🏡 May 2025 Market Message for Agents: Talk Facts, Drive Confidence

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Welcome to it — Friday!

This week, I had the opportunity to co-host Windermere Way, and I want to give a special Friday shoutout to those who invested their time and energy into both mastery of self and mastery of craft.

The question for all of us now becomes:
How do we activate that investment?

P.S. Not everyone made it into the group photo, yet each of you played a huge role in filling the room with collaboration, growth, and, yes — The Windermere Way.
I’m here to help. The ultimate goal? Your growth, your clarity, and your confidence.
— Laura

Didn’t attend Windermere Way?

No worries at all. I’ll be weaving key content into your weekly updates — broken down in practical, digestible ways.

To kick things off, here’s a blog post that combines the latest insights from the May 2025 KCM Monthly Market Report and Federal Reserve updates — giving you a fully-informed, client-ready market message and a look at my focus heading into next week’s office meetings…

📣 Talking Point:
“Having the right conversation now builds trust and drives business. Value wins every time.”

👉 May 2025 Market Message for Agents: Talk Facts, Drive Confidence

Agents who have the most high-impact conversations right now are the ones winning. This month’s updates are packed with insights your clients need — from home prices and mortgage rates to Fed updates and economic uncertainty.

Let’s break it down into clear, actionable talking points.

📊 1. Home Prices: No Crash Coming

  • 70% of Americans are worried about a housing crash — but the data says otherwise.
  • Inventory is up 30% year-over-year — but still 16% below pre-pandemic levels.
  • Prices are moderating, not falling. National year-over-year growth is at 3.9%, down from 7% last year — a healthy adjustment.

📣 Talking Point:
“While inventory is improving, it’s still far below normal — meaning prices are stabilizing, not crashing.”

💰 2. Mortgage Rates: Volatility, Then Relief?

  • April brought volatility — rates jumped from year-low to year-high in a single week.
  • As of mid-May, the 30-year fixed average sits at 6.81% — the highest since late April.
  • The Federal Reserve held rates steady at its May meeting, citing ongoing economic uncertainty.
  • Fed Chair Powell warned of possible ongoing supply shocks (think: tariffs, inflation), suggesting rates may stay elevated longer.

📣 Talking Point:
“Yes, rates are elevated — but the Fed is holding for now, and even small drops could unlock big buyer and seller movement.”

🧠 3. Buyer/Seller Hesitation = Your Opportunity

  • 1 in 4 buyers and 1 in 8 sellers are pausing due to fear or confusion.
  • Most won’t call you — they’ll just quietly delay decisions.

📣 Talking Point:
“Let’s talk through what’s really happening — not what the headlines are saying.”

📌 5. Agent Action Plan This Week

  • Reach out to 3 clients who may be on pause — ask: “What’s holding you back?”
  • Post a short video or reel explaining why “price crash” fears are unfounded based on KCM talking points.
  • Drop this line in convos: “I’ve been watching what’s happening — want the real scoop?”

📚 Bonus Insight: What I’m Doing in My Office meetings next week

To make Windermere Way content stick, we’re breaking it into bite-sized pieces at the branch level. Here’s what we’re rolling out next week:

  • 🧠 “Switch tasking is a thief” — based on Deep Work by Cal Newport
  • 📱 “Send Later” iPhone feature — tying into F.O.R.D. and the power of anticipation
  • 🤖 AI brainstorm — practical, relevant uses in listings and lead gen

Final thoughts…

You don’t have to predict the market — just help people understand it.
You don’t need to push — just have more meaningful conversations.
You don’t need to do it alone — we’ve got the tools.

Let’s stay sharp, stay visible, and guide with facts. This is your market to win. 💥

And, please consider posting a comment on this blog post with your key ah-ha or actionable item – I am curious as I prep for next week!

Stay sharp, stay visible, stay confident and follow key metrics—this is your market to win. 📈

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📢 April 2025 Seattle Area Talking Points || *Based on Residential only reports*

Note: the graphs sprinkled within this post are from The Seattle Times this week.

Go to Windermere Stats for graphs & reports to support the below talking points. Eastside talking points are also refreshed and ready to digest. Need password? Text me: 206.227.7133


Prices continue to appreciate at a moderate pace.
Median closed sales price increased 3% year over year (April 2024 $997,900 → April 2025
$1,025,000)
And 2.5% month over month (March 2025 $1,000,000 → April 2025 $1,025,000).
The median closed sales price came close to reaching the previous peak price of $1,025,500
from May 2022.
46% of the homes sold above list price, at a median of 7% above.


Seattle inventory growth is continuing to increase.
Active listings have increased 47% year-over-year
674 on April 30, 2024 → to 992 on April 30, 2025
And Month over Month (March to April 2025), active listings rose 7.7%, from 921 to 992.
The months supply of inventory has gone up 58% over the past year, increasing from 0.9 in April
2024 to 1.4 in April 2025.
In the near term, listing brokers will face greater challenges in getting properties sold due to rising
competition. Buyers may become less urgent as more options emerge that meet their needs. This is a market to double down on listing process, pricing, strategy and market position.


As 2025 unfolds, the market is shifting in favor of experienced and high-performing brokers. With
inventory increasing, the constraints of 2024 are easing—creating more opportunities to close transactions.
Sellers are seeking out professionals who know how to stand out in a more competitive landscape,
and that gives top brokers a clear edge. With the potential for lower interest rates and a steady stock market, conditions are aligning for an overall strong year.

💡 Stay sharp, stay visible, stay confident, and follow key metrics—this is your market to win. 💡

As you look ahead to designing your week, here are a few key questions to consider—along with how I’m personally committed to doing the same:

How are you staying sharp?
I’m staying curious, open, and actively listening—especially for storytelling that helps move beyond the numbers and into the real-world experience of the field.

How are you staying visible?
I’m showing up to office meetings, touring, and checking in on people (P.S. I love a good video text hello). To do this well, I’m also minimizing distractions and guarding my time.

How are you increasing confidence?
By focusing on this key piece of the high-performance equation:
Curiosity × (Competence + Congruence + Connection) = Confidence

What key metrics are you following?
I’m watching my office’s listings via Market Watch on NWMLS, digesting area reports within WindermereStats, and Keeping Current Matters.

⚡ Unleashing the Full Potential of Our People ⚡
You’re surrounded by people who are ready and willing to help. Tap into our human algorithm—the people around you, including me. Just reach out.


1. We lead with belief.

We see what’s possible in every agent, every staff member, every person we serve. Our job is to bring out their best—even when they can’t see it yet.

2. People first, always.

Real estate is a relationship business. That starts with the relationships we build inside our offices—rooted in trust, care, and shared purpose.

3. We listen to understand.

We show up with curiosity. We ask the second question. We meet people where they are so we can help them grow to where they want to be.

4. We coach, we don’t manage you.

Our agents are entrepreneurs—we don’t manage them; we partner with them. We guide. We support. We challenge with heart.

5. Feedback is a gift.

We give it early. We give it kindly. We don’t avoid the hard conversations—we step into them with the goal of growth, not criticism.

6. We celebrate the hustle, not just the wins.

Real estate is a rollercoaster. We honor the effort, the late nights, the bold asks, and the invisible grind it takes to build a business.

7. We remove roadblocks.

From technology issues to mindset blocks, our job is to make it easier for our people to do their best work—every day.

8. We lead by doing.

We don’t ask anyone to do what we wouldn’t do ourselves. We model resilience, accountability, and a growth mindset.

9. We invest for the long haul.

Success in real estate is a marathon, not a sprint. We help agents build not just transactions, but thriving, sustainable careers.

10. We win together.

We rise by lifting others, sharing knowledge, and rooting for each other—because that’s the Windermere Way.

⚡ With confidence in your potential – Laura

“To be of championship caliber”…

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It’s Windermere Cup weekend! Here’s everything you need to know before you go: link here.

Seeing our brand woven across the University of Washington this week has been an incredible reminder of how special this event is. The Windermere Cup is the epitome of community and sport—celebrating the power of teamwork, tradition, and the beautiful waters of the Montlake Cut.

While parties and ticketed events are sold out, a springtime stroll down to the Cut is free and open to all. It’s a front-row seat to one of the most scenic and celebrated rowing events in the world—no wonder crews travel from across the globe to race here in our backyard – aka, “Rowtown, USA.”

“To be of championship caliber, a crew must have total confidence in each other, able to drive with abandon, confident that no man will get the full weight of the pull…. When you get the full rhythm in an eight, it’s pure pleasure to be in it. It’s not hard work when the rhythm comes—that “swing” as they call it. I’ve heard men shriek out in delight when the swing came into an eight; it’s a thing they’ll never forget as long as they live.”
— George Yeoman Pocock, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Come feel the rhythm. See you at the Cut! – Laura

PS: Throwback photo below from when I gave rowing a shot myself—hands down the hardest sport I’ve ever tried. Our company boat entered a fun race, and let’s just say by the finish line I had no idea where my oar went. Pretty sure I was just relieved to still be in the boat!

A brainstorm to consider 💡And, “Nope, Love Zillow” – Mike DelPrete

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Whenever possible, I’m all in to give you an exercise that boosts your confidence in running your real estate business. This week, I have one for you. What will you need?
A pen and paper, 20 minutes to watch a video, and 10–15 minutes to brainstorm afterward.

In one 50-minute block of time, I suspect you’ll find your focus and confidence aligning.

✏️ Grab a pen and paper and write down these three words:

  1. Patient
  2. Knowledgeable
  3. Transparent

Next step → Watch Mike DelPrete’s 20-minute “Propaganda” talk, presented at Inman Connect New York (linked [here]). *important to watch first before next step!

Finally, brainstorm how the three words above are showing up in your business. For me, this exercise boosted my overall confidence and focus this week. 📈

Why am I sharing this with you?
Again, because I hope it boosts your confidence and focus too. 📈

“Nope, Love Zillow” – Mike DelPrete
Zillow just announced a new policy this week: If a home is publicly listed for sale in a private network, it will never appear on Zillow.If you are curious to read a very nice piece on this leading headline this week – go to Mike’s website for his “Nope, Love Zillow” write up – it’s good. Full article here.

That’s a wrap for this week, we’ll do it again next…

⚡ With confidence in your potential – Laura

Fair Housing Conference & a few market numbers ⤵️

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Join me? Tacoma Pierce County Assoc. of REALTORS is hosting a 2025 Fair Housing Conference. I plan to attend. It looks like a very good line up and a very timely topic. I want to be in this room. Also, a local opportunity to network across industry without getting on a plane, hotel stays etc…

Consider grabbing a few peers from your office and make a field trip out of it!

Fair Housing Conference | Tacoma, WA | April 16

*Up to 6 clock hours available.

Fair housing is a foundation of strong, thriving communities and is a tool that housing providers and REALTORS® can use to connect people with housing.

Join us for the 2025 Fair Housing Conference on April 16 at the Tacoma Downtown Marriott, where professionals, stakeholders, and community members will come together to:

  • Learn the basics of Fair Housing and how those rules affect your business and clients.
  • Understand the newest resources available to get people into homeownership.
  • Learn how equitable housing practices can be used as a tool for creating housing and homeownership opportunities for all members of the community.
  • Engage with moderator-facilitated expert panel discussions.
  • Collaborate with key resources available to grow homeownership opportunities for all.

CLICK HERE FOR SEMINAR DESCRIPTIONS

Speakers confirmed for this year’s conference include:

  • Bill Dedman, Investigative Journalist and “Long Island Divided” co-author
  • Alexia Smokler, NAR Director of Fair Housing Policy & Programs
  • Jeannie Simpson, NWMLS General Counsel
  • Panel Discussions featuring:
    • Attorneys
    • Homeownership advocacy organizations
    • Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Habitat for Humanity & Homesight
    • More to be announced!

*Up-to 6 clock-hours available – including the DOL required Fair Housing course – for attendees with tracks focused on real estate agent and property management professionals. ⤵️

More information & registration here.

And, as pulled from the Seattle Times and data provided by the NWMLS – wrapping up this week with a few numbers…

That’s a wrap for this week, we’ll do it again next… – Laura

⚡Tenets of Psychological Mastery⚡

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It’s Friday, and I’m checking in! What am I noticing this week? I’m noticing more and more opportunities for distraction. And with an increase in opportunities for distraction comes more chances to lose focus in areas of our business and life that truly support our long-term success.

To counter this trend, today’s post is meant to help us focus and develop a consciously directed, positively engaged mind. We’ll start with a set of questions to warm up our “mental dashboard” and follow up with a concept to keep top of mind when it comes to “controlling our R.W.I.D.” — let’s begin!

  • If you had to describe how your mindset has contributed to your success to someone you were mentoring, how would you describe it?
  • What’s one belief you could adopt about yourself that would make you feel happier or more confident?
  • What would you need to own or believe to make that true? On a scale of 1-10, how much do you believe that statement? If you went into tomorrow with that belief, how would you feel?
  • Do you ever find yourself focusing too much time on negative thoughts or your faults?
  • If so, when does this happen, and what are those thoughts and faults? How are they affecting you? (e.g., when you are tired, hungry — what happens to your energy?)
  • What could you do to create a healthier, more positive psychology in your life? How could you make that a habit?

Now, let’s turn to one of the three actions I coach on within the Tenets of Psychological Mastery. This first tenet is to aim your mind and provide a fertile ground for developing a more engaged and consciously directed mind. For those of you who have been through my high-performance coaching, this will serve as a reminder!

CONTROL YOUR R.W.I.D.

R.W.I.D. stands for “Relative Weight of Importance and Duration.” The concept explains that for any given thought we have, we assign it a level of importance (e.g., whether to pay attention to it or not, whether to assign emotion to it or not) and we focus on it for a “given amount of time” (duration). The more importance we give a thought, and the longer we focus on it with importance, the more “real” it becomes in our minds, and the more our unconscious repeats that thought to us. The good news is, we can wield control over this process and choose to give empowering thoughts more importance and longer duration of contemplation.

Here are two prompts to effectively begin controlling your R.W.I.D. — this also mirrors what many of us have learned through ninja concepts: what you focus on expands.

  1. The thoughts that deserve more importance on my “mental dashboard” today include…
  2. The next time I spend too much time giving trivial or disempowering thoughts too much weight and time, I’m going to immediately…

While I suspect there will continue to be fertile ground for distraction and disempowering thoughts in the coming weeks, months and year as we navigate industry headlines, market factors, and our overall lives, I will continue to share tools from my Tenets of Psychological Mastery coaching session(s) to give you ideas to counter such distractions.

Congratulations on reading this post from top to bottom — you’ve chosen to focus on reducing the ever-present opportunity for distraction. Together, let’s focus on thoughts that deserve more importance — those that serve you.

⚡ With confidence in your potential – Laura

What does intentionality look like in your business?

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Hello, Friday!
A short and sweet post today to bookend the week as I’m packing up to head home after hosting a retreat at Seabrook. The intentionality behind it? Gathering brokers to learn, understand a new opportunity through our partnership, and connect. Heart and head full.

If you know me well, you know I design my days with intention. And this week was certainly on-brand for me.

We learned more about the art and science of town-building, and with that, witnessed successes when the focus is on intentionality in every detail. We explored four fundamentals of new urbanism: 1. Walkability 2. Variety of housing 3. Transition to nature 4. Public over private.

While I encourage you to discover these concepts for yourself at Seabrook (and yes, I’ll be hosting more retreats!), I ask all of us today, as we wrap up this week, to think about this question (and a few prompts):

Where can I bring more intentionality into my business?

And if you want a few more prompts to dive deeper into this concept, here you go:

  • How do I design my week with intention?
  • How do I design my day with intention?
  • Am I intentionally spending time on activities that build trust within my sphere and communities? Hint: double down here! Audit your time and activities for trust-building.
  • As I prepare for an appointment, a call, craft a marketing piece/post, design an email follow-up, or prep for an interaction with another person, am I clear on my overall intent?

I could literally go on and on with more prompts on how to seek alignment with intentionality in your business, but I promised to keep it short and sweet today. So, let’s wrap up this post, as I have an early morning coffee with the Seabrook founder to begin another beautiful day with intention.

Ps, have you logged into your Windermere x Seabrook Partner Portal?

Until the next post, be well!
— Laura

You, the presenter. “The goal isn’t perfection; it’s connection.” – Simon Sinek

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It was Thursday of this week when I came across a post on my LinkedIn from Simon Sinek, and I haven’t yet had a day when I haven’t come back to what he shared. Please join me in following along today as “you, the presenter”…

We are in the business of showing and sharing our competence to gain trust. We are in the business of connecting. We are in the business of communication. While at first glance, you might say to me, “Laura, why are you sharing this with me? I’m not a presenter. I’m not on a big stage with a large audience. I’m not delivering a keynote address.” My rebuttal is simple, “oh yes you are.” You are a presenter.

Picture yourself at your most recent listing presentation. Picture yourself at your most recent offer presentation. Picture yourself at your most recent negotiation. Picture yourself at your most recent buyer intake meeting. Think about the most recent marketing copy you penned. Picture yourself the last time someone asked you, “how is the market?” Think about your last social media post.

Now, let’s see what Simon has to say about you as a presenter as I’ve framed up these day-to-day scenarios we encounter. More specifically, let’s dig into the importance of the first 30 seconds.

Yes, this is next level stuff. I believe you each are next level. Please join me today for a copy & paste (aka, guest blogger) from Simon’s latest edition of A Spark of Optimism that has a tremendous shot at assisting each of us in doubling down in our impactful communication & connections!

…”The goal isn’t perfection; it’s connection.” – Simon Sinek

How to Hook Your Audience in 30 Seconds, According to Simon

Simon Sinek’s The Optimism Company

2,833,381 followers

February 18, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of A Spark of Optimism! This week, Simon reveals the secret to starting any presentation with impact. Forget everything you learned about “setting up context”—here’s why jumping straight into the action might be exactly what your presentation or speech needs.

Picture yourself at your last presentation. You probably started with some context: “Over the past two years, we’ve been analyzing…” or “I’d like to talk to you today about…” Now imagine instead walking in and saying: “The year is 1963. January. Vietnam.”

Feel the difference?

“Most people start with stuff that doesn’t matter,” says Simon. “They tell you the lesson they want you to learn, then tell you the story as an example. But it works much more effectively when you start with the story itself—when you start with the emotion.”

It turns out, we might be overthinking our openings. Here’s how to grab your audience from the first sentence (and why it’s simpler than you think):

Start Where the Action Is

Remember writing essays in school? We were taught to start with background, context, the “setting up” paragraph. Simon suggests something different: Write that first paragraph—then delete it.

“Just start where the action happens,” he advises. “Don’t worry about the lead-up. Don’t worry about saying ‘I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while now…’ Just begin.”

Trust Your Audience’s Patience

Here’s something reassuring: You don’t need to explain why you’re telling a story right away. “People are patient,” Simon explains. “They’ll listen without knowing why they’re listening—if it’s a well-told story.”

In fact, that curiosity can be powerful. When people think “Where is this going?”—that’s not a bad thing. It means they’re engaged.

Three Ways to Start Strong:

  1. Set the Scene Simply: “The year is 1963…” Sometimes that’s all you need. Let people’s imaginations do the work of filling in the fashions, the environment, the mood.
  2. Jump Into Action: Skip the build-up. Start where something happens. As Simon puts it, “When we start a story where the action happens, I’m saying ‘This story is for you, and I want you to be a part of this with me.'”
  3. Save the Lesson: Here’s the game-changer: Don’t start by telling people what they should learn. Start with the story that makes them want to learn it. “When you’re giving the explanation after,” Simon shares, “you’re not talking at them—you’re bringing them along with you.”

A Simple Test for Your Opening

Next time you’re preparing a presentation, try this: Write your introduction as you normally would. Now look at your second paragraph. Could that be your opening instead?

As Simon puts it: “There’s no right way to start a story—but there are more engaging ways.” The goal isn’t perfection; it’s connection. Start where it gets interesting, and trust that your audience will come along for the ride.

Let’s See This in Action

Here’s how a lot of people might start a presentation about a new team collaboration tool:

“Good morning everyone. Today I’d like to talk to you about improving our team’s efficiency. Over the past six months, we’ve been analyzing our workflow patterns and researching various solutions. Our studies show that teams spend approximately 23% of their time searching for information across multiple platforms, and…”

Cue the audience checking their phones.

Now, here’s how you could start the same presentation:

“Last Wednesday at 3am, Sarah from Marketing was in tears. The biggest campaign of her career was launching in six hours, and she couldn’t find the updated brand guidelines anywhere. Not in Slack. Not in Drive. Not in any of the 47 email threads she’d searched.

“Finally, she found them—buried in an email from last June, hidden in a folder called ‘Misc 2023.’ She’d been looking for three hours. The campaign was due at 9am. Later, she discovered three team members had the file all along, each working from different versions.

“Sarah’s story isn’t unique—it happened again yesterday to the sales team during their biggest pitch of the quarter, and it’ll happen tomorrow to someone else on your team unless we do something about it. Let me show you what that something could look like.”

Feel the difference? The second version:

  • Raises emotional stakes (tears, biggest campaign)
  • Adds specific details (47 email threads, biggest pitch of the quarter)
  • Creates more urgency (six hours, biggest campaign)
  • Makes the problem more personal (someone else on your team)
  • Maintains credibility (doesn’t go over-the-top)
  • Sets up solution more compellingly

The data, research, and context can come later. First, give your audience a reason to care.

Because in the end, a great opening isn’t about being perfect—it’s about making people look up from their phones and think, “Wait, this matters to me.” – Simon Sinek

Thank you for following along & your willingness to think differently today inside of my Fridays with Laura. We are each presenters. We are storytellers. And, yes – “the goal isn’t perfection; it’s connection...”

Have a beautiful weekend of productive work & play – here to help, the ultimate goal.

I believe you are next level. – Laura

…”and if I’m honest, I recognize I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Brooks Glenn

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Hello Friday! Wrapping up this week by amplifying the below Inman article posted on Wednesday. It deserves to stand alone as a post. Well done Windermere, well done.

Windermere reinforces DEI pledge with the appointment of a new director

Brooks Glenn will serve as the Seattle-based brokerage’s diversity, equity, and inclusion director. President OB Jacobi said Windermere ‘feels strongly’ that now is the time to bolster DEI efforts.

by Marian McPherson

February 12, 2025

Amid a federal push to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Windermere Real Estate is doubling down. The Seattle-based brokerage announced on Monday that it’s appointed longtime broker Brooks Glenn as its new director of inclusion and community engagement as former director, Samantha Enos, returns to full-time sales.

Glenn has been in the real estate industry for 25 years, with executive experience in real estate sales and property management and legal training in real estate and corporate law. Outside of the office, Glenn is deeply involved with several real estate organizations, including Western Washington Realtist, The Real Estate Alliance of Seattle and the Black Home Initiative. For his work, Glenn was named the National Association of Real Estate Brokers’ Realtist Broker of the Year in 2021.

“I took this position because I recognize the historical role that real estate professionals played in perpetuating harm and systemic inequalities, particularly toward Black communities and other minority groups,” Glenn said in a statement. “Practices like restrictive covenants, redlining and exclusionary opportunities in real estate contributed to long-lasting harm for both homebuyers and practitioners.”

“While legal changes have been made, and hearts and minds have clearly shifted, I believe the work is far from over,” he added.

Windermere began its formal DEI journey amid a summer of protests after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd while arresting him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes. Brokerage president OB Jacobi said Floyd’s death and the wider Black Lives Matter movement made him realize Windermere could do more to support DEI within the company and the communities they serve.

“For nearly 50 years Windermere has been deeply rooted in the communities where we do business. However, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has made us realize that our roots don’t extend as deep as we thought,” Jacobi said in an October 2020 blog post. “It also made us realize that over the decades, the real estate industry has played a significant role in exacerbating systemic racism through redlining and steering, which has prevented many members of historically marginalized communities from building wealth through homeownership.”

The next year, Windermere rolled out the program, which hinges on four pillars: Community, Homeownership, Leadership and Culture.

The Community and Homeownership pillars focus on increased involvement in racially diverse communities through homeownership education and other community-based initiatives. Through these two pillars, Windermere has spent the past four years helping homeowners remove restrictive covenants from their titles.

Meanwhile, the Leadership and Culture pillars focus on creating an inclusive environment and providing leadership training and opportunities, such as an internship program with the University of Washington for students of color interested in starting a real estate career.

Windermere’s DEI efforts earned them the 2024 Innovative Brokerage Award from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.

Jacobi said Enos’ return to full-time real estate sales gave the company an opportunity to reevaluate the future of its DEI program, as companies like Target, Walmart, Amazon, McDonalds, Meta, Google and Disney reduce their DEI efforts or slash them altogether.

“Following Samantha [Enos]’s return to real estate sales, we had many discussions about the future of DEI at Windermere and how we could best continue our efforts and the goals we outlined for the company in 2021,” he said in a statement. “These discussions intensified in recent months as we watched companies around the country pull back from their DEI commitments.”

”Despite this trend, we feel strongly that it’s important to continue our work to support and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within our company, within our industry, and within homeownership,” he added. “And we are confident that Brooks is the right person to lead those efforts.”

Glenn will be responsible for overseeing Windermere’s overall DEI goals and supporting individual Windermere offices with their DEI strategies and programs. He’ll also focus on DEI advancement in the real estate industry through outreach and collaboration.

“Windermere standing strong in its commitment to not simply support the movement, but become a driving force to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has the potential to inspire others and change communities,” he said. “I’m honored to do this work alongside Windermere, and if I’m honest, I recognize I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Have a wonderful weekend filled with productive work & play – here to help, the ultimate goal.

Ps, Presidents’ Day is this Monday. When computing time for purchase and sales agreements, regard Monday, February 17th as a legal holiday.

My bookmarks (this week).

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Welcome to Friday. And wow, I have certainly enjoyed the crisp, cold, yet stunning PNW days this week. Everything is a bit better with the sunshine. Today’s FWL is focused on three things I’ve enjoyed having at my fingertips this week as I dive further in with curiosity…

As I brought to awareness in last week’s blog – a reminder to review the “Revisions to the Escalation Addendum (NWMLS 35E) hosted on the homepage of NWMLS. There are now two videos available. For all of us, this is a good prerequisite for heading into the revisions going live next week. In my humble opinion, I don’t believe these revisions or the new tool (calculator) will change how we are handling escalators much in the very immediate future. It will take time for brokers to learn & implement. Use the next couple of weeks to seek understanding. These revisions are tools in the toolbelt – and yet at the end of the day for listing brokers – continue working the solutions/scenarios that are in front of you. There are many ways to arrive at mutual acceptance. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and 35E (process) is not a perfect form for every situation to arrive at mutual acceptance. In the meantime, I’ll be playing with the calculator alongside you. Start with the videos heading into next week! Offices will be naturally working through the revisions with you.

This week I hit refresh on my bookmarked Downtown Seattle Association website. Talking with a broker yesterday who had put together a fabulous marketing piece around the revitalization of the downtown waterfront, it dawned on me that I owe downtown a day trip to explore! And then, it brought me back to explore further the DSA website – very well done. Full site here along with resources in an Economic Report, Development, Economic Revitalization (dashboard) & a fabulous Seattle City Makers Podcast. I hosted DSA President & CEO Jon Scholes at a meeting last year – putting Jon back on my guest list in 2025. Until then, his podcast is great and consider planning a visit to walk the waterfront park! 🎤

REALTORS®+Housing

My 3rd resource as we sweep this week in content is hitting refresh on the newly launched website: REALTORS®+Housing

As we are well aware, housing policy is undergoing major changes in Washington State. In 2023 and 2024, the Washington State Legislature passed a myriad of housing bills. The two most significant were middle housing bills HB 1110 and HB 1337. These bills are set to transform housing policies in urban and suburban areas by allowing middle housing and accessory dwelling units across the Puget Sound region.

Along with becoming more familiar with this new site – next week I’ll be digesting a recording of a recent Windermere ProDev class on: Seattle Zoning Updates and Housing Opportunities: Adapting to Seattle’s Evolving Plan.

The word that really sticks out to me in the class title – evolving. Consider bookmarking the site above as one resource to evolve with change.

To round out FWL, I’ll bring us all back to our local real estate market. In talking with a ton of brokers & industry leaders this week – there are signs of an early spring market. And in getting back to basics, let’s get back into our cars, tour and connect…

As the fabulous Sue Bethke likes to say, “You can’t sell what you haven’t seen.” With my coaching hat on, keep distractions to a minimum and maintain intentionality and focus as we move further into 2025.

Have a wonderful weekend in productive work & play. Here to help; the ultimate goal. – Laura