Services
What Michael does
Michael prices a house from the sales around it, shows buyers what it could become, and takes the sale from the first offer to the keys.
Each part of the work is set out below, with the sales that show it.
Every figure on this page comes from the MLS record of a sale Michael closed in California, July 2021 to September 2026.
For sellers
Pricing
Price it from the data.
Michael prices a house from what has sold, measured four ways, before he names a number.
How a valuation worksThe method
Comparable sales, scored
Each nearby sale is scored for how alike it is to your house, how recent it is, and how far the market has moved since it closed.
Price per square foot, street by street
Measured on your street and across your ZIP code, so one unusual sale cannot set the price.
Who holds the leverage
How many houses a buyer could choose instead of yours, and how quickly they are selling. It shows how hard a buyer can push on price.
Checked against closing prices
Every figure is checked against verified closing prices. Asking prices and automated estimates do not count.
One number, with its reasons
You get a price for your house and the sales behind it, and Michael takes you through what it means for your timing.
The record, drawn
Notable California sales since July 2021.The three highest are in Corona del Mar.
The method has a record behind it. Each mark below is one of Michael’s sales, from the MLS record of the sale.
- 4601 Hampden RoadCorona del Mar$5,349,000
- 887 Sandcastle Drive†Corona del Mar$4,600,000
- 919 Sandcastle DrCorona del Mar$4,216,000
- 1205 Outrigger DriveCorona del Mar$3,650,000
- 506 1/2 Marigold AveCorona del Mar$2,220,000
- 406 E Bay Avenue #10†Newport Beach$1,310,000
On the MLS only as a comparable, entered after the sale closed.
18For the seller
9Both sides
21For the buyer
On nine of these sales he represented the seller and the buyer, so each of those counts twice.
Representing both sides is dual agency. California requires written disclosure to both parties and the consent of each.
Source: the MLS record of each sale, July 2021 to September 2026.
Notable transactionsRenderings
Sell what it can become.
Two of his four highest-priced California sales were houses built in 1959 and 1969. Their listings showed buyers what each could become, in renderings labelled as renderings.
Cameo Shores · Corona del Mar
4601 Hampden Road
Built in 1959, and still in original condition when it sold. The listing said so in its first line, “Home is in Original Condition,” and showed buyers renderings of a proposed design.
It sold in October 2024 for $5,349,000. Michael represented the seller and the buyer.
Read the sale: 4601 Hampden Road
Harbor View Hills South · Corona del Mar
1205 Outrigger Drive
Built in 1969, on a lot of 9,483 square feet. The listing gave buyers two ways to see it, remodel or build new, and rendered the interior “for design inspiration.”
It sold in September 2024 for $3,650,000. Michael represented the seller.
Read the sale: 1205 Outrigger DriveA rendering shows a proposed design. What can be built is a question for the City, an architect and any HOA.
Film and photography
The house, on film.
Listing photographs go to the MLS. Some houses also get a short film on Michael’s YouTube channel, and the channel carries short films for sellers, on value and on days on market.
Houses
61 Stepping Stone, Quail Hill, Irvine
Michael’s channel0:49
Sold in August 2024 for $1,391,000. Michael represented the seller and the buyer.
Watch on YouTube: 61 Stepping Stone, Quail Hill, Irvine (opens YouTube in a new tab)111 Great Oak, Orchard Hills, Irvine
Michael’s channel1:28
Watch on YouTube: 111 Great Oak, Orchard Hills, Irvine (opens YouTube in a new tab)
For sellers
What is your home actually worth?
Michael’s channel0:37
Watch on YouTube: What is your home actually worth? (opens YouTube in a new tab)Average days on market, and what it means for a seller
Michael’s channel1:15
Watch on YouTube: Average days on market, and what it means for a seller (opens YouTube in a new tab)
Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
Private sales
Two of his sales closed that day. Neither had been listed.
Six of his sales reached the MLS only after they closed, entered so that appraisers and agents can count them when they price the houses nearby.
A sale before listing gives up the reach of the open market. In return, the house stays private.
How a sale before listing worksSales for sellers, entered on the MLS after they closed
$4,600,000
The MLS entry “For comp purposes only. The property sold before listed.”
$1,310,000
The MLS entry “In Escrow before listed. For MLS Comp purposes only.”
$1,856,000
The MLS entry “Entered for comps purposes.”
Three more were purchases, for buyers. See them
Negotiation
We contracted Michael Hahn to sell our house immediately prior to the market changing in June of 2022.
Michael anticipated the coming change and altered his strategies accordingly.
His recommendations, guidance and hard work resulted in our house selling in a matter of weeks at 98% of our listing price, after the market had taken a turn for the worse.”
He was a commercial ship broker before he sold a house.
He spent seven years in commodities and bulk shipping before his real estate career began in Manhattan.
Before he answers an offer, Michael counts the houses the buyer could choose instead of yours and checks how quickly they are selling. That decides how hard he holds on price.
A back-up offer keeps that leverage after a contract is signed.
“Michael was able to not only find a buyer, he found several back-up's and continued to pursue other leads in the event something fell through.”
Escrow to keys
From an accepted offer to the keys.
Accepted offer
The signed contract opens escrow with a neutral escrow holder.
Inspections and disclosures
The buyer inspects the house. The seller delivers the disclosures California requires.
Appraisal
The lender’s appraiser values the house from closed sales, including sales entered on the MLS for comparables.
The close
Loan documents are signed, funds arrive and the deed records.
“His diligence and hard work kept the deal together during a difficult closing.”
John D., seller Keys, and after
Michael sold 4601 Hampden Road in October 2024. In February 2025 he leased it, representing the owner.
For buyers
Three purchases. None ran as a listing.
21 of his sales were for the buyer alone, and on nine more he represented both sides.
Purchases entered on the MLS after they closed
- Sep 2024310 DewdropIrvine$1,165,000The MLS entry “For comps only”
- Apr 202525052 Mawson DriveLaguna Hills$1,230,000The MLS entry “Off Market Sale”
- Apr 20252687 Orange Ave #4Costa Mesa$1,139,000The MLS entry “Entered into the MLS for comparable purposes only.”
Michael represented the buyer in each sale. Each listing was held by another agent.
Before an offer
In Corona del Mar an offer comes after the coastal zone map, the HOA resale package, the hazard disclosures and the permit history.
Buying in Corona del Mar: what to check before an offer“Our first conversation lasted nearly 3 hours … Michael even negotiated our contract to ensure we were getting the best deal”
Catherine C., first-time buyers
Special situations
Trust and estate sales
An inherited house, and family in more than one place.
Michael specializes in trust and estate sale transactions, and he has been through the process personally. His part is the house: its pricing, its preparation and marketing, the offers and the escrow, with the trustee or executor and the attorney kept informed at each stage.
“He made sure that our international siblings were included in every step of the process regarding the sale.”
Daryl M., seller General information only. Speak with an attorney about the estate itself.
Military families
Orders, a report date, and a house.
Michael graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy as a licensed merchant mariner and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. A sale around orders starts with the report date and the address of the house.
New York to Orange County
A move from New York, and a different way of buying.
Michael began his real estate career in Manhattan and has more than 12 years in the business. Buying here works differently. A neutral escrow holder runs the closing, the seller owes statutory disclosures, and an HOA, where there is one, takes the place of a co-op board.
Your house
Send the address. Michael sends back a price, and the sales behind it.