‘Most Real Estate Agents Suck’: Ramsey to Phoenix Newlywed Whose San Diego Studio Fell From $350K to $269K

Dave Ramsey skipped the diplomacy: “Most real estate agents suck.” His target was the agent of Logan, a Phoenix caller who married about a month ago and still owns a 360 square foot San Diego studio he bought in 2023.

The unit has sat vacant since March. It was first listed at $350,000 and now asks $269,000. His agent’s comparative market analysis puts it near $270,000.

Ramsey told him “the condo market didn’t drop that far in San Diego in that period of time” and added that “80% of the people in the real estate business only sell about 5% of the houses.” His fix: delist for two weeks to get a fresh MLS (multiple listing service) number, then hire a “high octane” agent who sells 30 to 300 houses a year.

Every month the studio remains empty, Logan pays carrying costs on a home nobody lives in. Relisting with a new agent at a price buyers can’t finance just resumes that clock.

Rising Mortgage Rates Are Shrinking the Buyer Pool for Starter Condos

Ramsey’s opinion on the opening price holds up. The cut so far totals about 23%, and Logan admitted he “thought it was more desirable than it was.” An overpriced launch burns the weeks when a listing gets the most attention.

Mortgage rates moved sharply while the studio sat. Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed average rose from 6.8% in early September to 7.4% in mid-October. That reading is the highest of the trailing year and remains 1.1 points above a year earlier.

Buyers responded by sitting out. Existing home sales ran at a 3.99 million annual pace in September, down 2% from a year ago, after bottoming at 3.93 million in August.

CNBC’s Diana Olick reported on October 1 that rates of 7.5% were freezing housing and hitting agents directly. Axios also reported that San Diego starter home prices are slipping, which is exactly Logan’s niche.

Your Buyer’s Mortgage Rate Sets Your Real Price Ceiling

Buyers shop by monthly payment. Take an example buyer putting 10% down on Logan’s $269,000 asking price, borrowing $242,100 over 30 years.

At February’s trailing low of 6%, principal and interest run about $1,448 a month. At 6.76%, that rises to roughly $1,572.

At 7.40%, it hits about $1,676.

That gap of about $228 a month adds up to roughly $2,734 a year for the identical studio.

A buyer who budgeted $1,448 in February can now afford only about $232,000 at 7.40%. Rates alone erased roughly $36,500 of that buyer’s purchasing power, and no listing photos can win it back.

Where Ramsey’s Agent Advice Still Pays Off

Dr. John Delony offered the best case for Ramsey. His own $120,000 house sat for nine months. Then a top producer who arrived in an Escalade sold it in 30 days. Delony had asked for “the number one salesman in this city.”

A high-volume agent brings buyer lists, sharper pricing, and negotiating tools. That agent still faces the same 7.40% rate. The upgrade works when the new agent prices to the buyer’s payment.

Five Moves to Sell a Stale Condo in a 7% Rate Market

1. Run the payment test. Plug your list price into a mortgage calculator at 7.40% with 10% down. If that payment tops what local buyers paid at February’s rates, your price is still too high.
2. Interview agents with hard questions. Ask each one how many condos they closed in your ZIP code over the past year, their average days on market, and their sale-to-list price ratio. Volume claims without closings are marketing.
3. Use the two-week break with a sharper number. Ramsey’s delisting trick works best when the relaunch price lands at or slightly under the comparative market analysis, so the listing reads fresh and fair.
4. Offer a rate buydown credit instead of another cut. A seller credit can pay discount points that lower the buyer’s rate. Each point typically costs 1% of the loan amount, and the lower payment often moves a buyer more than an equal price cut.
5. Total your vacancy costs. Add HOA dues, insurance, property taxes, and utilities since March. Compare that monthly drain with the price discount that would close the sale this month.

Your buyer’s mortgage rate sets the price you’ll actually get, and a better agent helps you reach it with sharper pricing and wider exposure.

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