Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Escondido code sweep nets pile of real estate signs; agents irked | The San Diego Union-Tribune


Escondido code sweep nets pile of real estate signs; agents irked

I had to laugh a bit at this story.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

As the next election approaches, I hope the real estate agents remember this, and do the city a similar favor by collecting and disposing of all those stupid political signs.

Mr. Brightside said...

Now that would be welcome! Personally I don't like a lot of signage and see many examples downtown spam type of signs.

I understand the need for "Open House" signage and am not against the practice. I've seen "Dumping Condos" a few times downtown and even though I'm bearish on the market I think it's clutter.

Anonymous said...

Political signs are almost always placed on private property with owners' choice or permission. I have rarely seen political signs on corners of intersections, etc like real estate signs.

Anonymous said...

This is TOO rich - I almost chocked on my lunch laughing!!!

Anonymous said...

Good God, anonymous, OPEN YOUR EYES! Those stupid signs are everywhere.

The politicians are no better than TAGGERS who spray paint their initials on the overpass.

At least the real estate signs tell us some information, other than a person's name.

Anyway, one year I took down every sign in my neighborhood. EVERY sign. The various parites/candidates of course blamed each other. For several years after that, they'd tear down each other's signs, saving me the trouble.

Sven said...

That's awesome. It is pretty wacky just how many signs you see on every street corner anymore. I mean it's not an issue if you see a sign or two every 3 or 4 blocks, but when you have 6 signs per intersection like we do here in Pacific Beach on a weekend...

I can't really think of how to restrict it so that it's just not clutter. I suppose when the market has a chance to correct some more, it'll flush out some sellers and make some agents find other jobs.

Anonymous said...

These RE signs are great when you are in the market for buying. It would be annoying to mapquest all the ads in papers rather than folling arrows on the streets.

When you are not in the market to buy, the signs are the annoying ones.

Can't have your cake and eat it too...

Anon 2:59: Not sticking up for politians in any way, but signs on private property is a different issue, whether you see it the same or not.

Anonymous said...

I have no particular sympathy for the politicians, or for the RE types and their reckless clients. Having said that...

You vigilante types who think you own all the sidewalks and are entitled to telling people what to post or not, please just mind your own business, keep your eyes on the road and move on. The signage is harming no one. If you happen to own the lawn the sign is on, then, and only then, please do as you think is best with your property.

Those of you who just report what they see and draw conclusions without drifting into "there oughta be a law" territory: Thanks and please keep it up!

Bob

Mr. Brightside said...

Hi ripped off realtor,

I see the need for the signs. I'm not a fan of the handwritten "Downtown Condos, Free Recorded Message" variety as they are not marketing a specific property.

Like a lot of things in life little is black and white.

What areas of San Diego do you focus on? What is your read on the market?

Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

My 2 cents on Realtors. . .I have been very kind to realtors here and on other blogs. . .many have confused them with "financial advisors" during the Real Estate Bubble, but they were just there to sell and market your property. Stock brokers didn't make people buy internet stocks (although some of the talking heads on CNBC made misleading comments). If there is blame here, it was greed and speculators, and perhaps the large sub-prime mortgage companies, that created loans for anyone witha pulse.

Sven said...

I'm not going to try to be antagonistic here, and I understand and appreciate that you are just trying to make a living with real estate. At the same time though, the REAL problem appears to be that there are just too many realtors. The reason you have to try so hard to get customers (door to door) is because you will get overlooked in the sea of people in your profession when someone is looking to buy a place and seek out a realtor. The market was too good for too long.

The last figure I heard showed real estate agents growing at some phenominal rate. (I don't remember the number specifically, but it was in the ballpark of doubling over 3 years) A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was in medical school and was seriously thinking about dropping out to do real estate because a girl in school with him was selling real estate on the side (while going to medical school mind you) and pulled in 120k in the last year.

Let's bring things into perspective. I am a computer programmer. I spent almost 10 years professionally and about 6 years in school to make my current average of 80k-100k a year. This is working 50-60 hours in a week. For someone to spend a couple of months studying, take a test, and make 120k in a year just doesn't balance out. Professional architects very often work for 10-20 years before they can get close to a six figure salary. (this is with a college degree too) Yes, Real Estate takes licensing and training, but I know people who have completed the program in less than 3 months.


I do sympathize that the industry is just swamped right now, and a lot of great, professional real estate agents who have invested a lot of time and effort in the industry aren't doing well now. My only consolation to this is that it will get better. Sellers will get realistic, volume will go back up, and a lot of people will switch to different professions. (in turn reducing competition) I just hope that people like you saved up for times like this back during the housing boom.



Think on the "brightside", at least your job is never outsourced to India ;)