Dana Graham

March 2026 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor:

Last call to get your house on the market before the Spring rush.  As you know, I am a bit of a contrarian as to the general adage that Spring is the best time to sell.  Those who promulgate that idea do so on the logic that most transactions happen in the Spring and Summer.  While that is statistically true, if you think about it, that is not good for you, the seller.  If you’re the seller, you want to be on the market when there aren’t 25 other comparable houses for the buyer to choose from.  So if you’re considering selling, give me a call.  We still have time to optimize the timing, marketing, etc.  30 year fixed rate mortgages are back down into the 5%’s.

Have you ever asked yourself why homeowners hire a certain Realtor to sell their house?  Speaking from 41 years of experience in this business it is not (or shouldn’t be) because they advertise a lot (which they actually only do to get more listings), sell the most houses, claim to have the most buyers, or have the slickest presentation.  The unvarnished truth is that you could list your house with any Realtor who puts the house on the Multiple Listing Service and you are going to get the same buyers looking at the house, the same offers, etc, etc; in other words, at that point all serious buyers are going to be aware of your house no matter who your agent is.  You should choose your agent based upon his/her track record from that point until close of escrow:  how carefully and competently they review offers (18 pages of densely packed legalese which can hide landmines that could threaten the deal down the road), how thoroughly they check out the buyer who looks the best on paper (is his lender reliable, is his downpayment in a local bank, is he actually relying on selling his condo in Long Beach, etc).  This is probably the most crucial stage of a home sale and can lay the groundwork for success or failure.  Will the agent personally attend all pivotal events during the escrow period – inspections, appraisal, contractor estimates, etc – rather than sending a sub-agent or assistant.  Most of the big agents have less experienced assistants and/or transaction coordinators to keep an eye on escrows.  I do not.  I do everything myself (one reason I’m in the office at 5:30 am every day) and bring my 41 years of experience and many hundreds of sales (I’ve got to count them up one of these days – it’s closing in on 1000) to bear on your sale; no matter the apparent looming disaster, I have probably seen it before and know what the solution is.  This is the kind of agent I wanted when I was the customer, so that is the kind of agent I am.  I am typically within the top 10 agents in PV in listings sold among the thousands doing business here — #11 last year.

I’ve got a new listing coming up in Sea View – 3 bedrooms 2.5 baths, one level, with pool and view.  This is an original Paul R Williams design pretty much unaltered but very well-maintained.  I’ve got a couple more coming up in Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates – if they’re ready in time, I’ll include them here; if not, call or email me for the latest – 310 613-1076 or [email protected], and thank you for your support.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2026 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Buyers, Everything I've Written, Newsletters, Palos Verdes Information, Real Estate General Info, Sellers, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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