MEET OUR TEAM
We market homes to achieve the highest price possible in the shortest amount of time
Once you choose to list with the DeLeon Team, you will meet both your designer and field coordinator who will work closely with us to prepare your home for sale. Our goal is to exceed your expectations by listening to your needs and shifting much of the work relating to the sale of your home to ourselves, including home preparation, marketing, negotiation, and escrow. Plus, we will make sure any improvements to your home are done beautifully, within budget, and on time.
DELEON LISTING SERVICES:
DESIGN & HOME PREPARATION
• Dedicated interior designer
• Staging (furniture rental, delivery, set up, de-staging) with no additional fees
• Property inspection and pest inspection
• Dedicated field coordinator
CONTRACT & LEGAL ASSISTANCE
• Strategic contract negotiations, transaction coordination, and escrow management
• Real estate attorney provided to review disclosures and answer tax-related questions*
CUSTOM MARKETING
• Custom 12-page home brochure
• Multiple, full-page newspaper ads
• Custom home website with 3D virtual tour and narrated video
• Online and social media marketing campaigns
• Professional architectural photography
• Ad in The DeLeon Insight real estate magazine
• Extensive marketing to international buyers
* Legal services are provided by the Integra Law Group, LLP. See listing agreement for more details and limitations.
HOME PREPARATION
Making your home stand out from the rest
Strategic staging goes beyond mere decoration – it serves as the key to highlighting your home’s strengths, allowing it to shine amid the sea of listings buyers are likely to encounter. DeLeon Realty partners with top staging firms in Silicon Valley to reimagine your home’s interior, ensuring that it not only captures but captivates the eyes of discerning home buyers both in person and online.
We also have an extensive collection of outdoor furniture, artwork, rugs, and other staging inventory custom curated for Silicon Valley. DeLeon Realty pays for your home’s staging, which includes furniture rental and fees associated with design, delivery, set up, and de-staging. Plus, we will not be reimbursed at closing for this service.
DELEON REALTY PAYS ALL FEES FOR YOUR HOME’S STAGING.
DEDICATED DESIGNER THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS
Your designer will manage your home preparation and unleash your home’s potential value. They will coordinate directly with vendors to prepare your home, which includes scheduling start and end dates for the project, overseeing the work, and making sure the work is appropriately performed. Our designers work extensively with the top staging companies in Silicon Valley and will select the one that best fits your home.
ADVANTAGEOUS PRICING FROM PREFERRED VENDORS
Due to our high volume of listings, we are able to negotiate special pricing with many local vendors. Our designers will guide these vendors on exactly which repairs or improvements will result in a higher sales price. There is no markup or other referral fee from any vendor who works with DeLeon Realty - all savings are passed directly to you.
“… [the DeLeon Team] transformed our house so that we fell in love with it all over again, and apparently so did potential buyers!” - Jackie L.
DEDICATED FIELD COORDINATOR
Our field coordinator, who is an experienced handyman, will assist with preparation at your property at no charge. Services include a multi-point, pre-inspection checklist, so simple items can be addressed before the buyers arrive. These may include gutter cleaning, landscaping, checking or installing mandated smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, replacing light bulbs, oiling squeaky hinges, and much more.
COMPLIMENTARY PROPERTY AND PEST INSPECTIONS
DeLeon Realty will pay for your property inspection, natural hazard disclosure report, and pest inspection, and we will not be reimbursed at closing for these services.
EXPERT GUIDANCE AND SOLUTIONS
The DeLeon Team can provide guidance to help simplify both the home preparation process and relocation. Our design coordinators offer solutions to our clients to help them downsize, declutter, move items to storage, and even move into their new home. We have a number of resources, including 1,500 moving crates, that are available for our clients to use at no additional charge to them.
DISCLOSURES
For your peace of mind, we provide attorney services at no additional cost to you
In order to ensure the best protection for our clients and their interests, DeLeon Realty provides a licensed California real estate attorney to answer all of your disclosure or tax-related questions and guide you through the process. There is no additional fee for this enhanced level of service and protection.
EXCEPTIONAL MARKETING
Captivate as many buyers as possible
Our listing team works closely with the best marketing team in real estate, consisting of in-house professionals, to craft a marketing plan that highlights all of the best qualities of your home and neighborhood. Unlike most other Realtors®, we do not outsource this important function to third-party providers who use the same templates for multiple agents and brokerages.
We have devised a strategic marketing plan with key aspects that have proven effective for our clients. We pride ourselves on providing more exposure for our listings than any other brokerage , both in print and digital, and it starts with our extensive marketing.
Also, because of our high volume, we know which agents have buyers looking for a home like yours, even if they are looking in a different area.
PRESENT YOUR HOME
Inspire buyers with engaging & memorable home tours
DeLeon Realty hosts open houses that are regularly well-attended, thanks in large part to promoting the events via e-blasts, online and newspaper ads, TV commercials, radio ads, and on social media.
Our open house events often create a buzz around the home and add to the high number of offers that we receive. Plus, busy open houses make potential buyers feel like the home is more desirable, and the attendance we generate at these events contributes directly to our strong sales statistics.
”The team addressed everything from staging, maintenance and landscaping. Our home had multiple offers and sold within six days.” - Madeline B.
2822 KIPLING STREET
430 SAN DOMINGO WAY
SOLD FOR $4,650,000 Seller paid 2% commission to buyer’s agent
FOR $3,988,000
1320 OAKHURST AVENUE LOS ALTOS SOLD FOR $6,211,320 Seller paid 2.5% commission to buyer’s agent
2350 HARVARD STREET
204 WALTER HAYS DRIVE
FOR $2,488,000
206 PALMITA PLACE MOUNTAIN VIEW
MORE THAN REAL ESTATE, WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE
DeLeon Realty owes much of its success over the past 12 years to the immensely talented people who work for us. We attract the best with our competitive compensation, full benefits, and abundant company perks.
At the heart of our company’s core values, DeLeon Realty strives to provide JOYFUL EXPERIENCES for our employees and make MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS with the community.
A HAPPY TEAM MAKES HAPPY CLIENTS
• Adventurous annual company trips, including week-long cruises and fun ski trips
• Uplifting & festive office activities
• One-of-a-kind cultural events
• Inspiring team building outings
LIFE IS FUN WHEN WORK IS FUN.
“Recently, I had the opportunity to plan an employee ski & snowmobile getaway to Lake Tahoe. Michael and Ken spared no expense to make it a memorable and great experience.” - Jessica Taylor, Office Manager, DRE #01913236
MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE
The DeLeon Team enjoys giving back to the community and engaging in a number of local events and humanitarian efforts. Some of these include:
• Annual sponsor of the Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run
• Volunteer work with local organizations including Project WeHOPE in East Palo Alto
• Partnerships with the Bill Wilson Center and Toys For Tots to provide holiday gifts to those in need
• Annual donations of supplies to local schools
The answer is simple: By orchestrating off-market deals, agents can often collect commission from both the buyer and the seller. This results in more money in the agent’s or brokerage’s pocket even if the final sale price is substantially lower. In these cases, their personal financial incentives directly conflict with their fiduciary duty to maximize the seller’s sales price.
Why Do Agents Like “Hidden,” “Pocket,” and “Office Exclusive” Listings?”
There are three main reasons why agents are drawn to “officeexclusive,” “pocket,” or off-MLS listings:
1) More Commission — The agent and/or the brokerage significantly increase their chances of representing both the buyer and the seller when a property is kept off the open market. This dual representation allows them to potentially collect the full commission—or at least a substantial referral fee—on both sides of the transaction.
2) Appealing to Strategic Buyers — Agents or brokerages can attract buyers seeking a lower price by offering access to exclusive, non-public listings that are hidden from a broader pool of qualified buyers. Reduced market exposure and limited competition usually translates into lower sale prices— an appealing prospect for buyers looking to secure a deal.
These off-market opportunities allow agents to charge higher commissions. It is not uncommon for buyers to agree to pay buyer’s-side commission of 2%, 2.5%, or more if they believe these "hidden" listings could sell for 5% to 8% below market value due to the lack of competition.
3) Reduced Costs — Under the MLS’s “Clear Cooperation Policy,” agents are prohibited from advertising a listing, or even informing agents from other brokerages of its availability, unless the property is on the MLS within 24 hours of the public dissemination of the information. While there are now some recently enacted exceptions to this rule, our experience has been that few listing agents make their hidden listings available to agents outside of their office. By keeping listings off-market, agents not only increase their chances of earning a
second level of commission—or at least a substantial referral fee—from the buyer’s side, but also save on marketing costs.
The California Association of Realtor’s (C.A.R.’s) Position
While some agents resort to intimidation tactics or make disingenuous threats of group boycotts to pressure sellers into pre-committing to specific buyer-agent commissions—including commissions payable to the listing agent if the buyer comes to them directly—the California Association of Realtors has taken a much more client favorable and ethical position.
Like DeLeon Realty, C.A.R. maintains that listing agreements should not include any pre-set commission offered to the buyer’s agent. After all, buyers are now required to negotiate and agree to the compensation they will pay their own agent. In fact, C.A.R. has even removed the section in its standard listing agreement that previously obligated sellers to offer commission to the buyer’s agent. Nevertheless, some agents seeking to preserve the traditional commission model, irrespective of the massive court loss and terms of the settlement, continue to use alternative forms, such as those provided by PRDS, which still include that outdated and potentially problematic line by which the seller pre-commits to a commission to the buyer’s agent.
DeLeon Realty’s Position
C.A.R’s position is also closely aligned with DeLeon Realty’s view that sellers should welcome all offers, most certainly including those in which the buyer requests the seller to cover some or all of the commission the buyer owes to the buyer’s agent. Like the price and contingency periods, this commission request becomes a point of negotiation.
One might ask, what’s the difference? The key distinction is that buyers are unlikely to request more than they have already agreed to pay their own agent, unless the seller has pre-committed to offering a higher amount. Additionally, DeLeon Realty is the only major local brokerage that always gives self-directed buyers the option of submitting an offer through one of our buyer’s agents with neither the buyer nor the seller paying any commission to the buyer’s agent. DeLeon Realty covers all the in-house buyer’s agent’s compensation.
Clandestine Counter-Arguments
It is noteworthy that DeLeon Realty, along with the national press, have published numerous critiques of secretive “office exclusive” listings and agents pressuring sellers to commit to any minimum buyer’s agent commission in the listing agreement. However, other agents' disingenuous counterarguments supporting these questionable tactics typically surface only in private conversations with clients. Tellingly, agents are reluctant or unwilling to put these positions in writing, or respond to press inquiries.
On multiple occasions, we have proposed that Compass’s Palo Alto office manager and I co-present a seminar on how the DeLeon approach differs from Compass’s approach. Unfortunately, to date, this manager has yet to agree to such a public discussion. However, the messenger is not important— it is the message that matters. If the Compass manager would feel more comfortable having a conversation about the services, marketing strategies, commission structure, and views on limiting sales only to buyer’s represented by a Compass agent with Ken DeLeon instead of me, we are more than happy to accommodate that request. Alternatively, if Compass would prefer a different office manager to participate in an open and candid discussion comparing Compass’s business philosophy with that of DeLeon Realty, we would gladly participate.
The Take-Away
Withholding listings from the majority of interested buyers is inconsistent with the seller’s best interest and almost certainly the agent’s fiduciary duty to their sellers unless the seller is informed that the reduced exposure and competition will likely sacrifice sales price for privacy.
Imagine that an agent or brokerage with a 15% market share knows of three buyers who would love a home just like yours. Irrespective of which agent the seller chooses to list with, all three buyers would know about the home if it’s placed on the MLS. However, by withholding it from the MLS, as well as websites like Zillow, Redfin and MLSListings.com, the seller would effectively exclude the other 20 potential buyers, those who are either represented by agents from other brokerages or who aren't yet working with an agent at all.
When you list with DeLeon Realty, your home will be featured on the MLS, Zillow, Redfin, and many other public-facing websites. Interestingly, it will also appear on Compass’s website, Coldwell Banker’s website, and almost all other websites that showcase properties for sale. Additionally, we regularly advertise our listings across multiple channels, including newspapers, this newsletter, direct mail, TV and streaming ads, social media, and radio. Plus, our extensive network of potential buyers helps us attract those who may love a home like yours, but are looking in a different area or are not actively searching at the moment.
Personally, I would enjoy watching a spirted debate in which a Compass manager argues the alternative position. Namely, that it is in the Seller’s best interest to withhold the listing from any buyer not working with a Compass buyer's agent and to do no public marketing outside of their brokerage.
Make no mistake: I firmly believe that agents who suggest limiting exposure to only buyers working with them or their brokerage are generally not concerned about your privacy or best interest— they’re focused on increasing their commission, even if it means a significantly lower sale price.
