In March 2024, in response to a pending lawsuit judgment against them, the National Association of Realtors® released a set of proposed policy and practice changes that will reframe the relationship between real estate professionals and buyers. To be clear, the industry’s fiduciary commitment to the best interests of clients hasn’t changed, but the way agents and buyer clients formalize professional relationships will.
As a homebuyer, this proposed settlement means there will be some changes to your real estate experience:
As a homebuyer, these changes will require new, important conversations between you and your real estate professional. A buyer service agreement will formalize your agent’s fiduciary responsibility to you, further protecting your interests. It will allow the opportunity for real, transparent communication with your agent around compensation, offering you a clear understanding of the cost of services and how those services benefit you.
These conversations will ultimately set buyers up for greater success in their transactions. More buyers will start the home search process with a clear understanding of their strategy, how their agent will support them, and what it will take to get to the closing table.
Two major changes: First, compensation offers to buyer’s agents will no longer be displayed on the MLS, and the MLS won’t be allowed to facilitate commission cooperation between the buy and sell sides of transactions. Second, all buyers will be required to sign a buyer agreement with their agent outlining service terms, including commission requirements.
The best agents have shifted their thinking from the top line to the bottom line. They're obsessed with the client experience. They're taking action very quickly to level up the technology in their businesses because they understand it's the only way to deliver strong profitability and a world-class client experience.
As our client, you can expect nothing but the highest level of service and counsel. We take our fiduciary commitment to you extremely seriously and believe that the best way to advocate for your best interests is through preparation. For each property our clients consider, we create a complete set of market research, potential pricing and offer strategies, contract negotiation tactics, and more.
We feel so fortunate to have selected Kinoko Real Estate to sell our luxury South Beach SF condo. Even though market conditions were challenging and interest rates were rising, Kevin, Nini, Catherine and the rest of their team listened to us and guided us through each step of the process. Their communication was excellent, and their network of contacts really helped not only with companies/vendors to help prep our condo for sale but also with potential buyers. Their marketing campaign really emphasized the strong points of our condo and made them shine. As a result, even in a market where similar properties were languishing, ours sold for 97.5% of t...— Alan H.
My husband and I had a property in SF that was listed on the MLS for over two years and we switched agents twice. We were losing hope and thought it might never sell. Kinoko was highly recommended by a broker friend in the Peninsula. Kevin and Nini were extremely professional and confident, and the marketing strategies they pitched were eye-opening and impressive. They made it happen even though they couldn’t do normal open houses. Kevin and Nini’s determination, knowledge of the ever-changing market, and top-notch marketing strategies made this possible! They have followed through on everything they promised and more! It was a true pleasure working...— Karen K.
I had the great pleasure of working with Nini and Marcell at Kinoko. In short, they helped me close on the home of my dreams during incredibly challenging times. It was my first home purchase and I couldn't have been happier with the experience! A few things that I think really set Nini and Marcell apart: Knowledge of the market. I came into the process with only a vague understanding of what I wanted, but Nini and Marcell were able to show me a variety of options that helped me better understand my tastes. They understand the condo market in San Francisco incredibly well and they continuously showed me both off-market and units on the MLS that met ...— Leon L.
I highly recommend Kevin if you’re looking to get into the real estate market. My wife and I were renting a 1 BR in the Beacon, and wanting to start a family, began looking to stay in the city and buy a 2BR. Since we both can get to work via Caltrain, it was really important for us to find something in Mission Bay, SoMa, South Beach, or perhaps Dogpatch and Potrero Hill. For me, the location was especially important because I work in Santa Clara a block from the station there, and I currently had the ideal commute, where I could work from the train, and I wanted to keep that after moving. We started looking with Redfin, but finding something in our ...— Buyer
Strongly recommend Nini and Kevin. Nini and Kevin and their team at Gueco Real Estate are simply amazing. My husband and I would not have been able to buy our first home without them. We met Nini in person on a Saturday and were very impressed by her professionalism. She has an uncanny ability to listen to your needs and find listings that check all the boxes – this was not an easy feat given my husband and I had somewhat different ideas of what our dream home would be. After our meeting, she gave us recommendations for open houses on Sunday. We were in love with several of the homes and Nini and Kevin worked with us over the next few days to develo...— J. Sinskey
Kevin really does know what it takes to get a place sold (at a great price). When I first reached out to Kevin, I wasn’t entirely set on selling my Mission Bay condo. It was the marketing materials I was getting from him that got me curious as to what I could get for my place. I still remember the first time he came over and asked me the amount that would get me interested in selling. I gave him a figure I thought was pretty high. He confidently told me he believed he can get me more. I was skeptical. A bit over a month later, I got $100k over asking and the record for the highest per sq in my building! I was in shock that Saturday morning Kevin sen...— Seller
I can say with 100% certainty that I would not have a house today if it weren’t for Kevin. We had a complicated list of requirements, wanted a place near 24th in Noe Valley, and had a maximum price that was beneath the standard of the area. Kevin, who came recommended by a friend, told us right off the bat we were going to need to be the first bid or get a place that was off-market. He worked with us and our crazy needs, kept up on the appointments, and was responsive to emails. After several trips to open houses we learned that we were really shopping out of our league and needed to lower our standards, but within 3 months Kevin found us a place th...— William C.
I came to Nini Gueco and Kevin Gueco after having scoured the housing market in San Francisco CA on my own and with various other real estate agents to no avail. Just as I was thinking of giving up on finding a perfect place, they came out of nowhere to not only find me my dream home (and trust me, the list of requests was not a short one) but also introduce me to my new favorite neighborhood in the city. They understood my situation like it was their own - and that's the best part about working with them. They listen to your story, understand your frustrations, and truly earn your trust as they work with you on something so incredibly personal like...— Valentina B.
My husband an have a luxury condo in SF that needs to be sold. It was listed on MLS for over two years and we switched agents twice. We were losing hope and thought it might never sell (even though we love the condo so much and it is a great property). Kevin was highly recommended by a broker friend in the South Bay. We had a initial call with Kevin and Nini to see what they have to offer. They are extremely professional and confident. The marketing strategies they pitched was eye-opening and impressive. And we thought Kevin and Nini might be our best shot to sell the condo this year. They never doubt their ability to make it happen even when they c...— Karen J.
I can get right to the point where I can’t say anything negative about Kevin. I jumped into the house-hunting process without an agent and just sort of let things take me where they would. I happened by a showing for one of Kevin’s properties and he followed up. We talked about what I was looking for, etc. We went through one offer process with the first place which I knew probably wouldn’t come together. but he kept on it looking for the right place and always looking for the best possible deals. Kevin found me a great place that worked out perfectly. it was a hot ticket home and Kevin worked his magic to get me an advance showing which ultimately ...— Buyer
We were able to close quickly and easily and it was all due to Kevin! Kevin just helped us sell our single-family home in Potrero Hill, and our experience with him was phenomenal. We were in the stressful position of having to hire a new agent after our original listing agent made several significant missteps in marketing our house. Kevin is simply a cut above most real estate agents, and here’s why: Use of technology: Kevin is at the forefront in his field of using the latest technology to streamline the selling process, market a property online, and maximize exposure to potential buyers. Flexibility: For being one of the top agents in the city, K...— Seller
We have worked with Marcell thrice and he provided excellent service every single time. His local knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area is spot on and very helpful. In addition, he is always thorough with his research about the property. We were stuck in a very unique situation due to the COVID pandemic. We put our house for sale just prior to the event and then on top of it, had an emergency that made us travel to India where we were stuck due to a country-wide lockdown for several months. Marcell and his team handled the sale of our home completely – right from staging, marketing, showings, help move our furniture to eventually sell the house. D...— Buyer
Kevin is amazing. (I am very busy but have spent the time setting up a yelp account just to post a review for him). He made finding a great condo in SF, a piece of cake. after looking unsuccessfully for 2 months with other agents, I found the condo I now own on the first day of looking! he is incredibly talented, kind, generous with his time, attentive, and treats his clients incredibly well. I was a first-time property buyer and he helped me through every step of the way. I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful that I had the opportunity to work with Kevin. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. I give my absolute highest praise to Kevin, if y...— Buyer
Michael is the best! From the day we started our home search to the day we got our keys, he was friendly, responsive, and really worked to understand what we were looking for and how we could find it within our budget and time frame. Michael accompanied us to many open houses – always asking the right questions and helping us to make sense of the pros and cons of the properties that we viewed. He was very flexible and worked with our schedules. When we found a condo that checked all of our boxes, he worked hard to get us a great price and a quick, painless closing experience. We’d recommend Michael to anyone. He’s a talented and knowledgeable agent ...— Jack V.
Listed for 1 year with a different agent. Sellers re-listed it with Kevin, who sold it in 2 weeks for $1,680,000, a record high sale price for the building. Kevin was a true professional in every way from beginning to end. My penthouse was listed unsuccessfully for almost an entire year with another broker. We re-listed with Kevin and he sold it in two weeks! He was able to quickly identify the best buyer for our penthouse and get it into contract at a record high price for our building: $1,680,000! The moment we engaged Kevin, the showing activity increased and we received serious interest, so it was clear his marketing strategies were working. Han...— Adorean & Sophie
Juli Louie is super responsive and gets the job done. I worked with Juli Louie last month and am continuing to do so with my new purchase right now. She is an amazing realtor and as many others have stated is super responsive and gets the job done. She knows exactly what is needed to sell your home quickly and for the most profit. We were able to have our house sold in 11 days strictly because of her work ethic and business strategies. Now that we have sold our house we are using her to buy property in new development and she has been nothing short of amazing. We will use her for all our future endeavors. She is hands down the best realtor my wife a...— Mike M.
Russian hill penthouse: sold for $1,700,000, record high sale and ppsf. My husband and I are very happy and grateful for Kevin’s support in selling our SF condo. We had such an unusual situation that we needed an agent who could be completely customer-centric and think of our needs all along the way. Our location and time zone differences made it much more challenging for Kevin to liaise with us–he had a lot more work to do to make this all work. But throughout the process, we received top-notch service from Kevin. He managed to get a fantastic price much higher than expected. Many thanks, Kevin!— Grace & Dennis
I recommend him highly to any buyer or seller in the San Francisco market. Kevin pulled in an all-cash offer of $50,000 over our asking price, and the highest offer ever made for a similar unit in our building, Three days after listing it with him. I would rate Kevin’s execution higher than any other agents we have dealt with over the years. In addition to his technical real estate expertise, Kevin is a master at handling relationships and the personal side of transactions, and is just an all-around nice guy! I recommend him highly to any buyer or seller in the San Francisco market.— Buyer | Seller
Kevin is a closer. If you find a house on MLS and need an agent to close it for you- talk to Kevin. Otherwise, you better hope that his client isn’t competing against your offer. If you want to buy a house in this competitive market- you need to hire Kevin. He and his team are nothing short of incredible. Super responsive, extremely professional, confident, knowledgable, and top-notch. I always said when I found the house I want- I’m going to call Kevin to close it for me. That’s the level of confidence I had in him and I was right. Done deal.— Divya P.
She provided comps and feedback through the process which really helped us to make the right decisions. It was great to partner with Nini as we sold our house through the peak pandemic period and she guided us extremely well through these difficult times.— Seller
It was great to partner with Nini Gueco of Kinoko as we sold our house in San Francisco through the peak pandemic period and she guided us extremely well through these difficult times. As our real estate agent, We are extremely happy with the outcome and would recommend Nini as she remains cool and balanced despite any turbulence that the market throws at her.— Varun B.
Kevin did exactly what he said he was going to do and it wasn’t easy. We presented a number to him and he hit that number. He possesses all of the skills of an experienced high-performing San Francisco real estate agent but he also has an X factor that made us believe he could actually do what we wanted. He’s very creative and has the ability to come up with outstanding results with atypical thinking.— Kihlon G.
Don’t think anyone else could have done it better! We got to know Kevin through a friend, and when we wanted to sell our 2Br 2Ba Condo in SoMa, we knew who to call. Kevin’s “shark-like” attitude was just the right attitude we needed to get our condo sold at the price point that we wanted (in the challenging but slowly recovering real estate market).— Seller
The price exceeded our expectations. Choosing Kevin was an easy decision for us based on his incredible track record of selling units in the area. Of the realtors we interviewed, he was definitely the most aggressive in how high of a price we could list the unit for and had a plan to get us there.— Sawan T.
Alex Klonsky is very knowledgeable, especially in the San Francisco area. He is extremely patient, detail-oriented, and always updated us. He always went the extra mile to ensure that we were getting the best.— Julie W.
Working with Nini and Catherine was a five-star experience. We were selling a very sad-looking house as legal representatives and wanted a real estate partner that would know how to market this property. We were so lucky to have interviewed Nini and Catherine. They knew exactly how to position this house. They were always responsive and creatively strategic. We had positive results almost immediately. We recommend them highly!— Nathan G.
Kinoko Real Estate is absolutely amazing - our agents Nini Gueco and Catherine Abalos did a stellar job selling our condo in the San Francisco Mission Bay neighborhood. They have in depth knowledge of the neighborhood and going rates, and access to a network of interested buyers. Further, Nini is a very skilled negotiator, who knows how to keep the momentum. During a time when the SF market was unpredictable, they gave us solid advice and were able to sell our place way faster than anyone would have predicted. We could not recommend them more!— Lauren Coleman
I was so lucky to have worked with House of Kinoko when purchasing my very first home. Being inexperienced with home buying, I had a lot of anxiety, worry, and even reservations. Simply put I was stressed out about the unknown, but my personable and well-spoken agent Catherine Abalos put my mind at ease the very first day we met up. She explained the process step by step and answered any and all of my questions. Catherine took the time to schedule multiple house showings so we could use my time efficiently to compare the houses on the market. She is very knowledgeable in her profession and was always looking out for my best interest when it came to...— Hazel Cosico
It was easy to turn to Catherine Abalos and Kinoko Real Estate when we started thinking about selling our condo in South San Francisco. We got market updates from her for months before we were even ready, so we didn't enter blindly. She guided us through the options for preparing our home for sale. It was a challenging market for a property like ours where the building had visible in-progress repairs and our unit wasn't as updated as similar units, but Catherine helped us find patience as she continued to do dozens of private Covid showings until we got a fair offer. The escrow process had its own hiccups due to demanding buyers who acted without ur...— Eunice Bengco
We worked with Alex Klonsky and picked up the keys to our new home merely 6 weeks after beginning the search! Alex was patient, professional, and thorough. He listened to our wishes for our dream home, respected our budget, and made sure every detail moved seamlessly through the bidding and escrow processes. His deep knowledge of the Bay Area market, architecture, and finance helped us immensely. He was an excellent communicator and kept us on track even through the winter holidays. We are thrilled to have worked with him!— Zhi Xiong
We cannot recommend Soomin highly enough! As first-time homebuyers, we had no idea where to start, but from day one, she guided us through every step with incredible patience, knowledge, and care. She made what could have been an overwhelming process feel smooth, manageable, and even enjoyable. Soomin was always incredibly thorough in her follow-ups, ensuring we had all the information we needed to make informed decisions. Her prompt responses and willingness to go above and beyond truly set her apart—whenever we had a question, she didn’t just answer it, but took the extra step to find out even more details to help us. Throughout our search, we w...— Angela & Ryan
Just bought a single family home in Easton Addition, Burlingame and we have to attribute it to our agent, Soomin Hwang. Not surprised by her competence given her star studded background, but we didn’t expect to find such a warm and genuine companion on what could have been an anxiety-ridden journey. If you’re looking to buy a home in the Bay Area, Soomin is THE agent ([email protected] or 415-465-4597) What we experienced with her: (1) Proactive and resourceful She connected us with various experts so we could get as much information about the property and come up with a price we felt comfortable with. Super helpful especially in an area wh...— Ruth & Ephraim
My wife and I recently purchased a single family home in Burlingame, and we'd like to recommend our agent, Soomin Hwang from Kinoko Real Estate, and our loan officer from BMO, Vivian Lin, for anyone who is in the market for a home in Peninsula or SF. As a first time home buyer, we were worried about finding a home that met all our requirements (e.g. newer build, open kitchen concept, turnkey with lots of natural light... etc), and getting our offer accepted in the competitive Peninsula housing market. We came across a home that checked all the boxes by chance at an open house on Saturday, and called Soomin to see if she could come and take a look t...— Lena & Alex
I would absolutely love to work with Soomin again when buying another home in the Bay Area. As first-time homebuyers, we didn’t know where to start or how to navigate the process. We were specifically looking to buy a place in San Francisco, and we were fortunate to meet Soomin. She knows the area incredibly well and helped us understand the unique characteristics of each neighborhood. With her guidance, we found and purchased a condo in the perfect location for us. Thanks to Soomin’s expertise, we were able to act quickly when we found a home we loved, allowing us to avoid competition and secure the deal at a great price. She provided valuable insi...— Celine & Chan
Nini and Kevin did an outstanding job on supporting and sale of my home in Mission Bay. Being in the industry I did my due diligence but was confident in their commitment and expertise in my community to bring the reward achieved in only 4 days on the market and exceeding the price per square foot higher than any other property in Mission Bay in recent times. I highly recommend this team for your future business and success!— Craig Barnes
We couldn’t be happier about our experience working with Soomin as our realtor. As first time homebuyers, the entire process felt overwhelming at first but Soomin patiently guided us through every step from the pre-approval to closing. From our very first meeting, Soomin took time to truly understand our priorities, lifestyle, and long-term goals to see which properties would be the best match for us. She thoroughly reviewed all the available properties on the market that met our wants and needs, including off-market listings, to give us the confidence to move forward with an offer. Throughout the entire process, Soomin was incredibly responsive, pr...— Cindy & Han
Simple Facts: 5 days on MLS, sold for ALL CASH and Over-Asking price with no contingencies. Let me tell you a little bit more. When we decided to sell our place in Mission Bay, the condo real estate market was slowing down. But we knew if anyone could do it, it was Kevin. I was amazed by Kevin's knowledge, professionalism and negotiation skills. His insight into the market put our unit into a great spot competing other units on the market. We got this all-cash offer in the first few days and without any other offers on the table he was still able to negotiate a higher price which exceeded our expectations. If you see this message, please don't hesit...— J.Y.
This is intended to be a recommendation for Kevin Gueco, whom we used to purchase a condo at the Madrone in San Francisco several years ago. We are in our early 60's and own 13 different homes, condos, and townhouses around California and Lake Tahoe. We have completed nearly 20 residential real estate sales and purchases over the past 35 years. We recommend Kevin without reservation - we have found him to be very hardworking, diligent, and honest. He is not a typical pushy real estate agent just trying to close on a commission. He listens very well and then goes out and scours the market to find something that fits our needs. Kevin gives his honest ...— Doug Carlisle
I bought a number of properties and have worked with many real estate agents. Kevin is the best one out of all of them. Not just marginally better. MUCH better than the rest. There's a lot of great things about Kevin—knowledgeable about the market, connected, personable, hard working, always available.— Eddie Kim
My wife and I were looking to buy our first home in San Francisco and were justifiably nervous about the whole process. Kevin and his team made it easy and we had our perfect house less than a month later. Some things that drew me to Kinoko was the modern approach he takes to home buying. They leverage technology in a smart way to give us the edge in the process. On top of that, they were crazy responsive throughout the whole process, night and day - whatever it takes to get the deal done. Whenever we needed to do a private our, be at the house during escrow, or check something out either him or a member of his team would be there no matter the ti...— Alex Rosen
Kevin, Nini, and team did an incredible job for us. My wife and I were looking for our first home and they quickly understood our style and aesthetic and made sure to show us only the options that would interest us. They were quick to diagnose our needs and potential locations in both the neighborhoods we knew we wanted but selectively in other neighborhoods as well. They were incredibly responsive and knowledgeable which we appreciated as first-time buyers. We ultimately tried to buy another unit in the building but were outbid. We were fortunate that Kevin and team got us an opportunity to top that bid, but we declined. Knowing we loved the build...— Morgan Livermore
Kevin and Nini are simply amazing! They helped us buy our first home, a single-family home in Bernal Heights. We had been looking for at least 6 months with no luck before we met Kevin and Nini, who make an absolutely dynamic team. Nini has the incredible ability to figure out what the client wants and needs. During the preceding months, my husband and I had difficulty finding a home that both of us liked, but Nini asked us detailed questions during our consultation and found several homes that we loved within a day. Once we decided to make an offer, Kevin helped us with our offer strategy and negotiated on our behalf, resulting in an accepted offer...— Jina Sinskey
I’ve known Kevin Gueco since 2012 when I bought my first property in San Francisco. Even though he was not my agent, he was very professional and gracious enough to provide some great advice. His knowledge of the real estate market and future outlook was spot on. The first encounter made a lasting impression. Fast forward eight years, after interviewing several real estate agents to help us sell our property we made the decision to work Kevin and his team. We were glad to have crossed paths again and to have the opportunity to work with him. Since listing our property, it confirmed we made the right decision. Kevin and his team have been a great a...— Richard Lee
Kevin Gueco, Nini, and team are the best agents we've worked with and I recommend them highly, particularly in a competitive environment like the bay area. Six years ago, I worked with Kevin on the purchase of my current home in San Francisco. Kevin is exceptionally responsive and has the kind of hustle you want on your team. He was able to successfully negotiate a win for us against multiple other buyers and through multiple rounds of counter offers. After the close, Kevin added value by introducing me to trusted service providers that we still use to this day. More recently, my husband and I have been looking for a second home on the peninsula, an...— Janet Zhou
My husband and I have known Kevin Gueco and his wife Nini for over 10 years now, both as our realtors and friends. We met Kevin and his team as a young couple, looking to buy our first condo in San Francisco. We had no idea what we were doing or where to begin in such a competitive market. Kevin took all of our questions and concerns, listened to them, and patiently showed us properties that we found and loved, along with some amazing options we may not have explored on our own. When we found our dream starter home, the team helped us navigate every step of the way, answering countless questions at all hours of the day and night, promptly and expert...— Lindsey Baldwin
My wife and I were second time home buyers. We didn't realize how much better our first experience could have been until we started working with Team Gueco on our current home. They made themselves available around the clock and were always keeping an eye out for homes that fit our specific tastes and needs, while trying to identify opportunities that could work. Their smart use of technology to augment the process was really productive. The team was always patient and communicative, offering advice whenever we sought feedback. And they are the best client advocates and negotiators in the business. When a previously unknown issue with our house was ...— Adam Levin
Nini, Kevin and their team gave us such a great and easy experience buying our first home here in San Francisco. Day and Night we could ask questions per email or phone and the both responded quickly. We were overwhelmed with this crazy house market here in the Bay Area since me and my husband are from Germany and had no idea how buying a place works here in the US. Nini and Kevin were such a help and all our questions were welcome and answered. We only had a small time window to find a home because of our rental contract but Nini and Kevin were up for the challenge and found us a nice home here in North Beach for our little family. We would def...— Nadine Bakaus
Our journey to find our new home actually started while working with another agent. However, we were dissatisfied with our existing agent so we decided to reach out to Nini and we never looked back. Nini and Kevin’s expertise and level of service was night and day compared to the other agent. Their knowledge of the real estate market, different neighborhoods, and the buildings we were interested in as well as new developments was evident early on. Although we knew that Nini and Kevin were juggling multiple clients, they always treated us like VIP clients and were extremely responsive and proactive. Nini and Kevin immediately scheduled a consultati...— Jaclyn & Noel Ang
I worked with Kevin back in 2008 in my search for my first home, and I remember it was a pleasure working with him. I found him sort of by chance, and he quickly helped me to understand the processes in finding the right home as well as the San Francisco real estate market back then. My search took us all around the city and took several months, but Kevin was always there to help, do the research, and advise me. He was very patient throughout the process, and very thoughtful in helping me avoid mistakes. After months of searching, I finally found what I was looking for, and he immediately went the extra mile to help me negotiate the right price and ...— Eric Fong
When we started our process as first time home buyers, we were wondering what the need for Real Estate Agents were. Shortly after starting to work with Kinoko (Thank you Michael and Nini!), our question was answered. Their depth of knowledge, familiarity with San Francisco, responsiveness, and willingness to go the extra mile made the buying process feel easy. After we told them what we were looking for, they got right to work and started sending us several listings and were always open to meet us to do walk throughs/answer questions about a property. Most importantly, they were quick to earn our trust that they wanted to find the ideal home for us ...— Mihir Sathe
Address
592 3rd Street San Francisco CA 94107 Kevin Gueco | CA DRE# 01461677