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Are You Overpaying? The Truth About Santa Clarita Real Estate Commissions in 2025 · Connor with Honor: AI, Real Estate and Real Life

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: March 5th, 2025.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Good day, everybody.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about real estate commission, different structures, and then of course, before that, let's talk about the local market.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, watching what's happening here in Santa Clarita as we breach into that first week of March, we are seeing that there are many more listings that have been hitting the market for sale, all of which you can see at Santa Clarita Openhouses.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: What I did is I made sure the platform was unlocked.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be able to get the latest in real estate news.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Also, today I'll have sold properties posted on the home page by area.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll see sold properties in Santa Clarita Valley altogether.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can zoom in and then look in your neighborhood.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And these are the most recent properties that have closed escrow.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: You'll see various terms reflecting, you'll see what they sold for, and then also what type of financing was used if they use financing.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: And 95% of the real estate that's sold in Santa Clarita Valley does involve some kind of financing or a loan or a mortgage.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: The rest of the 5%, 3-5% is going to depend, depending on what time of year.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: But usually those are typically investors, and they're going to be making, of course, that's a cash type purchase.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: As far as what's happening right now, if we look at the coming soon listings in the past seven days, 13, we have 110 new listings that have hit the market.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: 60 properties have had their prices changed.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: 19 properties have fallen out of escrow, gone back on the market for sale.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: 30 properties are active under contract.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: These are properties that have gone into escrow.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: 55 property altogether in escrow.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: So we have 85 properties currently that have entered escrow in this last seven days.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So these are properties that are moving with a higher buyer drive.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: We have 42 properties closed this past week.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Nine properties expired, six canceled, eight have been put on hold, two withdrawn from the market.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: With this kind of movement, this is definitely indicative of a new year.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Spring and summer usually are the fastest times for real estate.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: We see a heightened buyer drive as well.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: What we're also seeing in Santa Clarita, depending on your able ability to finance and FICO score, debt to income ratio, we are noticing that these loans, the interest rates are actually creeping down.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: There is more confidence in that 10-year bond, and that's where those interest rates are basically held to, and we are seeing reductions in those.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that's very, very good news.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't with a lender, you can reach out to me.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I have some fantastic people that I've worked with for a long time in real estate.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing this since 1998.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Or of course, you can also go to your bank or credit union wherever you happen to work with.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: I will tell you just to be a bit cautious because most of these vendors have people in the real estate realm that they're working with.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And while that's okay, that's not a problem.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I still think even as far as a lender goes, you should use the one you feel most comfortable with.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes down to price, even real estate commissions, and I'll get into that in just a moment, it's really the lowest common denominator in regard to that.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: The days of these super heightened commissions are really a thing of the past.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you're paying a lot of money in commission, you might want to rethink the strategy again, not doing any disservice to anyone, but you have choices.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: This entire thing, the lid was blown off of the real estate sector with regard to commissions last year for the lawsuit in Missouri, and that changed the whole thing.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, now you'll know that's changed because if you're going out to purchase real estate, you'll have to sign a contract.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that contract dictates that it's not necessarily the seller who's going to be paying that agent that represents you.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Then the other question comes in: well, shouldn't I just use the seller's agent?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then I throw back to that.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going into a car dealership, wouldn't it be nice to have somebody on your side that knows the inner workings of the dealership so you don't have to sit there for six hours and sweat and drink 15 cups of coffee in order to try to get through this negotiation process because the salesman keeps going back and forth to the manager, trying to get some kind of an approval, just like in every movie ever made about car dealers, when you get into a real estate realm and you want to purchase real estate, it's really good to have somebody on your own site as well that will be able to do the same things.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, don't forget the car salesman works for the car dealer.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: The agent representing the seller works for the seller.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So consider these things before going out and signing on the line, which is dotted with the actual agent representing the seller.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Some agents have no issue working in the dual agency realm.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I shouldn't say no issue.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: They don't care.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: They believe that they can also the best service for a real estate buyer that happens to be also that same agent working for the real estate seller.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I say, you know, think about it this way.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: When you have that singular agent that already has a contract with the seller, they have been representing them, they talked to them about original commission levels, they took it from there, and then they got their property on the market, they talked to them about price and all these other things.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you go to them to represent you in the purchase of that same house, and let's say you're going through this process, you're in guess your investigative process, you find issues, let's say, with a neighbor's roots from a tree that have grown on over under a fence into your property that you're going to be purchasing that looks like they're going to be causing damage to your fence line or your maybe sewer, maybe the clean out, maybe the piping, maybe your residence as well.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And you want to take action before and talk to your agent and say, listen, I really want to buy the seller's house, but these roots are going to be a problem.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Or these trees that are canopying over into my yard are going to be a problem.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: What if something happens?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: These trees are super old.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: What if one of the limbs breaks and breaks my house?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Again, these are issues to bring up.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say you have a slope in the backyard, and that slope continues up into a neighbor's yard, and they're responsible, let's say, for 50% of the hillside, but they haven't done anything.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: You see a lot of overgrowth of brush and these other things, there could be a fire issue there.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you take that to your agent who also represents the seller and say, listen, this is what I want done.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is the kind of request.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And let's say your agent does it, because that's what they're supposed to do.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to talk to you, they're going to counsel you, but ultimately, you as a real estate buyer, it's your decision.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: So they decide to they do do what you want, they put it together, they take it to the seller.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: The seller's gonna look at them, hey Jack, I thought I hired you to represent me.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: What's this nonsense?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: You're bringing me something.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: So the conversation starts to get a little, a little difficult at times.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Not people can't do it.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Not that somebody can't perform.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I know I did a video on something similar the other day, and some of the say, well, I don't have any problem with that.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Great, good for you.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: As far as I'm concerned, just like dad taught me, it's really nice to have your own advocate, your own person on your side 100%.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: That way there's no question.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now I don't have any relationship with the seller if I happen to be representing a buyer.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: There are a few states that actually outlaw that act called dual agency.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe Canada also does not allow that.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: The agents have to be sold in separate.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: This agent representing the seller on this particular property.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: The buyer's agent can't be the same agent.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: They have to have their own.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: California happens to make it legal out here, and that's great, but it might be something to consider before jumping all in.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I know that I talk to folks about this when I'm hosting open houses for my sellers.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are Santa ClaritaOpenhouses.com.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: You go there and you'll see a ton of open houses that happen to be posted open on any any kind of weekend.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the agents hosting those open houses are actually employed by the seller.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to be the agent whose picture and like mine is on the sign out front.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to be an agent that said, you know what, I'm I'm not doing great in business.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to get some leads.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: So they'll call me up and say, hey, Connor, would you mind if I held a house open for you this particular weekend?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, depending on the seller's needs and depending on what I believe and think of the agent and these sorts of things, because it all plays a part.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to have somebody try to soil my seller's listing by having a bad reputation.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: But ultimately, sure, go ahead.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's some rules.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you don't do anything wrong, ethically, morally, maybe.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And usually it works out great.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: But you don't know who you're dealing with.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the thing that I would say is when you have your own agent, even if you're going to go out and visit open houses, that's fine.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have your own agent, at least when it comes to time to writing an offer, when it comes to time after that offer is accepted and you need to negotiate for repairs, for credits, for whatever it may be with the seller, then it's those agents basically working with each other or against each other to try to get their client what they really want.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, if there's something that's discovered that's wrong with the property, the seller's going to want to attend to it anyway, even if they end up not selling the house, because most of those issues are pretty big ticket items, especially the ones that are going to be talked about on a request for repairs, usually not paint or usually not some cosmetic issues.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: These are health and safety things that are typically addressed.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if the agent is working for you, that's also working with the seller, and they take it back, their seller might say, Well, that's not a big deal.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and I bought the house that way.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's a big one.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: It could be that codes have changed, rules have changed.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: This happens all the time.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: So the agent maybe wasn't upfront enough to explain to their seller, listen, this is going to have to have a carbon monoxide detector, even though you've been living here for a thousand years without one.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: You might want to put one in because it's going to be required.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Or smoke detectors, you're going to need additional ones.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe there's certain rules about a gas seismic shutoff valve for earthquakes in a particular area.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there has to be some kind of water test done also.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: If the property has a sewage like a septic type system, those have to be certified as well.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: And termite, you know, looking for termites and wood and organisms, again, part of this process.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: So there are a lot of investigations that need to be done.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And as a real estate buyer, you need to know that your interests are completely vested and going to be upheld by your professional.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now I promised that I was going to talk about commission.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of different commission structures out there.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: I would just say that if you're talking to somebody and it really sounds a little weird and odd, you might want to get further clarification.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what I always tell to my clients, because there's hourly commission rates, there's bulk, the typical traditional percentage-based commission rates, there's flat fee commission rates.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's all sorts of different ones.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, whether they're allowed by the board of realtors or not, these are different stories.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: These are things that you might want to follow up with, the agent that's pitching this kind of uh modified commission structure they've never really heard of.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: I would follow it up with him in an email and say, hey, listen, Connor, I appreciate you explaining me your flat fee commission service.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Would you mind reiterating what it's about?
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because I want to talk to a relative or a friend or this or that, and then have me give you a rundown as to what that means, if it's an hourly thing, how that works, if it's just the regular commission rate, how that works.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And everything that's included, it's important to follow up.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Most people are just so swooned when they have that meeting with the agent that they're signing things before actually understanding it.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: It really is about protection.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: And this goes with anybody.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, you work with me and you trust me, that's fine.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know I'll never do you wrong.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: But at that point, you should completely vet me and my services as you should anybody else you're working with.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm referring to you to a lender, I would just give them a look, see what's going on, talk to them a little bit, get a feeling.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And again, they should be very upfront with the fees that you're paying.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Just because you have all this equity.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing when agents say we don't want to throw away your hard-earned equity.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: In some cases, folks, equity isn't really hard-earned.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: You bought a house, you waited a few years, and now all of a sudden you have all this equity.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's not really hard-earned equity, but it is your equity, and you have a choice as to what you want to do.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can sell your house yourself, but you don't think that you're going to need a real estate agent.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's a that's a large hole to crawl in.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: You can figure it all out, and that's fine.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: I do give people tips and tricks on how to do that as well if they want to forego it and and you know, do it themselves.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Forego agent.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: I can build websites now, and I do.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: I have other things that I real estate realm, but 20 years ago I wouldn't have been able to.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now everything has changed.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I try to learn these processes so I can better advertise and market for my sellers and find those best deals for my buyers utilizing the different tools that I have, and also ascribing to the artificial intelligence mainframe, using those particular results and taking properties that are currently listed for sale for my investor groups, and also crunching those numbers and finding out where the best deal, the next best deal might be coming from.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, scouring all sorts of things, tax records, cancel properties, expired homes, these sorts of things.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's very important if I'm out there representing buyers, which I am.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm looking, if I'm representing investors, which I do, I have a small group.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, real estate sellers, what's the best way to advertise market and list their property for sale?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And where's that value add as far as what we're gonna be pricing their particular property for sale?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: How's that going to work?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And what's that commission structure?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then working all those numbers out at the net sheet, if it's sold at a particular price, if they've agreed that they're gonna cover a buyer's agent's commission fee, whatever it may be, or not, it's their choice.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: But again, some still ascribe to do that and some don't.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's why you, as a real estate buyer, need to know going in what potentially the agent that you select is going to be charging, and of course it's gonna be in a contract, and then you can work it out.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody can always ask for something.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you get into a contractual agreement with a seller, even before that, when you're writing your offer with your agent, you can ask for anything.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Whether or not you're going to get it, that's another question.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then whether it's going to take a lot of time or be looked at by the seller as they don't even want to respond to, these are other things that need careful consideration, especially in a market that's moving pretty quick, briskly.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to take up too much time asking for odd things or things that aren't typical in a market.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's why that local expert's going to help.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, having said that, doesn't mean you can't do what you want.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: You are the boss.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, you should be able to tell your realtor professional, hey, listen, this is what I want to do.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: I really want that chandelier, and I want a dozen kazoos if I'm going to get an escrow on this property, and they can make that part of the offer.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: They want the chandelier and they want a dozen kazoos.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Those sorts of the kazoos.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe that's part of your process, what you need.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, far be it from me to tell you no, I would just say the market's a little hot.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Those kazoos, I mean, what is that going to look like?
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Bucks to get a dozen of those?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what kind of quality you're looking for.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: But we can kind of work that out if you really need to.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: But if you really want the seller to do it, if that's part of your process, then we'll put it into the offer.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Just understand that that could be a time delay, or it could make the seller question and during the time that they're processing this dozen kazoo option, then other offers come in.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: They might not want kazoos, they might just want donuts or maybe pencils or nothing else.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they just want it right.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: A standard run-of-the-mill garden variety offer, making the seller say, Well, kazoos, donuts, pencils, I'd probably just go with this one instead of responding to everybody.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's ways to do things, folks.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Check out the blog SantaClaritaOpenhouses.com.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Again, sold properties for the sellers out there that are looking to see where the closings are occurring.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Also, uh, just real quick, your neighbors, if you want to know what their house sold for, it's really best.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can ask them.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: But usually, especially if they sold it less than they had intended, less that they were talking about at the beginning, you want to verify that.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I have those sold properties, they'll be posted up at the home page at SantaClaritaOpenhouses.com.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Have a fantastic rest of your week.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: I will be doing a video later on, let's see, we are at Wednesday, so today's going to be Saugus.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: The Saugus inventory, I'll pull that and show you that specifically and what's happening.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Connor with Honor.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: We will see you in the next one.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Over and out.