes for sale in San Diego County in 2018 compared to 2017, but the number of affordable homes for sale fell 16 percent. The number of homes affordable to a San Diego household earning the median income in 2018 dropped to 22 percent. Redfin also said more users conducted online searches for San Diego homes than searches by local residents for homes outside the county in 2018.

-- Quinnipiac University's recent California-specific poll, conducted Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, recently found that 43 percent of the 912 Californians surveyed said they don’t make enough money to live in the state. Also, Quinnipiac found that well over half of younger California voters, 61 percent of the respondents 18 to 34 years old, say they can’t afford to live in the Golden State.

-- The U.S. unemployment rate has dropped to 3.7 percent, the lowest in nearly 50 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also, average earnings rose 8 cents, to $27.24 per hour in September 2018.

More home buyers are demanding green and energy-saving features in their next homes.
Are you prepared to assist them? Gain a competitive advantage and learn how to become your clients’ go-to resource for buying or selling a more efficient, money-saving, healthy home. 

Learn More or Register for the course HERE

A two-day course in San Diego on March 6th and 7th at the SDG&E Innovation Center. 
Day 1 Topic: The Resource-Efficient Home - Retrofits, Remodels, Renovations, and New Home Construction
Day 2 Topic: Representing Buyers and Sellers of Resource Efficient Homes

Details: 
Location: SDG&E Innovation Center 
When? March 6th and 7th, 2019 from 9 AM - 5PM
Contact Phone Number for Information: 619-544-1300
Cost: FREE for PSAR Members

Earning NAR's Green Designation 
Upon completion of the two required courses, you will have achieved GREEN candidate status, a one-year period during which you must fulfill the educational and experiential requirements to earn NAR's Green Designation awarded by the Green REsource Council.

Continuing Education Units approved by the California Bureau of Real Estate
Upon completion of the two required courses and successfully passing each exam with 80%, you will receive 16 Continuing Education Units approved by the California Bureau of Real Estate.

Prerequisites
Must be a licensed Realtor in the State of California in order to receive CalBRE Credit for attending these courses.

Requirements for the NAR Green Designation certification

• Attendance - Participants must attend all two (2) training days. 
• Submit a member application for NAR's Green Designation.
• Maintain active and good membership status with the Green REsource Council and the National Association of REALTORS®.

Empower yourself with the ability to take your own listing photos! 

A beginner level course which will provide you a camera comparison, the basics of how to make the most of your camera or cell phone, how to group and properly size photos easy upload.

This class is sponsored by PSAR's Tech Committee and instructed by Tony Amat with Nelson Photo! 

Please be sure to bring all of your gadgets to include cameras, cell phones, laptops, or any other device you typically use. 

Class Details:

Wednesday, February 27, 2019
PSAR East County Service Center: 1150 Broadway, El Cajon, 92021 
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Cost: 
FREE for PSAR and NSDCAR Members, $5.00 for non-members.

                     
                                                                        Tony Amat with Nelson Photo                                                              

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.

Consequences for Not Completing the Mandated NAR Code of Ethics Requirement

Duane Gomer's CalDRE License Renewal and Group Review

Satisfies the requirements for license renewals for all Salespersons and Brokers.

Friday, February 8, 2019; Registration 8:45 AM; Review 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

PSAR South County, 880 Canarios Ct.,  Chula Vista, CA 91910

Cost: PSAR Members $89; Non Members $109
  REGISTER HERE   or call PSAR at 619-421-7811

THE PROGRAM COVERS:

• Three hour courses of Agency, Ethics, Trust Funds, Fair Housing, Risk Management and Management & Supervision course
• Consumer Protection and Consumer Server courses via downloadable PDF files
• Optional review to prepare to take the easy exams
• Instructions to take the exams online

REQUIREMENTS:
Once you register you will receive your PDF file from Duane Gomer. Please provide your email address and DRE license when registering. DRE Regulations state that you may take no more than 15 hours of exams in a 24 hour period and start testing 5 days after the receipt of your study materials.

Anyone who fails an exam can take a second test at no cost any time within one year from date of registration or take the class again at no cost. Courses are for all licensees. These courses are approved for Continuing Education Credit by the California Department of Real Estate. However, this approval does not constitute an endorsement of the view or options which are expressed by the course sponsor, instructor, author or lecturers. DRE Vendor #0054.

Duane Gomer Seminars is a Real Estate, Notary, and MLO education school, one of the most recognized schools in the California real estate industry since 1978. Duane Gomer, Inc. specializes in helping people obtain their California real estate salesperson and broker Licenses. Duane Gomer makes it easy, convenient and affordable offering correspondence real estate continuing education courses.

REGISTER HERE

FREE  to PSAR Members, $20 to Non-Members

Monday, January 14th, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

PSAR East County, 1150 Broadway, El Cajon, CA 92021

Presented by Peak Performance Strategist Stephen Litman (A Tony Robbins Seminar)

Improve your performance by integrating a three-step process for creating lasting change. Clearly identify what is holding you back from reaching your true potential by closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be. 

Workshop benefits:

• Learn the strategies to immediately start achieving amazing results in any area of your life.
• Discover the five habits of effective communication.
• Discover the success cycle and learn how to apply it to every facet of your life.
• Develop an unshakable mindset that will give you a more healthy and fulfilling life.
• Determine a clear target of what you want in every area of your life, including your career, body, finances and relationships. 

Cloud Agent Suite

Register below for a class and location of your choice

South County Nov. 28, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
South County Dec. 12, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
880 Canarios Ct., Ste. 100, Chula Vista, CA 91910

East County, Dec. 5, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
1150 Broadway, Ste. 100, El Cajon, CA 92021

Three of the premium real estate tech products in the Cloud Agent Suite are free to all CRMLS users. Learn how to master them in this informative class. From the eye-catching reports of Cloud CMA to the “smart search” options in Cloud MLX to the lightning-fast branded alerts of Cloud Streams, these products will help develop your skill set as a real estate professional.

The products are:

• Cloud CMA, an online comparative market analysis report generator

• Cloud MLX, a streamlined MLS front-end that prioritizes search and communication

• Cloud Streams, a listing alert and client collaboration tool

REGISTER BELOW FOR THE FOLLOWING CLASSES AND LOCATIONS:

 Click here to register for PSAR East: Nov. 27, 10:30 AM 
1150 Broadway, Ste. 100
El Cajon, CA 92021

 Click here to register for PSAR South: Dec. 5th, 10:30 AM 
880 Canarios Ct., Ste. 100
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Remine is a powerful tool combining visualization of in-depth property data with predictive analytics. Learn how to make the most of Remine’s over two billion property records, map visualizations, and tracking features in this informative seminar.

You will learn:

• How Remine enriches the information you see in your MLS front end

• How to search for advanced data fields to improve your farming

• How to build your own property tracking databases in Remine

• How to make the most of Remine’s predictive analytics features

 REGISTER HERE Cost FREE 

What to "Gift" your REALTOR® for the Holidays
Sponsored by PSAR Tech Committee

Wednesday, December 12, 2013, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
PSAR East County, 1150 Broadway, El Cajon, CA 92021

Lunch provided by Lisa Vasey with 

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.

BE SURE TO BRING YOUR:

• Laptop or other mobile devices
• Paper & pen to take notes
• Questions for discussion