Six,

Windermere Owners Retreat 2016 – “The movement of ideas, information and goodwill between all.” (thank you WRE owner, Peter Hickey for articulating this!). All of this happened this week.  OB, Jill and I are all in the midst of traveling home and dialing back to our day to day focus.  I am inspired and so very grateful for the clarity gained in where to put my renewed energy and focus as we prep for a strong 2016 finish and launch into 2017. A few highlights are my “digestible bites” from this week…

If you ever think you are having a bad day, keep Captain Charlie Plumb in mind. We kicked off the Owner’s event with a visit to Miramar – yes folks, the home of Top Gun. As we sat in the Miramar Officers’ Club Wednesday morning we met and spoke with Captain Charlie Plumb…

…his story in a quick bite-sized piece – Captain Charlie Plumb graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and went on to fly the F-4 Phantom jet on 74 successful combat missions over Vietnam. On his 75th mission, with only five days before he was to return home, Plumb was shot down, captured, tortured, and imprisoned in an 8 foot x 8 foot cell. He spent the next 2,103 days as a Prisoner Of War in communist war prisons.

I am not often speechless, after listening to Capt. Charlie Plumb – I was speechless. As with any story there are many lessons in-line that we can all pull from. One story I want to briefly share with you was how he described the most important person aboard the naval carrier to which he took off from on that day, on his 75th mission – with only 5 days before he was to return home. He described the person who packed his parachute. You will hear much more from me with regard to this story as I am acutely aware that we have a roll in packing your parachute for your success – whether you real estate career is on the runway (just beginning), lifting off, flying at altitude or looking to land the plane in a mindful exit.  We also realize success looks like this…

Our 4th quarter planning sessions for 2017 will indeed be focused on packing your parachute. Really looking forward to it.

For those Top Gun fans out there…a few pictures from the morning at Miramar – pinch me – it was incredible as in high school I thought I would go to the Air Force Academy – play basketball for them and become a fighter pilot. THAT didn’t happen, but Wednesday of this week did!

***and oh, when I see you next remind me to tell you about our charter bus that didn’t stop at the security gate upon entering the base – oops, not good – but made a good story! A really good story on many levels.

That is a wrap for me this week!  Shout if you need anything – that is the ultimate goal. Time to unpack, ready for a Husky win vs Stanford tonight and another weekend caulked full of soccer fields. I’ll see many of you at the golf tournament on Monday – 18 holes of best ball, networking and raising money for the kids.  Game on.

In continued partnership with you,

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

Six,

A review of this week and prep for next in what I hope continues to be digestible sound bites in setting your table for continued success –  Here to help, just ask – the ultimate goal.

At a glance for this week >  A modern day “gold rush”? + an educational note from Penrith + “how to disagree” from Kid President + golf “FORE” a good cause (and for fun)  + odds/ends – ok, here we go…

Seattle, a modern day “gold rush”? | Seattle becomes No. 1 U.S. market for Chinese homebuyers (click here for full article – The Seattle Times, September 15th 2016) | NOTE: I lob this out there for a read to make sure you are aware of what is in the news – as you and I both know this is what our people outside of the real estate industry will be asking us about. I don’t necessarily agree with what is written here (in fact, concerned in some of the wordsmithing within the article!) – I’m certainly interested and will continue to watch trends and reality.

“There’s been a large increase this year in Chinese buyers looking for property in the Seattle area, and a new tax on foreign buyers in Vancouver, B.C., is expected to amplify the trend.” *** I’ve asked our Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner to weigh. Matthew replied with, “Well, we will certainly see additional demand after BC’s decision to add yet another tax.  That said, I wonder how deep demand will actually be.” – Matthew Gardner

 A what have you noticed moment? Storytelling from Penrith |  The past month Penrith has noticed a common issue arising in regards to Water Heater Strap and Carbon Monoxide requirements. Hopefully this commentary will help us get ahead of a few details towards smooth closings. An educational note from Penrith…

“We handle this in one of two ways depending on how the appraisal is written”…

#1) We will have the borrower sign a certification letter at closing acknowledging that Carbon Monoxide Detectors & Water Heater Straps have been installed in the home if the appraisal is made “as is”.

OR…

#2)  If the appraisal is “subject to” the installation of Carbon Monoxide Detectors or Water Heater Straps the appraiser must be sent back to the home to verify the work has been completed.

This process usually runs smooth, however where we have had some issues is when the appraisal is “as is” and we didn’t notice either the straps or the CO detector was missing and the certification letter goes to closing.  The Buyer was not aware and then question the document at closing.  This could result in a delay in closing if the straps are missing and the Buyer cannot sign the certification letter.

Moral of the story if you are listing a home, consider this proactive step and make sure these items are present and taken care of before listing the home.  On the flip side, if you are working with a buyer it’s important to watch for these items as you are touring the home.

How to disagree with People | I love Kid President, he makes me smile. He breaks it down for us in a lesson on how to disagree with people.  Worth 5 minutes, click here!

FORE! | October 3rd @ Sand Point C.C. – Our annual “golf fore a good cause” is 17 days away! We have a goal to have at least 2 teams (of four) from each of our six offices. Missing this super fun event together would be a double-bogey, for sure. All levels of golfers + hackers encouraged –  can’t stress that enough. *** sign ups in your resource room or email Tina for specific details – tina.Tomlinson@windermere (Tina makes all this happen!) | I’ll see you on the links…

Odds + ends | Eastlake reported a new restaurant, might be fun to check out – rumor has it another great spot for a warm bowl of chowder. One click away from the details, The 100 Pound Clam. It’s Windermere Blue Friday although it is not a home game this week (Hawks are away this week vs. Los Angeles Rams) – we’ll pick back up in tallying our home tackles and donations to YouthCare the following week vs. San Francisco 49’s. After the Hawks home game #1 we have already raised $3,100! #TackleHomelessness

That’s a wrap from me, this week!

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

…a hello from my family – this is us being goofballs picking our first apple off our new apple tree! Fall is in the air – back to school, routines, soccer fields…and apples.

Six,

This week, the “science” | The NWMLS August 2016 statistical data was released (click here) – signaling us to update our Seattle statistics as well. A few talking points + #’s we should know as we continue to master your “science” together. According to the NWMLS, for Metro Seattle (140 + 380 + 385 + 390 + 700 + 705 + 710)…

August 2016 vs. August 2015 | % Change included

• Months Supply of Inventory | 0.7 vs. 0.8 | -9%
• Total Active Listings | 648 vs. 625 | up 4%
• Median Active List Price | $739,763 vs. $702,296 | up 5%
• Pending (MTD) | 876 vs. 765 | up 15%
• Pending (YTD) | 6,180 vs. 6,429 | -4%
• # of Closed sales (MTD) | 781 vs. 684 | up 14%
• # of Closed sales (YTD) | 5,088 vs. 5,229 | -3%
• Median Closed Sales (YTD) | $644,458 vs. $558,198 | up 15%

For a breakdown by NWMLS area, click here and you are up to speed!

An excellence in green real estate! | Loved seeing this post on Facebook this week. A fun interview with our Fiore Pignataro from Eastlake. Pretty cool that Fiore is a finalist for the “green genius listing agent of the year” and it turns out our Eastlake office is in the running for “green listing office of the year!” Nice to know we have people like this in our family of six to ask our “green” questions…

I have to dig more into this, in the immediate – had to shout this goodness out!  Article + interview   – “The PNW is the Hub of Greener Living – Thanks to these geniuses.”

And now this all gets very real! | Our #TackleHomelessness campaign kicks off at this Sunday’s Seahawks game! Lots of ways to shout this out. I’m repurposing our Windermere blog post so you have all the ins + outs. Go Hawks + Go Windermere = Go YouthCare! Looking forward to following along and watching the home-game tackles and donations build…

 

Six,

I know, it’s only Thursday – I’m breaking my Friday habit. Today feels like Friday to me – so why not! Preparing for a long holiday weekend + last go at family fun at our beach cabin before kids get back to their classrooms. By the way, what that means for all of us – school zones! In Washington State, speed limits in school zones are always 20 MPH. Recognized school zones also include roadway that extends 300 feet in any direction from a crosswalk. People are commonly ticketed for going only 5 MPH over the legal Washington school zone legal speed limit. I’ve been there, it is expensive. Hope this saves you a few bucks and better yet keeps our communities and little people very safe!

Labor Day + Computation of Time | When computing time for the purchase and sale agreement, please regard this Monday, September 5th as a legal holiday. Labor Day is a legal holiday under Washington law. Our offices will indeed be closed on Monday – playtime for everyone.

Selling Office Commissions – follow up | Last week I shouted out the “science” behind SOC’s – again, thank you Dan Givens for digging in. A follow up to this with respect to The Law of Real Estate Agency, specific to “Duties of a Buyer’s Agent.”…

• Section 5: Duties of a Buyer’s Agent,     1.e.ii – “unless otherwise agreed to in writing after buyer’s agent had complied with RCW 18.86.030(1)(f), to make a good faith and continuous effort to find a property for the buyer; except that a buyer’s agent is not obligated to:
  • (i) seek additional properties to purchase while the buyer is a party to an existing contract to purchase; or
  • (ii) show property as to which there is no written agreement to pay compensation to the buyer’s agent.

***where I’m going with this – a reminder that your duties (per above) as a Buyer’s Agent is to make that continues effort to find a property for your buyer clients even if the SOC is something other than you expect it to be. Be careful here, this is the law and if brokers become aware you are not showing their listing(s) based on a SOC you could quickly become in very hot water with the DOL.  Happy to chat through this with anyone – wanted to shout out this reminder following our commentary from last week. Questions? Just ask your go to manager or me!***

Wire Fraud | This issue has not gone away – collectively let’s make sure we are all having this conversation with clients. We are in a position to help immensely via our education and communication! These next four minutes (video) with Annie Fitzsimmons will help us all protect the consumers…

• Legal Hotline Fraud Alert | Click here  –  Annie Fitzsimmons describes a serious Nationwide threat known as a Wire Transfer Fraud Scam that results in Consumers losing funds.

License renewals | Mine is just about up and  every couple years I end up needing a few extra clock hours late in the game. One of my favorite way to knock those final hours out is to attend a day, half a day or a couple days at Pro Start. This is good relevant content no matter how long you’ve been in the business of real estate! Great reminders, refreshers, new content and very enthusiastic dedicated instructors. I always enjoy these final hours actually in the classroom. If that too interests you and you are looking for a few more hours – ProStart is next up September 12 – 16. Click here to see the playbook of topics and registration link. You can register for pieces of ProStart – this is my ultimate point here. Feel free to pick up the phone and give Professional Development a ring – an awesome group focused on us every single day and our continued development. 206.526.7612. Roughly 5 spots open for our September ProStart – fills up!

Ok, that’s a wrap for this week, prepping for next. As always, this content is specifically geared for you – Sand Point + Wedgwood + Northgate + Eastlake + Madison Park + Ballard – our six!  Enjoy this upcoming Labor Day weekend – jump into the last of summer +  find some play. And oh, Pac 12 football begins this weekend, me like lots! Bring on Fall (almost), football, crazy schedules and a strong finish to 2016, together.

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

Six,

At a glance for this week >  a discussion on selling office commissions + “400 lengths” +  a tacos & tequila tally and a little “hawk talk”. Let’s recap this week and prep for next…cheers to a weekend chaulked full of productive  work + summer play ahead, here to help – the ultimate goal.

• Does the selling office commission matter? Thank you Dan Givens for doing this analysis!

We did an analysis of over 35,000 closed sales in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties to see if the S.O.C. had any impact on a home’s selling price and on the time on market. For this project we looked at closed sales for all of 2015 but we only looked at residential resale under $1,000,000. We did not include new construction, short sales, bank owned properties, land or mobile homes. Here is what we found.

83% of the sellers chose to offer a 3% selling office commission. On average those homes sold at 99.7% of asking price. Those homes also sold on average in 35 days.

15% of the sellers chose to offer a lower selling office commission of 2.5%. On average those homes sold at 97.7% of asking price. Those homes also sold on average in 54 days.

So those sellers who chose to offer a lower selling office commission sold for 2% less and took over 50% longer to sell!

Their supposed savings of .5% ended up costing them 4 times more than what they thought they would save.

• If you ever want to have an SOC conversation, give me a ring – happy to chat through strategy, talking points and the like – I’m passionate about this said topic. 206.227.7133 (cell)

What future “gold medals” have you already won? This research and storytelling brought to us by Eric Thompson, Windermere Services – Colorado…thank you Eric!

400 Lengths

Every four years I become enthralled by the Olympics. I love watching elite athletes compete at the highest level. I love the leadership and sportsmanship lessons that are on display. I love watching people excel and have their dreams come true.

The last weeks of watching the Summer Games has me thinking about this question:

When is the gold medal won?

Is it won when the swimmer touches the wall first, the runner crosses the line first, or the gymnast earns the perfect score?

Or is there more to it than that?

The answer came to me when I researched the American swimmers I cheered so loudly for in front of my T.V. Take Katie Ledecky for instance. I discovered that she sat down with her coach three years ago and mapped out her three key goals for these 2016 Olympics and her game plan to make those come true.

Then she started her training program that included swimming 70,000 yards a week. That’s 10,000 per day. That’s 400 lengths of a traditional 25-yard pool every day.

Or how about Ryan Murphy, the backstroker that set a World-Record last week? You may have seen images of the book he wrote to his mom when he was 6 years old telling her that one day he would be a world-record setting Olympic Champion.

Murphy and Ledecky won their 2016 Gold Medals a long time ago. Their success was inevitable. They decided to win and made the massive commitment it took to win.

It begs the question. What future gold medals have you already won? What are you already doing today that makes your success inevitable? –  Eric Thompson, Windermere Services Colorado

 

• …Back to those Tacos & Tequila results! | Raising $3500 to the Windermere Foundation for a two hour gathering dockside at Jill & Geoff’s home all the while eating tacos and drinking tequila – not so terrible for our first go at this! We’ll be putting this event on our 2017 calendar – no doubt!

That’s a wrap for this week, looking forward to next – here to help. And hey, what future “gold medals” have you already won? Really fun to think about.

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

…and if you’ve been to Century Link to cheer on the Seahawks in their pre-season, you’ve seen we are very well represented! I’m IN > our #tacklehomelessness campaign…

Six,

It’s Friday, it is smoking hot – keeping this one a light sweep! Plus I have 30 people in roughly 2 minutes embarking upon my home for our son’s birthday party – both kids & adults should be well entertained. Enjoy this weekend in productive work & play everyone – I sure plan to.

This week, what have I noticed? In two hours, on a beautiful Seattle day, dockside –  roughly 70 of us got together and did some good. We’ll have a final tally in for the WRE Foundation next week. Tacos & Tequila’s was a blast, for those who joined – give us feedback for next year. Yup, I said next year – why not!?! I had a “top shelf” good time. Kelland Lindsey and Rob Graham (pictured below) were tasked with being our entertainment or at least drumming it up – after instruction from Tina (Tina, yup – the one that makes these events happen) they did a darn fine job! Thanks guys – you are hired for next year. Foundation tally will be shouted out next week…

Tomorrow, we race! | Summer Splash is upon us – big thank you to so many that have yet again made this happen. It will be hot! If you are curious to see this boat in all of it’s glory – 11:45am is our heat. We’ll hit the starting line anticpating our two minutes of fame…and then back to our day jobs – which we happen to love!

That’s a wrap for this week, looking forward to next – here to help. Lots of good going on, and a whole lot more time in 2016 to create even more…here to help. By the way, if anyone would like to add my # in their phone – here you go, 206.227.7133 – another layer of support should you need it, anytime.

Kids are here…must run!

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

Six,

At a glance for this week >  Blue Friday + sleuth tool + city fruit + more July “science” + a birthday + a 1936 piece of history! Let’s recap this week and prep for next…cheers to a weekend chaulked full of productive  work + summer play ahead, here to help – the ultimate goal.

Go Hawks + Go Windermere | It is our first official “Blue Friday” in partnership with our Seahawks! Our flags have arrived and are swag is flying high!

Side note, the question has been asked – How long is our Hawk partnership? Answer is: 3 years! Remember, for every home game tackle that the Seahawks make, Windermere is donating $100 to YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides services and support to homeless youth. I’m IN > our #tacklehomelessness campaign.

Sleuthing tool | Catherine Adams (Madison Park) needed to do some investigative work on property ownership and discovered this WA State site that holds “managing partner” info on an LLC.   It is not 100% because some folks have smart lawyers who can shield their names – however this did help Catherine  get to someone that helped with a client’s desire to acquire. Click here for your new sleuthing tool. Thank you Catherine!

This week, the “science” | The NWMLS July 2016 statistical data was released – signaling us to update our Seattle statistics as well. A few talking points + #’s we should know as we continue to master your “science” together. According to the NWMLS, for Metro Seattle (140 + 380 + 385 + 390 + 700 + 705 + 710)…

July 2016 vs. July 2015 | % Change included

• Months Supply of Inventory | 0.9 vs. 0.7 | up 24%
• Total Active Listings | 719 vs. 600 | up 20%
• Median Active List Price | $726,689 vs. $705,862 | up 3%
• Pending (MTD) | 804 vs. 832 | – 3%
• Pending (YTD) | 5,304 vs. 5,6644 | -6%
• # of Closed sales (MTD) | 775 vs. 808 | -4%
• # of Closed sales (YTD) | 4,307 vs. 4,545 | -5%
• Median Closed Sales (YTD) | $644,830 vs. $554,516 | up 16%

For a breakdown my NWMLS area, click here and you are up to speed!

City Fruit | Couldn’t help but shout this local resource out. Learned about this from Jamie Roberts (Ballard office)! A wow. City Fruit promotes the cultivation of urban fruit in order to nourish people, build community, and protect the climate.

“Urban fruit trees are a valuable community resource, yet often fruit goes unused because people are not sure when to harvest it, how to best use it, or they are put off by damage caused by preventable disease and pests. We are reclaiming the urban orchard, showing people how to harvest what they need, and to share the rest with others. We help tree owners grow healthy fruit, provide assistance in harvesting and preserving fruit, promote the sharing of extra fruit, and work to protect urban fruit trees.” – City Fruit –  Click here to share this resource in your community, maybe even your home!

Happy Birthday to Ballard’s “Queen B”, manager – Darlene Sozinho – fun to celebrate with you all today, great way to start a Friday! As Cari Sulcer eloquently stated, “party in your birthday suit”…ok, at least your bee costume!

That’s a wrap for this week, looking forward to next – here to help. Lots of good going on, and a whole lot more time in 2016 to create even more…here to help.

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

…and oh, snapped a photo of these Olympic rings at Pocock Rowing Center this week during our Summer Splash Corporate Cup practice. One more race and your Windermere boat hits the waters of Green Lake at Summer Splash 2016. ***This is an actual Olympic flag  from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin – yup, The Boys in the Boat gold medal race. I thought a fitting add to our sweep this week as we continue to find “our swing” together. Grateful you are in our boat, I like our boat lots!

 

Six,

At a glance for this week > You have influenced our TouchCMA product + a note on “browsers” + market “pulse” storytelling + all things pink!  Let’s recap this week and prep for next…welcome to Seafair weekend! Cheers to productive work + play ahead, here to help – the ultimate goal.

TouchCMA redesign + you | Your comments directly influenced our design team in creating the next generation of digital presentations. Thank you. We are listening. That giant WORC feedback button continues to be a fantastic landing spot for your feedback – “specific” feedback is the very best! You are influencing our products – as it should be – they are designed for you.

***screenshot of WORC to show feedback button.

Ok, on Tuesday, August 2 we are launched the redesign of TouchCMA. The additional features and new modern design will elevate your presentations and give you a competitive advantage. I’ve heard many of you are very happy with the redesign. Again, a quick recap of what changed + what did not…

• Mobile-friendly: Presentations will resize to fit any screen size, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones.
• Same great content, with a facelift: Build presentations the same way you do today but now they’ll appear within the new modern design.
• A presentation you helped build: Many of you provided feedback about the current version of TouchCMA, and we heard you!

What’s Changed?

• All existing and new web presentations will be updated with the new, improved design.
• The slides “Pricing Summary” and “Estimated Pricing” will be combined. You can still omit average sold comparable price based on square footage using a new “Pricing Summary” page option.
• The “Averages By Status” section of the “Comparable Market Information” slide will now be grouped on the slide “Averages of Comparables.”

What Stays the Same?

• Building your presentations doesn’t change at all, since the redesign update only affects the end result.
• The PDF and iPad app presentations are not changing.
• Your custom pages are not changing.
• All of your saved presentation profile settings will still be honored.
• Existing presentations will automatically be updated to the new presentation style.

A side note on browsers | I was reminded this week of how important it is to swap to a different browser if you are experiencing any issues on TouchCMA, Transaction Desk etc…every now and again we’ll see one browser work and one not so much. Reminds me of  the good old days when we’d get a “blue screen of death” on a PC and the fix was simply to restart the computer. Anyhow, a gentle reminder of the wide world of browsers and technology. Worth shouting out.

Market pulse | …# of offers is a conversation these days, no doubt. Look carefully at this snapshot below – this is a sample sales sheet from last week’s Ballard office meeting – it is telling us a story. It is a story that we need to be discovering and “showing” as a collective whole. Note how many sales are showing “only one” offer. It should also be noted this sales sheet does not reflect homes that did not receive offers – those exist too. Pricing + setting expectations with Sellers will be uber important (as always) in these next few months. Let’s help them understand sometimes there is a disconnect with what the media might portray to what is happening. Our local market shifts weekly, do all you can do to collaborate on what the “market pulse” – the banter in your offices, out on tour etc…are all good landing spots for such storytelling. Let’s help each other educate the market. It helps us all navigate and move the market. Pricing a home, receiving a full price offer and a Seller not accepting (as they expected more money vs. their asking price) is not a position we want to be in and it is happening more + more. It comes down to education. Kudos Ballard for keeping the “pulse” in front of you!

 ***note: left hand column – # of offers

Things went pink! | Our long-time manager, Dave Hale (Madison Park) is expecting his first grandchild – so what does one do? Bedazzle him in pink! Dave thought we were getting together to chat all things Madison Park. Instead, a good old fashioned surprise – had to share. Dave Hale, pink looks good on you! I know you + Beth are counting the days – so exciting!

Ok, that’s a sweep for this week! We should be hearing the Blue Angels shortly – get out and enjoy where + when you can. Seattle is indeed showing off today. We are lucky.

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

 Day #3 of Summer Splash Corporate Cup prep!

Six,

At a glance for this week > a note on appraisals + Ballard gets a new neighbor + Gardner Report Q2 + 2016 Art Fair + we become the Seahawks 12th man – at least one of them!  Go Hawks + Go Windermere, let’s recap this week and prep for next…

Delayed appraisals…a market driven condition.. |  Multiple stories this week of possible delays in closing based on appraisals not being done (in some cases, not even started for weeks) – and I am not simply referencing stories of aggressive buyers with quick closings! Let’s face it, appraisers are very busy (purchase + refinance business) – we have hit a very real volume issue and appraisers are having to turn down orders. I’ve heard of appraisers being booked out through August.  That said, set expectations with your clients and get looped in early with Lender on what they are seeing. This issue may come and go, yet in the immediate be aware of it and be proactive. A “rush order” may or may not help, I’ve been told. I spoke with one appraiser today, he is getting 30 appraisal requests per day! ***Keep in mind, appraisers are part of our team to get this done. They too are human and can only handle so much volume. Looks like patience + setting expectations will need to be key ingredients in our success.

Our Ballard office gets a new neighbor! | Tomorrow’s groundbreaking celebration at the site of the New Nordic Heritage Museum will officially kick-off the public campaign in funding. This morning I had the opportunity to hear all about the vision for this new museum – one that will act as “a bridge to the contimpory Nordic culture.” This is the only museum in the U.S. that represents all 5 Nordic countries. I am awestruck in both the plans and vision for this new site! It will live directly across the street from our Ballard office – fun for us all – a new community gathering spot. Interested to learn more or support? Click here for more! There will be a stunning  auditorium for 400 people – I already have visions for a 2018 Windermere kick-off hosted here – thinking ahead!

2016 Q2 “science” | Our second-quarter Western Washington Gardner Report is now available to digest + share with your people. Click here for the Q2 report – featuring a new map graphic that helps readers understand the region’s home sale trends at a glance. A couple quick snapshots below as teasers from the full report.

Annual change in Home Sale prices | Q2 2015 – Q2 2016…

CONCLUSIONS | no surprises here, although consistent talking points as you continue to educate our local market…

“This speedometer reflects the state of the region’s housing market using housing inventory, price gains, sales velocities, interest rates, and larger economics factors. For the second quarter of 2016, I am leaving the needle in the same position as last quarter. Inventory levels have improved, albeit modestly, and price growth has slowed very slightly. However, this is offset by a jump in pending sales, a slightly higher number of closed sales, and a drop in interest rates. As such, the region remains staunchly a seller’s market.” – Matthew Gardner, WRE Chief Economist

2016 Seattle Art Fair | It’s right around the corner – aka, next weekend! Our sponsorship allows you to pass along complementary one-day tickets to your clients.  Want to quickly grab tickets for you or your people – click here.

• 11am-7pm | Friday, Aug 5
• 11am – 7pm | Saturday, Aug 6
• 12pm – 6pm | Sunday, Aug 7

 Your office has all you need to make the invite!

I’m IN! | Soon “blue Fridays” will take over in Seattle and our six offices will be ready! I’ve just ordered each of our offices our official partnership flag that we can proudly display in support of our partnership with our Seahawks and our #tacklehomelessness campaign. For every home game tackle that the Seahawks make, Windermere is donating $100 to YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides services and support to homeless youth. I’m IN!

That’s a wrap for this week, prepping for next. Here to help, just ask.

…and oh yes, our Windermere boat hit the waters for our second practice on the waters of Lake Washington. A quick peek at our winning team. Two more practices and then…we race @ Summer Splash, Aug 20th.

Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.

Six,

Remember last week I threw out a challenge to try something new? Well, I did – along with several other familiar faces within our Company. Line the shores of Green Lake, August 20th at our 2016 Summer Splash and root on the Windermere boat in the Summer Splash Corporate Cup! We had our first practice last week on Lake Washington. Our boat = one University of California national champion rower + 7 absolute rookies. The Pocock Rowing Center is coaching us right along – fun to be on the waters where so much rich history of rowing exists!

Meet the WRE 2016 Corporate Cup Team = Franny Wood (national champion rower, Jill + Geoff’s daughter!) + Jordan Malloch (SP, manager) + Brian Hutchinson ( SP, support staff) + Mark Oster (Chief Financial Officer) + Jessica Donahue (accounting) + Darlene Sozinho (BD, manager) + Rob Graham (WW, co-manager) + Laura Smith (General Manager). You are now witness to our first strokes as we look to come together as a team. There it is, we are trying something new!

 

A reminder of our promo materials designed for you – WORC > office tab (upper left) > Jacobi six > Client Flow marketing > 1. Client events (summer splash + kicks for kids folders) | Need help getting the messaging out, ask your admin team!

Am I getting paid today? |  We get this questions a lot. Accounting gets this question a lot. A couple general reminders that will help – if you have any concern as to where your commission is, please first circle up with your manager. We all know + understand the backend processes within the accounting department and will bird dog any of your concerns. Let us be your first point of contact. Timely + correctly paying you is top dog on our list of “to do’s” – let us help you demystify the process, as needed. If we are successful in directing brokers back to us vs. calling or emailing accounting we can keep accounting on pace for a successful day in paying you vs. fielding inquiries. Thanks so much in your partnership in this! Big big help.

Tune Up Team | We’ve freshened up our propaganda that you will begin to see on the walls of your office and seats of your chairs (or desks!). “We know you’re busy. We are here to help.” It has been very fun for me to see this team come together.   We have put together a team of people that each bring their greatest strengths to our table. Karen + Maddy + Pattie are working very close with your branch staff – let your staff be your very first point of contact. If they do not have an answer, they will find it – or, will continue to leverage the Tune Up Team in additional support! A link to us, click here!

Next Week | I’m excited for next week as we have a couple fun announcements slotted for early in the week – stay tuned!

…and oh, thank you Madison Park ladies for letting me join you on Whidbey Island yesterday – Jane Johnson (our host!) + Judy Curran (Foundation rep for keeping the MP auction alive!) + Susan Sellin + Shannon Vincent. You certainly helped in making this a fantastic week for me. Loved getting to know you. “Eat more crab” – a great mantra to kick off the weekend and survive the political season:)…

Have a fantastic weekend in productive summer work + play. We are all here to help, we know you are busy!

Laura Smith | General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co + Northwest, Inc.