Top Real Estate Brokerages in San Diego
- Published on
- 7 min read
-
Joseph Gordon EditorClose
Joseph Gordon EditorJoseph Gordon is an Editor with HomeLight. He has several years of experience reporting on the commercial real estate and insurance industries.
If you’re looking to sell your San Diego home, one of the best tools you can add to your arsenal is partnering with a trusted local real estate agent. The real estate market in San Diego is competitive, and selling a home is a complex process.
A trusted local agent with a top real estate brokerage in San Diego can help you demystify the process and get you the best value for your property when it hits the open market.
As of August, the average days on market in San Diego, that is, the time it takes for a home to sell once it has been listed, sits at 13 Days, while homes typically sell for a median of $1,250,000—a 2.2 increase from the previous year.
This guide will provide you with a list of local trusted agents in your area from top brokerages or real estate companies in California, along with some alternatives to consider, particularly if you need to sell your home fast.
Consult With a Top-Performing San Diego Agent
It takes just two minutes to match you with the top-performing real estate agents in your San Diego market. Our data shows that the top 5% of agents in the U.S. sell homes quicker and for as much as 10% more than the average agent.
Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Links and mentions of specific companies or individuals should not be considered endorsements.
What is a real estate brokerage?
Real estate brokers are professionals with additional training and are licensed to run their own businesses, called brokerages. Agents without a broker’s license must work under a brokerage to legally buy or sell property and typically do so as independent contractors. Most brokerages make money by taking a portion of the agent’s commission from each successful transaction.
Since brokerages profit from agents’ success, it’s in a brokerage’s best interest to support its agents. For sellers, it’s important to consider the kinds of support that a brokerage provides its agents.
This support can often include training, access to large marketing networks, the latest technology, or a large support staff.
Why work with an agent?
There are several reasons why you should consider working with a real estate agent when selling your home rather than selling on your own.
One of the biggest reasons is that selling your home “for sale by owner” will typically net you less overall profit than selling through an agent—23.5% less on average, according to the National Association of Realtors. FSBO homes sold for a median price of $310,000 last year. In comparison, homes sold with the assistance of a real estate agent had a median sale price of $405,000. That’s a difference of $95,000.
Additionally, a real estate agent can help you get more money for your home sale but can also help you wade through a lengthy and complicated sales process.
An agent is your advocate for you and your property, and they can provide insight into their local market or assist you in finding a real estate attorney who can deal with any unexpected complications that might occur.
- Have you sold homes in this area and my price range before?
- How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood in the past year?
- How will you help me prepare my home to sell?
- Will I be working with you directly or with a team?
- What are the average days on market for your listings?
- What is your average list-to-sales price ratio?
- How long have you been an agent?
- How many homes do you help buyers purchase each year?
- Do you work full-time or part-time as an agent?
- Do you work with both buyers and sellers?
List of Top Brokerages in San Diego
Not all brokerages and agents are created equal, and there are countless options to choose from. Rather than wade through an endless list of companies, we’ve compiled a list of some of the top real estate brokerages in San Diego, along with some top real estate agents, for you to consider on your home-selling journey.
eXp Realty
eXp Realty, founded in 2009, is one of the largest brokerages by transaction sides and agent count, with 355,052 sides and over 87,000 agents globally in 2023, according to RealTrends. Headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, it operates in the U.S. and 23 other countries. The company refers to itself as the first “cloud-based brokerage” and leverages technology to simplify real estate transactions and lower costs tied to physical offices. In 2023, it reported $143 billion in sales, despite a 3% dip in transactions.
Kyle Whissel, with Whissel Realty Group, is a HomeLight Elite Agent brokered by eXp Realty serving the San Diego market. HomeLight Elite Agents are the top 1% of HomeLight agents. They consistently provide the best service to clients and get the best results.
Whissel has 20 years of experience and over 3,000 transactions. He is also a single-family home expert, working with 86% more single-family homes than the average San Diego agent.
Keller Williams Realty
According to data from Real Trends, Keller Williams San Diego Metro is a brokerage based in San Diego, CA. It is a Keller Williams affiliate with 217 active licensed agents across all residential sales office(s). Keller Williams San Diego Metro serves clients in California.
Gregg Phillipson is one such top real estate agent working with Keller Williams Realty. He has over 30 years of experience and has completed over 1,500 transactions. Phillipson serves customers in the San Diego area and is an expert in single-family home transactions, having completed 85% more than the average San Diego agent.
Performance Realty Estates & Homes
Performance Realty Estates & Homes is a California-based brokerage led by HomeLight Elite Agent Jim Holbrook. Performance Realty approaches real estate with a marketing slant, putting clients first.
Holbook has over 15 years of experience and has completed over 1,100 transactions. He serves several markets across Riverside County and is a single-family home expert, having completed over 1,000 single-family home transactions.
Compass
Founded in 2012, Compass has been one of the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage by sales volume for three consecutive years, with $184 billion in 2023, according to RealTrends. Despite a 15.5% drop in transactions due to rising interest rates, Compass performed better than the national average decline of 18.7%.
Headquartered in New York City, Compass operates over 300 offices across 72 markets, with a strong presence in major metros. Compass has around 14,689 principal agents.
Chad Dannecker is a top real estate agent with Compass with over 20 years of experience serving customers across the San Diego area. Dannecker sells homes fast, selling homes 63% faster than the average San Diego agent.
Premier Homes Team
Premier Homes is a San Diego-based brokerage and member of Big Bloc Realty. The company has sold over $500 million in real estate and has a combined 45 years of experience across its staff.
Glen Henderson is a HomeLight Elite Agent with the Premier Homes Team with over 2,000 transactions to his name. He has over 20 years of experience in real estate and several five-star reviews touting his service and support.
HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell Program
Let’s say you’re ready to sell your current home, but your dream home pops up unexpectedly. You don’t want to wait for your current home to sell as you might miss out on a great opportunity, so what can you do?
Enter HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell Program. This program lets you leverage the equity in your existing home so that you can move into your new forever home without delay.
Here’s a quick look at how it works:
Start Making Offers Without Waiting to Sell Your Home
Through our Buy Before You Sell program, HomeLight can help you unlock a portion of your equity upfront to put toward your next home. You can then make a strong offer on your next home with no home sale contingency.
Ready to sell your San Diego home?
Selling your home can be a scary and complicated process, but don’t worry—HomeLight is here to help.
Whenever you’re ready to get started, HomeLight can connect you with a top real estate agent in your California market. We’ll help you find the best agent in your area—one equipped with the expertise to build a selling strategy that works best for you, whether you’re selling an inherited home or relocating for your next journey as a homeowner.
Header Image Source: (big.tiny.belly / Unsplash)
At HomeLight, our vision is a world where every real estate transaction is simple, certain, and satisfying. Therefore, we promote strict editorial integrity in each of our posts.
