Navigating the Challenges of Operating in a Sellers Market

Summary

Estate of Mind — The Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate
Episode: Navigating the Challenges of Operating in a Seller's Market
Host: Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
Guest: Jim Wahlberg, Bay Area Team Leader at Compass, Danville, California
Release Date: March 8, 2024

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of Estate of Mind, hosted by Tammy from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, the focus is on understanding the intricacies of operating within a seller's market, especially in the luxury real estate segment. Tammy welcomes Jim Wahlberg, a seasoned real estate professional leading the Bay Area Team with Compass in Danville, California. Together, they delve into the unique market conditions of Danville, contrasting them with broader national trends and providing valuable strategies for both sellers and buyers in a competitive environment.

Understanding the Seller's Market in Danville

Jim Wahlberg begins by painting a vivid picture of the current real estate landscape in Danville. He highlights a significant four-year wealth transfer from Silicon Valley and San Francisco to Danville, marking it as the largest transfer of wealth since 1970. This influx is primarily driven by high-tech professionals seeking better work-from-home opportunities post-pandemic.

Jim Wahlberg [01:49]: "It's been the largest transfer of wealth since I've been here, since 1970. I've never seen anything like it."

Key factors attracting these professionals include exceptional schools, high quality of life, and abundant outdoor activities, making Danville an appealing alternative to the congested Peninsula and San Francisco areas.

Managing Seller and Buyer Expectations

Tammy probes into how Jim manages expectations amidst conflicting media reports about a softening market. Jim emphasizes the hyperlocal nature of real estate markets, asserting that national trends may not accurately reflect local conditions.

For Sellers:

• Turnkey Condition: Homes must be impeccably prepared for immediate sale.
• Preparation Time: It can take up to two months to get a house market-ready, ensuring it meets the high standards of local buyers.

Jim Wahlberg [06:13]: "The buyers today are in our area are 35 to 45 years old. They do not want to do one thing to the house once they buy it."

For Buyers:

• Speed and Readiness: Buyers need to act swiftly, often attending broker’s open houses prepared to make prompt and compelling offers.
• Financial and Insurance Preparedness: Given the high-speed market, buyers must have their finances in order and secure insurance swiftly.

Jim Wahlberg [08:09]: "Go to the broker's open on Thursday as if there's a house that you're interested in. Go there first."

Pros and Cons of a Seller's Market

Jim elaborates on the advantages and challenges inherent in a seller's market:

Advantages for Sellers:

• High Demand: Low days on market (typically 15 days, and 12 days in ultra-luxury segments) indicate strong buyer interest.
• Competitive Pricing: Sellers can achieve or exceed listing prices, maintaining robust transaction values.

Jim Wahlberg [05:13]: "When you're in our zip code, it's been really a seller's market for that period of time."

Disadvantages for Buyers:

• Interest Rate Challenges: Elevated interest rates (hovering around 7%) deter many buyers, especially younger professionals without substantial wealth accumulation.
• Limited Inventory: With inventory at one-third of its lowest point, buyers face stiff competition and fewer options.

Jim Wahlberg [14:30]: "The inventory that we have is about a third of our lowest inventory in history."

Market Outlook and Seasonality

Jim discusses the seasonal dynamics of the Danville market, noting that despite the hyperactive environment, traditional seasonal patterns persist.

• Peak Season: The first quarter remains the most active, driving up prices per square foot.
• Summer Slowdown: A brief lull occurs from mid-July to early August due to vacations and school preparations.
• Resurgence Post-Labor Day: Activity picks up again, maintaining the seller's market momentum.

Jim Wahlberg [19:40]: "We don't view the seller's market changing anytime soon. The buyers we expect are going to have some relief by the fourth quarter."

Demographics and Buyer Behavior

Jim highlights a distinct demographic in their buyer pool—35 to 45-year-old millennials entering the luxury market for the first time. This group often relies on financing despite high property values and elevated interest rates, contrasting with other luxury markets where cash transactions are more prevalent.

Jim Wahlberg [17:05]: "This is their first time home. So imagine having a first time home for $2.5 million."

Key Factors Influencing Market Performance

Several unique factors contribute to Danville's robust market performance:

• Insurance Challenges: With major insurers departing California, buyers must secure insurance promptly, impacting escrow timelines.

Jim Wahlberg [09:20]: "Our buyers must have been dealing with their insurance broker to give them the address of the house that they are thinking of making an offer on to make sure they actually can get insurance."

• Legacy and Exit Planning: Jim emphasizes the importance of real estate professionals planning their legacy and business continuity, ensuring long-term success and client loyalty.

Jim Wahlberg [33:51]: "It's probably not too early to think about positioning your real estate practice where you can actually create a legacy practice."

Implications of California's Mansion Tax

When addressed, Jim clarifies that Danville's market remains largely unaffected by California's mansion tax due to the prevailing price points being below the taxable threshold. He contrasts this with areas like Southern California and parts of Silicon Valley, where higher-end transactions are more common and thus more impacted by the tax.

Jim Wahlberg [31:56]: "We are not impacted by the mansion tax in California because being an hour away from San Francisco, Peninsula, Silicon Valley, our price points are our highest price point."

Legacy and Business Planning for Realtors

Jim shares his approach to long-term business sustainability, emphasizing the need for realtors to develop an exit plan. By building a legacy through a recognizable team name and cultivating strong referral networks, realtors can ensure their business thrives beyond their active years.

Jim Wahlberg [33:51]: "Our only asset that we have as a Realtor is the loyalty card that our database has given us."

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the conversation wraps up, Tammy underscores the importance of hyperlocal market analysis and encourages real estate professionals to strategically plan for long-term success. She highlights the opportunities available even in challenging market conditions, emphasizing the value of strong relationships and adaptability.

Jim echoes these sentiments, advocating for proactive planning and relationship-building to navigate the evolving real estate landscape successfully.

Tammy: "Pay attention to what's happening and always be looking for opportunities and things that you can work with to your advantage to overcome any kind of market condition."

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This episode provides a comprehensive exploration of operating in a seller's market within the luxury real estate sector, offering actionable insights and strategies for professionals aiming to excel in competitive environments. Jim Wahlberg's firsthand experiences and expert advice serve as a valuable resource for navigating the nuanced dynamics of high-end property markets.

Transcript

[Tammy]

Welcome to A State of Mind, a podcast series all about motivating, inspiring and educating you in the art of selling luxury real estate. The podcast is brought to you by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. In this episode, we're going to explore what it's like to be in a seller's market versus a balanced or a buyer's market. Today's podcast is brought to you in part by Real Marketing, the only marketing firm recommended exclusively by the Institute. Real marketing utilizes over 25 years of expertise and their products are built and customized for you to dominate any neighborhood anywhere. Go to realmarketing4you.com that's realmarketing, the number4you.com. Also look for past State of Mind episodes with CEO David Collins as our guest. I'm excited to be here today with a special guest, Institute member Jim Wahlberg, who along with his wife Ann Marie Nugent, leads the Bay Area team with Compass in Danville, California. Welcome, Jim.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Thank you, Tammy.

[Tammy]

I am always excited to get to spend a little time with you and I'm sure that our listeners are going to appreciate that as well. So last month we had Deborah Worth with us Talking about the 2023 luxury real estate market in review. And while the major media messaging is that the market has softened, that homes are taking longer to sell and prices are dropping, the Institute's luxury market report clearly shows that some parts of the country are not experiencing that at all. And so, Jim, you're in one of those places in the East Bay area. So tell us what kind of market conditions you're seeing.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Thank you, Tammy. We are in the midst of a four year transition from Silicon Valley, Peninsula, San Francisco to our city of Danville. It has been the largest transfer of wealth since I've been here, since 1970. I've never seen anything like it. Primarily high tech folks. It started because of the work from home opportunities for the tech world. We're still in that in the Bay Area somewhat people are having to go in maybe two days a week, maybe three days a week, but they're willing to deal with the commute of an hour or more. If they only have to do that.

[Tammy]

Two or three times a week, that makes sense.

[Jim Wahlberg]

So the big draw to our town is the schools. They're all generally blue ribbon schools. The quality of life, the outdoor activities. So there's a huge draw compared to the quality of life that one has in the jam packed Peninsula, Silicon Valley or San Francisco. So just in a 30,000 foot look, it's been a four year run that we did not expect and it's been really a seller's market in our zip code for that period of time. So when you're asking about, you know, today's market, when you're, when you're referencing your last guest, the challenge that, that an economist has or an appraiser has is they're looking at past four or five months of information. They're not looking at pending sales for homes. So if you look at the Danville market, it's almost identical for 2023, the same period January 1st to February 21st in 2023 and in 2024, the market is almost identical. So you've got a two thousand two million dollar listing price and a 2.3 million dollar sales price. When you're looking at under 2.5 and when you're looking at the 2.5 to 4.5 million, you're really looking at a, a 2, a 2,750,000 dollar sold price and almost the identical list price. So if we're just looking at at solds, that does not tell you what market we're in. The other factor that is critical is days on market. Our days on market is, believe it or not, it's typically 15 days, which is, I know that that's crazy. It's almost embarrassing to say that knowing what other zip codes are dealing with and in the ultra luxury market that we've got, it's even, it's 12 days.

[Tammy]

Wow.

[Jim Wahlberg]

So you, when you're talking about is it a down market, a slow market, a seller's market, a buyer's market, it really has to do with your zip code. And we just happen to be in a zip code that is having a very unusual real estate experience.

[Tammy]

Well, you know, that's a great point and really illustrates the fact that things are really hyperlocal. And if you just pay attention to the major media messaging, you may have some misperceptions about what's happening. Feet on the ground if you will. And so I'm curious how you are managing seller expectations and buyer expectations, particularly if they're being fed from outside of your immediate market. They may come to you with some misperceptions based on that major media messaging. And so how do you educate them? How do you manage those expectations?

[Jim Wahlberg]

Great question from a seller side. Our council is that they must have a house that is almost in turnkey condition. The buyers today are in our area are 35 to 45 years old. They do not want to do one thing to the house once they buy it. So a House that is not in turnkey condition is going to be ignored. So from a seller standpoint, there is a tremendous amount of work in preparing a house for sale. It may take us two months or more to get a house ready for launch. We're dealing with one right now. That is, we've been working on it since October.

[Tammy]

Wow.

[Jim Wahlberg]

So it must be in turnkey condition. So that's our advice to our sellers. From a buyer's standpoint, speed is of essence. The market is going at such a pace that even when you have a offer date set and most listings today have an offer date set, in our market, brokers tours on Thursday, open hours a Saturday and Sunday, reviewing offers on Monday night. And that is generally the pattern. So if a buyer is thinking that they've got time, they don't. So our counsel of the buyer is go to the brokers open. Anybody can go. It's not just realtors. Go to the brokers open on Thursday as if there's a house that you're interested in. Go there first. It may be that we're able to do a preemptive offer if it's a, it's a compelling enough offer.

[Tammy]

That's interesting because it also. Forgive me for interrupting, but that also could give them a chance to see the house for a second time at the, at the public open house. Right. I, I am in a unique experience. You know, our market here is not performing in that way on the, the speed to offer side. And I'm working with clients who are under contract now for a roughly $2 million home. And we had the luxury of getting four private visits to the house before we made the offer. And that is something that I hadn't experienced in quite a while. But, but I also want to back up to what you were saying about the sellers having to manage them, that in order to experience that speed of offer, that speed of sale and the quality of the offer, that they really do need to take the time to present it. And so that kind of defies that, that thought process for sellers that they can just throw the house on the market for whatever they want. So. Interesting.

[Jim Wahlberg]

So there's two other factors. One is a brand new one in California and that is insurance. So we are also making sure the buyer has been dealing with their insurance broker to give them the address of the house that they are thinking of making an offer on to make sure they actually can get insurance.

[Tammy]

Sure.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Our five major insurance companies in the United States have left California and it's, it's unbelievable. So when you Think about a, maybe a typical homeowner's insurance, maybe it's $3,000 a year, it's now 8,000 or $10,000 a year. And if they're not able to get insurance, they have to then apply to California for what is called a California Fair plan, which is a California state fee funded insurance policy that also impacts our close of escrow. So even though we may have an all cash offer that would like to close in 10 days, if they can't get insurance and they have to go to the California Fair plan, It could take 30 days or more. So there's a real change happening just because of insurance, which we never dreamed would ever be an issue. The other counsel to the buyers, they must be ready financially with their lender. So they need to be able to act right now if they're going to have a chance to buy a house.

[Tammy]

And that's covering all their bases. That due diligence then expands from, from both being financially ready but also the insurance. And that is something that we have been experiencing in Florida for quite some time. So I completely empathize with the, the chall in insurability but great, great advice to buyers honestly in any market conditions. So there are pros and cons of being in a seller's market and, or being in a buyer's market or a balanced market. And most folks, whether it's the, the consumers or the media or even other real estate professionals tend to focus on, you know, the negatives of whatever it is. Right. Oh, woe is me. You know, these are the conditions but you know, there's always advantages and disadvantages and so I'm curious your thoughts on, on, on what the upside might be or the downside of being in such a, a tightly wound, fast moving sellers type market.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Well, from a seller standpoint, they're in the catbird seat today in, in our zip code. But they must get their house prepared properly. They just can't throw it on the market. We also have a different experience in, in two different price point slices. So when I was talking about the sold prices in that time slot for 2023 and 2024, January 1 to February 21, the I Reference pending sales. Pending sales is what we're looking at. We're not looking at sold because the sold sales are a reflection of November, December and we're in a completely different market than we were in, in November December. So the seller just needs to do their homework, get their house prepared properly. Take our advice. We've done this for 35 years and we know how to properly prepare a house and then follow our, our lead as to these. The different levels of marketing that we're going to do for the house. The buyer is, is really in a disadvantage right now in our zip code. The added problem that we have is the Federal government for 15 years subsidized mortgage interest rates by buying mortgage backed securities in the trillion dollar range. They, they artificially kept interest rates either side of 3%. So you've got a millennial market that is normalized around 3% as the base interest rate expectation that they should have. So when they think about a 7% interest rate, they just can't believe it. So the, the buyers are a little frozen around interest rates right now. They came down a tick several weeks ago. We instantly had a surge of buyers. It's now up to 7.1% and it's stopped.

[Tammy]

Huh.

[Jim Wahlberg]

The other challenge is the inventory that we have is about a third of, of our lowest inventory in history. And it's because you have sellers that are trapped in their mortgage rates. They have a 30 year fixed mortgage rate of 2 1/2 percent. They're not going to lose that. Or in California, our property taxes are based on your purchase price of your home. So if you have somebody that's been in their home for Anne Marie and I had our home for 33 years, our property taxes are incredibly low. So you get, I, we look at those as interest rate or property tax prisoners. There is not a way to get them out on the market unless they're going to cash out, leave California and buy a house for cash. So the counsel for the buyers is if they're going to be a buyer, they, they've got to be ready and they've got to be ready to submit a compelling offer today. If they're not ready, then don't even bother.

[Tammy]

Sure.

[Jim Wahlberg]

When the seller get your house ready into turnkey condition and you're going to have a wonderful experience.

[Tammy]

And so that is definitely an advantage on the sell side.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Yes.

[Tammy]

Right. And honestly, to the buyers, if a buyer is totally ready. Right. They've got all their ducks in a row. And particularly I want to go back and ask you in just a second about cash versus finance buyers. But if they're in a good position that, that they can get a property with such low inventory, if they're positioned well enough and well enough educated that they can be prevailing over other buyers that maybe don't have all their ducks in a row, that could be an advantage as well.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Yes.

[Tammy]

So you mentioned the Interest rates as a big issue. And I think for most of the rest of the country there tends to be less impact of interest rates in the luxury market in the upper tier prices, much more cash that's involved. But you also described a much younger clientele than a lot of other places are seeing. Do you see that in that you've got high earners that haven't yet accumulated wealth and so they're still hinging on, on, on financing?

[Jim Wahlberg]

Yes, that's a very interesting question. The this 35 to 45 year old millennials, or I guess I don't know if they're 45 year old or millennials. They are. This is their first time home. So imagine having a first time home for $2.5 million. I mean I, even though we do this every day, it's really hard for my head to be wrapped around that being an entrance into real estate. So you have these high earners that do not have not yet accumulated net worth or wealth that they're starting out at a rate that just seems ridiculous. Yeah, I mean unfortunately I have the history in Danville. The first house that I built in Danville in the mid-70s, the land, the entire build out was $68,000. So the unfortunate part is I have that memory. And so it's almost like we're dealing with monopoly money right now.

[Tammy]

I can completely understand where you're coming from there. You know, really it makes me think of the fact that, that my mom, so most of the, most of the listeners that, that are regular listeners know that I, I work with my mom and she's been in the business for 38 years now I guess, and she buil business starting with upwardly mobile professionals who were buying a waterfront property for $100,000 and worked that scale all the way up. I can only imagine, and certainly everything is relative, but I can only imagine being in your part of the world where the bar to entry is so high and just really breathtaking. I think you're absolutely right. It seems like monopoly money when you see all of those digits in a row. So let's do a little crystal ball check. Right. Do you have any sense that your market is going to continue at this pace? Right. And you've given some very compelling reasons why, why there, there, there wouldn't be a change unless something drastic happens to the interest rate. Do you see any, any indications of, of balancing or, or even shifting anywhere on the horizon?

[Jim Wahlberg]

You know, believe it or not, we do have a seasonal, a seasonal market. The first quarter is when you're going to like for 30 years. The first quarter in our market is where throughout the year they're going to get the highest price per square foot. First quarter. So the pending sales in the first quarter throughout the year, they're. We're going to look back and that will be the highest price per square foot for the year. It, it happens because the inventory starts building. Our inventory is at its height typically in July, so it's a little more balanced, but it's still crazy. I mean, it's still a seller's market. We're still maybe instead of 15 days on the market, maybe we're 18 days on the market. And then we have a break like in Europe where school starts now so early it starts like August 10th as opposed to after Labor Day. So we just shut down almost from July 10 until August 10 because families are on vacation, they're getting ready for school. It's like crickets. So there is a seasonality to our hyper market. The market then picks back up, believe it or not, the day after Labor Day. And our second quarter and fourth quarter closed escrow are typically our highest quarters, is our second quarter and our fourth, our fourth quarter. So there is some seasonality to it. But it. We don't view the seller's market changing anytime soon. The buyers we expect are going to have some relief by the fourth quarter. Crystal ball. We, if the feds pay attention, I believe that interest rates may be down at five and a half percent. So I think we're going to have a much more competitive buyer's market. They're going to be a lot more buyers bidding on a very few amount.

[Tammy]

Of homes, which then in turn. Right. Then that in turn fuels that. If you still, if you still have a shortage of inventory and you've got more active buyers, that's going to squeeze that even more.

[Jim Wahlberg]

Yeah, so that's my crystal ball for the year. We take off the 15th of July, we get back engaged the first day after Labor Day.

[Tammy]

Interesting. And that's actually, I would say, a little bit of a blessing because for a couple of years there, that seasonality did not exist. And it sounds like you still had some of that seasonality there, particularly as it relates to the school year. But in my market, for example, typically, you know, the fall holidays until, you know, early January have had a slowdown. And for a couple of years during the frenzy that all of us experienced, we didn't see that slowdown ever at all. Not in the heat of summer, not in the middle of the winter holidays. And I think that we saw that in this past cycle and I'm hearing that from other parts of the country that, that they saw that shift back to some seasonality. And so that's something that I know some people are looking at in terms of some normalcy and some balance. But it sounds like that seasonality has existed for you even throughout the height of it and isn't an indicator of a balance foot.

[Jim Wahlberg]

You know, I just have a couple more thoughts about our market and this has just come to me as we're speaking. Our buyers are 35 to 45 year olds. Our sellers are 65 and older, and the sellers today in our market are generally leaving California. So we better have some great relationships in the towns that they're going to. And we know, we know exactly what cities they're going to. You know, it's Scottsdale, it's Austin, Dallas. We know the towns that they're going to. They're taking their equity out of California. They're, they're buying their next home for cash. They probably will never come back to California, but it's a big time exodus out of California. Because of our relationships and because of our relationships with the Institute, we have got an amazing referral network to about any city in the country. The last two years, we've had the largest referral income to our practice ever, and it's been either side of $200,000 of referral income.

[Tammy]

Wow.

[Jim Wahlberg]

And that's an example of the amount of people leaving. So if we do a great job for them and they'd like somebody like us to be of service to them, to the next town that they're going to, we have that resource for them. So the demographics of our sellers is different than the demographics of our buyers.

[Tammy]

Totally. Totally. And that's going to be something that is enlightening to some of our listeners that are in markets where it's kind of lateral in the demographics of their buyers and sellers. But Jim, you have always done a stellar job of cultivating your referral relationship, and I give you credit all the time. And I want to point out when we talk about advantages and disadvantages and that sort of thing, that we always have the opportunity to overcome whatever is happening in our market hyperlocally. Right. So, okay, we don't have enough inventory. We've got these challenges to work. Whether it's the outbound sellers like, like you're talking about, or whether it's folks that are purchasing second homes second or third, there's always opportunity. If you just take the time to look for it and, and cultivate those relationships that can make that happen. So I'm really glad that you that, that you brought that up because it is absolutely key to succeeding in any market condition. So there's a sense anecdotally that, that buyers, especially in the upper tier are looking for what's been referred to as experienced based properties. Right. And, and this is kind of cross market. And so with the understanding that your buyers have very little to choose from in a competitive arena, are you seeing that they are looking for those types of experience based properties in your market?

[Jim Wahlberg]

Great question. Because of the tech clients that we're dealing with, Believe it or not, the one thing that they're looking for in a house is an office. So they're wanting to make sure there's enough bedroom count, but that's also an office because of their work from home. So they would rather have an office at their house than a gym. They. But there's some of the ultra, the ultra luxury properties we represent that has all of that. They are also looking for more than a three car garage. So it's just interesting that, you know, a house that has a four car garage or more seems to get a higher premium in a price point when you're talking about the experience based properties. We're very fortunate in our community that it's all about the quality of life outdoors. So it's not that that they're needing experience based property because the outdoors are, the opportunities are everywhere in our little community. We've got Mount Diablo State park literally in our backyard. The top of the mountain is nine miles from my house and there's 175 miles of trails on that mountain. So the outdoor activities, you don't need that at your house. Every house in our community has that opportunity. But if there's an experience based property definition, it would be very different in our market. They're looking for an office and they're looking for an extra. An extra like a four car garage.

[Tammy]

What are they putting in those garages? Right. How many cars do they need? Isn't California supposed to be on the leading edge of energy efficiency?

[Jim Wahlberg]

Well, there's some that have several electric cars.

[Tammy]

Got it.

[Jim Wahlberg]

There's many that have golf carts. So they're, they're just wanting a little extra space.

[Tammy]

And I hear that from real estate professionals all over. And we also are seeing that here in our market, of course we're constrained. If, if, if we had something with a four car garage, that would just be really unbelievable. Partly because most of our, most of Our inventory is, is older stock and the newer homes that are being built, they're making the house as big as possible. And the lot sizes are too small to get really any more than a two car garage. But I do hear that people are going for the golf carts and other types of recreational vehicles, trailers with jet skis or all sorts of other recreational vehicles. So that is something that I'm hearing from everyone across the board. But your answer about the destination, the location, the overall location, offering the kind of amenities that in some markets people need to have in their home is a really interesting factor. And do you think that that's one of the reasons why your zip code is performing as well as it is in general?

[Jim Wahlberg]

It's one of the reasons the quality of life is. It's pretty insane. Where we live, it's a walking town. We sometimes refer to it as a Western Carmel. It's just a really, a quaint, wonderful town. So the quality of life is, it's, it's really quite something.

[Tammy]

Now, one other thing that I, I want to ask is about California's mansion tax. Right. And I didn't prepare you for this, but it came into my thought process. You were talking, when you're talking numbers, you know, not necessarily the, the, the five million plus that got the big hit on that, but have you seen that have an impact in, in your marketplace, the overall mansion tax? And perhaps you can describe it in a nutshell for those that, that may not be familiar with it.

[Jim Wahlberg]

We are not impacted by the mansion tax in California because being a, an hour away from San Francisco, Peninsula, Silicon Valley, our price points are our highest price point. I think that Anne Marie and I have represented and sold in the last several years been $6 million.

[Tammy]

Hmm.

[Jim Wahlberg]

So we just don't have the price point. So when you're looking at ultra luxury, it's really 3 million to 4.5 million. So we just don't have it. One of the impacts or one of the positives that is happening in California is It's called Proposition 19, which doesn't mean anything to anybody outside of California, but it allows every county for me to move to any other county in, in California and preserve all or most of my property tax. So instead of being a prisoner to my property tax, If I'm over 55 years old, I can move to San Diego and move my property tax.

[Tammy]

Wow.

[Jim Wahlberg]

With me. With some caveats. So we just don't have the impact of the mansion tax. I mean, it's obviously a big deal in, in Southern California. My Guess is it's a big deal in parts of Silicon Valley, but we're, we're just too far away to have that price point.

[Tammy]

And that goes back to one of the points that I made early on about the major media messaging because everybody else in the world thinks that the mansion tax has completely strangled every bit of high end property in the entire state of California. So again, all the more reason to really pay attention to what's going on hyperlocally. And, and so I'm glad you had the opportunity to, to speak to that. So our time is, is coming to an end. And so Jim, I'm curious, do you have any parting thoughts or comments that you'd like to make to our listeners out there?

[Jim Wahlberg]

Well, hopefully it's a large group of Realtors that are part of the listening group. One of the things that we're working on right now that I would encourage anybody to consider is an exit plan. So in 2005, Anne Marie and I incorporated the name the Bay Area Team on purpose because it was a generic name as opposed to a personality name. So we have worked really hard on being very purposeful about our exit plan. We look for a long time for that partner that would end up buying out our practice. That partner's in place. The only asset that we have as a Realtor is the, the loyalty card that our database has given us. So our job with our partner, our new partner is to include her in that loyalty experience with our database. So we have over a thousand families that we've represented and she is, we're working very hard over a five year game plan of integrating her into each one of those families. So my parting thoughts are just because of my age and even if you're not 75 years old, it's probably not too early to think about positioning your real estate practice where you can actually create a legacy practice.

[Tammy]

So I know that that is always a topic that you like to share about and I'm glad you said it. And for, for those of our listeners that are newer to the industry, this is a good opportunity for you to really think about your career as a long term business and to be incorporating those thoughts about. So if you're contributing to your IRA or your 401k, you should equally give some thought and some time to planning what you want to do when. Well, I know for many of us the idea of not, not working in this industry, no matter how old we are, is, is kind of foreign to us. But, but really thinking strategically about your business as a business, it's never too early or too late. So with that in mind, I'm going to leave you all with wishes for a very successful, successful spring, summer, the year ahead. Pay attention to what's happening and always be looking for opportunities and things that you can work with to your advantage to overcome any kind of market condition. So thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Estate of the Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate. If you're interested in learning more about the Institute, you can find that at www.luxuryhomemarketing.com. if you like what you just heard, please share it with a friend. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review this podcast. If you've got a hot topic that you'd like us to discuss in a future podcast, feel free to let us know. Send an email to infoluxuryhomemarketing.com thanks so much for listening.

[Jim Wahlberg]

SA.