Selling your Orange County home
with Greg.
If you want to sell your house in Orange County, here is how Greg would do it: price it from recent comparable sales, prepare each room to be photographed and shown, market it to the buyers most likely to pay, and negotiate through inspections, appraisal and escrow to the close. Commission is negotiable, and every cost is written down first.
What does a listing agent do to sell a home for more?
A good listing agent earns a higher price in four places. First the price: set from recent comparable sales and today's competition, so the home launches where buyers will act instead of sitting. Then preparation: a room-by-room list of repairs, styling and staging that pays for itself in photos and showings.
Then marketing: architectural photography, a planned launch and the channels your likely buyer actually uses. Last, negotiation: offers compared on terms as well as price, then inspections, appraisal and escrow managed so the agreed price holds to the close. Greg runs all four himself and puts the plan in writing at your first meeting, so you know before signing anything what he will do, in what order, and what each step costs. If the plan changes along the way, you hear about it from him first.
The price matters most because the first two weeks matter most. A home that launches above what the comparable sales support tends to collect showings and no offers, and each week on the market gives the next buyer a reason to ask what is wrong with it. A home priced from the evidence gets its strongest attention while it is new.
How do I choose a listing agent?
Choose a listing agent by checking the licence, asking for recent sales near your home, and asking how the price would be set and the home marketed. Compare what each agent's commission covers, since it is negotiable. The guide to choosing a listing agent has the full set of questions and how to judge the answers.
What happens when you sell your house in Orange County with Greg?
Selling with Greg runs in eight steps, and he gives you a calendar for your own sale at the first meeting. Every home is different, so the timing is set for yours.
Consult
Greg walks the home with you, hears your goals and timing, and answers every question about the process.
Analysis and price
A written comparative market analysis, then a list price you agree on together, with the reasoning shown.
Preparation and staging
A room-by-room plan for repairs, styling and staging, and the trades to do the work if you want them.
Photography and launch
Architectural photography and film where the home calls for it, the listing written and checked, and a launch date chosen on purpose.
Showings
Private showings and open houses, with feedback from each one reported back to you.
Offers and negotiation
Every offer laid out side by side on price, terms, financing and timing, so you choose with the full picture.
Escrow
Inspections, appraisal, disclosures and the buyer's loan, tracked day by day so deadlines do not slip.
Close
The final walk-through, signing and recording, after which the keys change hands and the proceeds reach you.
California disclosures start early, before any buyer is in escrow. A seller of a home with one to four units fills in a transfer disclosure statement about the home's condition, and a natural hazard disclosure report shows whether the property sits in a mapped flood, fire or earthquake zone. It pays to have both ready before the home goes live, so nothing in escrow surprises a buyer, and Greg goes through the statement with you line by line.
How will my home be marketed?
Your home is marketed with professional photography and a planned launch, then shown through the MLS and the channels your likely buyer uses.
Preparation and photography
Before a single photo is taken, Greg walks each room with you and decides what stays, what goes and what needs a hand. Staging is suggested where it changes how a room photographs. Then an architectural photographer shoots the home in its best light, with film for the homes that call for it.
California requires a listing image that has been digitally altered to say so, with the unaltered photo available to buyers. Greg follows that rule on every listing, so what buyers see online is what they find at the door.
Where your home is shown
Your home goes on the local MLS, which shares it with the main property websites, listed in full with every photo, the floor plan and the film. From there the plan depends on your price and your likely buyer. A harbour-front home on Balboa Island and a townhome in an Irvine village are found by different people in different places, and Greg tells you up front which channels he will use for yours and why.
Showings and open houses
Private showings are booked around your schedule, and open houses run when they suit the home and the street. After each one, Greg reports what buyers and their agents said, because that feedback shapes the next week's decisions.
How much does it cost to sell a house in California?
Most of the cost of selling is the brokerage commission, and that is negotiable by law: there is no standard rate. The rest is escrow, title insurance, the county documentary transfer tax, any HOA fees and whatever repairs the plan calls for. Your net sheet from Greg puts a figure on each line for your home.
| Cost | What it is | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Listing brokerage commission | Greg's fee for selling the home | Negotiable |
| Buyer's agent compensation | Whether the seller offers any is agreed case by case | Negotiable |
| Escrow fees | The neutral company that holds funds and documents | Quoted by the escrow company for your sale |
| Owner's title insurance | Protects the buyer's ownership; who pays depends on the contract | From the title company's rate schedule |
| County documentary transfer tax | Charged when the deed is recorded | $0.55 per $500 of value ($1.10 per $1,000) |
| Natural hazard disclosure report | Shows mapped flood, fire and seismic zones | Quoted by the report provider |
| HOA transfer and documents | If the home is in an association | Set by the association |
| Repairs, staging and preparation | Only what the plan calls for | Agreed before any work is booked |
For example, on a $1,500,000 sale the Orange County transfer tax would be $1,650. Rates for escrow and title vary by company, and Greg's net sheet uses quotes for your home.
How much is realtor commission in California?
Realtor commission in California is whatever the seller and the listing broker agree in writing; no rate is set by law, and listing agreements for one to four units must say so. Since August 2024, a buyer's agent's pay is agreed with the buyer. The commission guide explains how it works on both sides.
Should I sell my house now, or wait?
Sell now if the sale fits your plans and this month's figures support your price; nobody can reliably time a market. The figures below show where Orange County stands this month, each with its source and date.
Orange County · September 2026 · Source: Redfin Data Center
The question that matters more than the market is your own: where you would go next, what you need from the sale, and when. Greg will run both versions with you, selling now and selling later, from the same figures. If you are also buying, he plans the two on one calendar. The monthly market report has the city-by-city detail for Newport Beach, Irvine and Santa Ana.
What should I know about taxes when I sell?
Most owners selling a main home can exclude up to $250,000 of gain from federal income tax, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if they owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years before the sale. That rule comes from IRS Topic 701. Long-held Orange County homes can carry gains above those limits, so ask a tax adviser before you set a sale date. Greg's net sheet shows the sale proceeds; the tax side belongs with your adviser.
Do I need speed more than top price?
If the timeline matters more than the last dollar, there is a second way to sell. Greg can also make a written cash offer on some homes, and the page on selling two ways compares that with a full listing, honestly and side by side.
Buying your next home before this one closes? A bridge loan can cover the gap, so you are not forced to sell first and move twice.
Buy before you sell with a bridge loan from Choice Home Mortgage
Gregory James Group and Choice Home Mortgage are trade names of the same California company, Montana Real Estate Inc (CA DRE #01822046, NMLS #2629064), which Greg Toussieng owns. If we represent you in a purchase or sale and you also arrange your loan through Choice Home Mortgage, the company is paid for both services. You are not required to use Choice Home Mortgage to work with Gregory James Group, and you are free to compare loans from any other lender. When we refer you, we give you a written disclosure of this relationship and the estimated charges, and when we act as both your agent and your loan broker we confirm both roles in writing within 24 hours.
What's your home worth today?
Greg sends a written analysis with every comparable sale he used. It is free, and there is nothing to sign.
Greg prepares a written valuation from recent sales near you. Start with the address.
If you are selling to buy your next home, see how homes and loans under one roof keeps both sides on one calendar.
Common questions
How is the list price set?
The list price comes from a written comparative market analysis: recent sales of similar homes nearby, the homes a buyer would compare yours with today, and adjustments for condition, view and lot. The owner and Greg agree the price together, with the reasoning on paper, and the analysis is updated if the market moves before launch.
How much does it cost to sell a house in California?
Selling costs in California are mostly the brokerage commission, which is negotiable by law, plus escrow, title insurance, the county documentary transfer tax and any HOA fees or repairs. Orange County's transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of value. Greg's net sheet shows each line for the home before the owner decides to list.
How long will it take to sell my home?
Selling time is the days on market plus the escrow period in the purchase contract. The market card on this page shows the county's current median days on market. Coastal, gated and higher-priced homes often take longer than the county figure, and Greg shows the figures for the home's own area at the first meeting.
Do I have to stage my home?
Staging is optional. Greg suggests it only where it changes how a room photographs or shows. Some homes need a few pieces moved, some need a full stage, and many sit in between. Any staging, and who pays for it, is agreed before anything is booked, so there are no surprise costs.
Will my listing photos be edited?
Listing photos get basic edits such as light and colour. Since January 1, 2026, California law requires any digitally altered listing image, such as virtual staging or a sky swap, to say it was altered and to give buyers access to the original. Greg follows that rule on every listing he markets.
Can I sell and buy at the same time?
Selling and buying at once is common, and Greg plans both on one calendar so the sale and the purchase line up. Choice Home Mortgage can arrange financing for the next home if wanted, and both it and the Gregory James Group are trade names of Montana Real Estate Inc. Any lender can be used.
Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell my home?
Federal law lets most owners exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a main home, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if they owned and lived in it for at least two of the five years before the sale, per IRS Topic 701. A tax adviser can confirm how the rule and California tax apply.
- California DRE public licence lookup · checked 2026-10-28
- California Business and Professions Code 10147.5 (commission is not fixed by law; notice in listing agreements) · checked 2026-10-28
- Orange County Clerk-Recorder fee schedule (documentary transfer tax $0.55 per $500) · checked 2026-10-28
- California Business and Professions Code 10140.8 (digitally altered listing images, AB 723, from Jan. 1, 2026) · checked 2026-10-28
- California Civil Code 1102 (seller's transfer disclosure statement) · checked 2026-10-28
- California Civil Code 1103 (natural hazard disclosure) · checked 2026-10-28
- IRS Topic 701, Sale of your home ($250,000 / $500,000 exclusion) · checked 2026-10-28
- NAR settlement FAQs (buyer agent compensation agreed in writing) · checked 2026-10-28
Start with the address. Greg does the rest.
A written valuation from recent sales near you, prepared by a licensed broker. Or call (949) 868-8820.