BradyLoan.com

I can't think of a better time to be a San Diego County listing agent...

...and a worse time to be a San Diego buyers' agent.

San Diego is in a housing crisis and the simple explanation for it is that we have a tremendous backlog of new housing--the politicians aren't helping us either. NIMBY-ism, water restrictions, and traffic density are core issues which restrict housing and, while they are legitimate issues, the county has a 65,000 unit backlog of new housing.

Experts believe that San Diego County needs 170,000 housing units built from 2012-2025 to meet demand and population growth- some 15,000 housing units each year. Over the past five years, San Diego County has averaged 2000 new housing units.. We are already 65,000 units behind and, if we continue at this anemic pace, we will end up 120,000 housing units short in 8 years. That is pushing up prices of existing homes.

You might think that rising housing prices, and double digit rent increases, will halt population growth in the County. While it might, SANDAG believes the region will grow by another million people within 25 years. Increased demand for housing and restricted supply means one of two things to your clients: they have to move out of San Diego County or home ownership is now, more than ever, the only defense against this housing shortage. Your role, as a buyer's agent, is now more important than ever to your clients' futures.

We are here to help you--here are three ways we can do that.

1- TBD approvals: this isn't a pre-qualification, this isn't a pre-approval, this is a full underwriting approval for the buyers' credit and income. We take an application, gather up supporting documentation, submit the file to the underwriter, and have a clean approval within 5 business days. What this means is that we can close a transaction in 21 days, giving your buyers a competitive advantage when they make offers.

2- "Selling" the buyer to the listing agent: a lot of the buyer's agents we work with ask us to speak to the listing agent when they make the offer. We communicate to them that we have that underwriting approval and, more importantly, tell them exactly what that means. It means that the only issues for a full loan approval are property related: appraisal, homeowners insurance and title insurance. When we explain the process to the listing agent, and represent the strength of the buyer, more offers get accepted.

3- VA and FHA condo approvals. So many condominium buyers are shut out because the complex lacks an agency approval, The perception is that VA and FHA condominium complex approvals are burdensome and lengthy--nothing could be farther from the truth.  Debra and I are experienced experts at VA condo approvals-- we have approved over 130 of them in the past 8 years and we get those purchase transactions closed in 45 days or less.  FHA condo approvals are easier for us because we have a HUD-delegated underwriter who has the ability and discretion to approve the complex FHA-eligible

This is a great time to be a real estate agent in San Diego County, especially if you list a lot of properties.  Representing buyers however, is difficult.  We're here to make that job easier on you.

President Trump Is Good For San Diego Real Estate

Whether you like President Trump or not, his Presidency (like President Obama's) should be positive for San Diego real estate.  Two things are driving San Diego real estate prices higher right now:

1- A back log of housing.  Population growth in the County created demand for an average of 15,000 new housing units each year, for the past five years.  Only an average of 2,000 housing units a year were built in the County during that time.  This means that today, we have a housing back log of some 65,000 housing units.  The NIMBYs and environmentalists are fighting every new development proposed so that problem will likely become more severe.  This means higher rents and home prices are on the horizon.

2- Good paying jobs are being created.  A housing back log means nothing id residents can't afford higher prices and/or rents but employment data suggest otherwise.  San Diego County is created a (positive) disproportionate amount of well paying jobs.  Our base industries are:  1- military  2- technology 3- life sciences and 4-tourism  The top three base industries are attracting higher than median income jobs to the County.

In 2011, President Obama shifted American foreign policy towards the Asia-Pacific Rim.  This makes sense because most world wide growth is coming from that region rather than Old Europe.    Obama believed that trade opportunities and foreign threats are more likely to come from Asia rather than the Middle East and/or Europe.  This shifted defense spending from East Coast military facilities to West Coast military installations.

President Trump has not hidden that he thinks the military needs to be rebuilt. He gave a speech on the deck of the USS Gerald Ford where he announced his request for a $54 .billion increase in military spending.  He also signaled that he wants to Navy to have more ships, specifically 2 more aircraft carriers.

Trump will likely succeed, too.  Republicans control both chambers of Congress (and the budget).  

Politics does play a role on local real estate and federal spending will likely favor San Diego County so demand should increase.  State and local politics are anti-growth so supply will be limited.

Do the math.  If supply is restricted and demand is increasing, higher prices are on the way.