Industry announcements

OC Realtors present Rexpo

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) in San Diego is among the sponsors of the Orange County Realtors’ second annual Rexpo, a one-day, real estate expo to be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Sept. 14, online over Zoom. Admission cost to any realtor in San Diego is $20 per person. Presentations will include “Creativity and Confidence during Times of Chaos,” “Leveling the Playing Field Globally,” “Navigating Your Career and Professional Relationships” and “U.S. Top Producers’ Secrets to Success.” Keynote speaker will be Erin Brockovich. Additional speakers will include Gov Hutchinson, John Murray, Kamille Rose Soler, Jay Barbuto, Eileen Oldroyd, Shannon Mcgahn, Jennifer Branchini and Leslie Rouda Smith. For more information, call PSAR at (619) 421-7811, or visit www.psar.org or www.ocrealtors. org/rexpo.

PSAR offers ethics training

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) will host a free live webinar on the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Code of Ethics training from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Friday, Sept. 11 over the Zoom online meeting platform. New realtors must complete ethics training soon after acquiring their sales license, according to learning objectives and criteria established by NAR. All realtors are required to complete ethics training every three years. Ethics training also can count as continuing education credits. The training is free. The training also is available on the NAR website. For more information, call PSAR at (619) 421-7811, or visit www. psar.org.

July home sales 18 percent higher

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), one of San Diego’s largest real estate trade groups for San Diego-area realtors, reports home sales in San Diego County were 18 percent higher in July 2020, compared to June 2020 and 10.2 percent higher compared to July 2019. PSAR said the most recent statistics from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) indicate the housing market’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is continuing in high gear. Statewide, July 2020 home sales were up 28.8 percent from June 2020, and 6.4 percent higher from July 2019. Home sales statewide in July 2020 climbed to their highest level in more than two-and-a-half years.

Million-dollar sales pushing up median price

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) reports the virus pandemic has not slowed the rise in home prices. The median price for a singlefamily home in San Diego County in July 2020 was $719,000, which was 6 percent higher than the $678,000 figure in June 2020 and 10.6 percent higher than the $650,000 figure for July 2019. Citing recent statistics from the California Association of Realtors (CAR), PSAR said sales of higher-priced properties continued to propel the statewide median home price to $666,320 for July 2020, up 6.4 percent from June 2020’s price of $626,170. Sales of million-dollar properties increased in market share to 20.4 percent in July 2020, compared with 18.1 percent in June 2020.

Homes sold in 10 days in July

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) reports 10 days was the median number of days it took to sell an existing, single-family home in San Diego County in July. Citing the most recent California Association of Realtors (CAR) report, the 10-day figure compares to 12 days in June, 11 days in May, eight days in April, 10 days in March, 12 days in February, 23 days in January 2020 and 15 days in July2019. Statewide, the median number of days an existing, single-family home remained unsold on the market was 17 days in July 2020, compared to 19 days in June 2020 and 21 days in July 2019.

PSAR offers flip tips from home inspector

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) will host a free live webinar titled “Fallible Flips and Tech Trends in Today’s Real Estate Market” from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17 over the Zoom online meeting platform. Jake Holmes, owner of Level Best Home Inspection LLC, will discuss tips for flipping residential properties, hidden defects in poorly done flips, remodeling trends, hasty renovations that lead to unrealistic expectations and the benefits of adding green technology that adds value to a property. The presentation will include time for questions and answers. All San Diego-area realtors, regardless of association membership, are invited to participate. For more information, call PSAR at (619) 421-7811, or visit www.psar.org.

San Diego 5th highest expensive metro area

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that 96 percent of the nation’s metropolitan areas experienced an increase in home prices in the second quarter of 2020, even in the midst of the pandemic. San Diego was the fifth most expensive metro area for housing. San Jose maintained its place as the most expensive area in the nation during the second quarter as its median price for an existing, single-family home rose 3.8 percent yearover-year to $1.38 million. Others median prices among the top five included San Francisco ($1.05 million), Anaheim ($859,000), urban Honolulu ($815,700) and San Diego ($670,000). Among NAR’S survey of 181 metro areas, about one third had median home prices below $200,000.

COVID-19 increased real estate licensees

This year’s COVID-19 lockdown might have felt like the end of the world for some real estate professionals. However, a recent study by

Inman News Service said the number of Americans holding real estate sales licenses has held steady during the pandemic. In addition, because some furloughed, out-of-work people from other industries are opting to give real estate a shot, some states have seen an increase in their licensee applications count. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is expecting to surpass 1.4 million members this year. In June 2020, NAR had 1.397 million members, up 1.7 percent from one year ago. California, the nation’s most populous state, has the highest number of active real estate licensees at 322,911, as of June 2020.

Avoiding lawsuits over Familial Status

The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR) will present a free live webinar for realtors titled “Avoiding Lawsuits over Fair Housing Familial Status” from 11 a.m. to noon, Friday, Sept. 25, over the Zoom online meeting platform. Presenter will be Monica Lopez of CSA San Diego County, a nonprofit that advocates for fair housing and meditates tenant-landlord issues. Topics will include best practices, terms and conditions, liability claims and occupancy standards. The government’s Fair Housing

Act prohibits discrimination by a landlord, property manager, real estate agent or property owner who treats a family differently because they have one or more persons under age 18. All San Diego-area realtors, regardless of association membership, are invited to participate. Registration information is available at www. psar.org, or call 619-421-7811.

Don’t give up on millennials

Today’s millennials represent the largest group of potential homebuyers and they should not be ignored, according to officials with the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR). Millennials make up the largest segment for first-time buyers and half of them are under age 36, said a recent Zillow report. “It’s our job as realtors to take every opportunity to explain to millennials the benefits of homeownership, including stability, price appreciation, tax credits, a secure path to wealth and asset accumulation,” said Jan Farley, a PSAR past president. Citing industry sources, among first-time millennial homebuyers, 17 percent are Hispanic, 10 percent are African American and 7 percent are Asian. For more industry statistics, visit www.psar.org.