This week on Realty Talk, Suzanne (CEO of Innovate Realty) and Paul are back with a jam-packed one — starting with some big house news of their own: a record-breaking Corona del Mar sale four blocks off the water, plus the biggest off-market deal in Innovate's history quietly in the works.

Then the headline you have to hear: California just recorded its first-ever sale of a backyard ADU — a 749 sq ft "granny flat" that sold on its own separate deed for $530,000. Is this a real new path to homeownership, or a neighborhood-changing headache? Paul and Suzanne break down who it's actually for, why the state won't let investors near it, whether it even pencils to build — and whether they'd ever sell their own backyard to a stranger.

Plus a no-BS market update: rates are "frozen" in the 6s, why the Fed and the 10-year Treasury aren't the same thing, and how buyers finally have more leverage than they've had in years (hint — use it on a rate buy-down, not just price). With only about 18% of Californians able to afford the median home, they get into the creative ways buyers are still getting in.

And the big one — is AI coming for real estate agents? With 82% of agents now writing listings with AI and even AI-run mortgage brokerages closing loans, Suzanne and Paul dig into what's already been replaced, what never will be, and why AI is going to widen the gap between good agents and great ones.

Then it's Homes Gone Wild: a pastor, a young family, a first showing, a brand-new garage door… and a scene in the alley nobody saw coming. (They bought the house anyway — and sold it for 3x.) 🎧

In this episode:

• Innovate's record-breaking Corona del Mar sale
• Rates, the Fed vs. the 10-year Treasury, and using buyer leverage for a buy-down
• Only ~18% of Californians can afford the median home
• California's first-ever ADU / "granny flat" sale ($530K)
• Why investors are locked out of it
• Is AI coming for agents? Good vs. great in the AI era
• 🏚️ Homes Gone Wild: the garage-door story (submitted by CoachQuackenbush)

Got a wild one? Send us your Homes Gone Wild story — we'll read it on air. Hit subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and share this with anyone buying or selling in SoCal.

Happy birthday, Junior @itsjr.mp4 🎂

Realty Talk covers real estate, investing, the SoCal market, and the real conversations happening today — the good, the bad, and the unbelievable.