Phased RE Opening & Rebound
Gov. Inslee lays out our plan
A 4 Phase plan to re-open Washington from the Stay Home Order.
In this letter, I will give my interpretation of this plan and how it relates to real estate along with updates and clarifications from the WA Realtor Association.
This plan is similar to many other states including NY and CA in that it has specifics about what can open at each Phase but doesn’t put a timeline on future phases.
But, Phase 1 started on Monday the 5th! Each phase should last about 3 weeks.
The WA Realtor Assc. announcement, below, interprets the governors announcement for real estate activity.
It says that all real estate activities will be allowed in Phase 2, with the exception of maybe in person open houses since gatherings are restricted to 5 people total.
Also in Phase 2, housecleaning is allowed which I think gives way to allowing contractors into your house to prep your home for sale.
GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES 4 PHASE APPROACH – from WA Realtors Assc.
On Friday, May 1st Governor Inslee announced an extension of the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order to May 31st and laid out a phased approach to re-opening the State economy. Phase 1 begins Tuesday, May 5th. Please note that this does not affect the modifications that were made to the original Stay Home, Stay Healthy order that allow certain real estate activities to take place.
Phase 2 businesses will include all other real estate activity including commercial real estate, the re-opening of real estate offices, and services such as sign installation. Phase 2 also allows gatherings outside your residence for up to 5 people, which presumably would apply to parts of the real estate transaction such as showings, appraisals notarizations, etc. The Governor’s phased-in plan will apply in counties that have been harder hit by COVID-19. The 10 counties that have not been as impacted by the virus will be allowed to apply for waivers that will let them open up faster (see KING5 story for summary).
Although it is not yet clear when Phase 2 will begin, we will be in constant dialog to make our case for the earliest possible start date that is consistent with maintaining public health as the number one priority, and we also will continue urging the Governor’s office to approve additional, and safe, modifications that we’ve requested to allow brokers to more fully meet the needs of their clients.
RE Transactions Rebound
Transactions in Seattle and King Co. bottomed out the first week of April, down -65% vs LY but have been increasing since this low.
This data plus a decrease in market time to sell a home and a +8% increase in sold home prices in April in Seattle show us that there are still buyers in the market and they are transacting.
The residential real estate market is still active and I think it will be headed back to “normal” once we are further along into Phases 2 & 3 this summer.
Only time will tell how the Stay Home Order will ultimately impact our housing market.
So far, real estate is fairing better than most segments of our economy.
Almost $700k for our neighbors in need!!
Thank you, thank you to all that helped support this incredibly worthy cause to help our neighbors in need and bring food and resources to our local food banks.
Our agent supported Windermere Foundation matched $250,000 to the $440,000 raised to get the total donation to almost $700,000! Amazing!
Life goes on…
I know it’s been hard for all of us to adapt to this crazy time and it is so much
more challenging for the most vulnerable in our city.
Things around my house have been moving forward, sometimes without me. I owe so much to my incredible family!
They have all stepped up and kept a positive attitude while spreading some kindness.
With love, the Johnson’s
My wife, Lari, and I celebrated our lucky
13th wedding anniversary in early May!
And that’s a wrap!
44 pumpkin pies delivered to welcoming past, present and future clients.
Hours of holiday music that Morgan & Paige will recount to their therapist along with my embarrassing Pie Hat 😬
Happy Holidays everyone!
#pieguy #lovemyjob #happyholidays #wearewindermere
Skydiving for the WRE Foundation!
Maybe the scariest thing I’ve ever done!
But I’m so proud of our Wedgwood crew that raised almost $2000 for our Windermere Foundation by jumping out of a plane!
WW | Home Run 5k Walk & Run
Hello all of my generous and active friends, family and clients!
I hope you can join me, Lari, Morgan and Paige for our HOME RUN 5K on Nov 9th!
We welcome kids, runners & walkers – a FUN RUN for all.
Hats will be given to participants and give-aways for young runners too.
Hosted by Windermere Wedgwood, with all proceeds benefiting the Windermere Foundation. Our mission is to assist low income and homeless families and over $40million has been awarded since 1989. Currently thousands of dollars are awarded monthly to schools, food banks, enrichment programs for kids, and numerous other organizations in the greater Seattle area.
*This is a non-timed event*
Click here to register for the Home Run
If you can’t participate on the day of the race but would still like to donate please click here Windermere Foundation and designate your donation to the Wedgwood office.
Thank You!
Another great Community Service Day 2019!
This year our Windermere Wedgwood crew did over 100 hours of grunt work at Sacajawea Elementary School for our annual Community Service Day project.
Debuts & Discoveries – What’s new in Seattle beverages
Debuts & Discoveries – Beverage Tasting – Saturday, March 16th from 5-8pm
D&D is a great gathering of new talent from the Seattle beverage world with offerings from wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. Food trucks on site as well.
See link for all details & to get tickets.
Enjoy some tasty food and beverages and support Outdoors for All.
Helping children with disabilities get out!
I’ll see you there. https://lnkd.in/dx7hU58
Humble Design Housewares Drive for the Homeless
Sunday, March 10th from 11 – 2 p
Windermere – Wedgwood back parking lot – 8401 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115
This is an incredibly proactive way we can all help the homeless in our community.
We are asking all of our clients, friends, neighbors and family to bring us household items, see list below, to help the homeless in Seattle.
Humble Design takes donated items and furnishes homes for people that are experiencing homelessness.
They have an amazing track record – when a previously homeless person moves into their first home and that home is furnished, they only have a 1% chance of becoming homeless again in the first year!
Please bring your donations to our office on Sunday, March 10th.
Or, I will come pick up your donations and deliver them for you!
Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness in helping the homeless members of our community.
Robert.
Windermere Foundation + $38 Million Donated!
We live and work in and support our communities.
I’m proud to say that I’m a part of this incredibly local and impactful foundation.
We donate to children in need in our immediate community. New in 2018, each office decided who gets donations from our offices’ over and above agent contributions.
So if you were one of my clients last year, I contributed money over and above the standard transactional donation in your name to a local child in need. Thank you!
So much need out there. It feels good to help in some small way!
2018 concluded with another great year of fundraising and giving for the Windermere Foundation, thanks to the continued support of Windermere franchise owners, agents, staff, and the community. Nearly $2.5 million was raised in 2018, bringing our grand total to over $38 million raised since the Foundation’s inception in 1989! During the past year, nearly $1.9 million was donated to non-profit organizations throughout the Western U.S. that provide much-needed services to low-income and homeless families. In 2018, the Windermere Foundation fulfilled 689 grant requests and served 507 non-profit organizations.
A portion of the money raised every year is due in part to our agents who each make a donation to the Windermere Foundation from every commission they earn. Additional donations from Windermere agents, the community, and fundraisers made up 68% of the money collected in 2018. Each Windermere office has their own Foundation funds, which enable them to support local non-profits in their communities.
One organization that received Windermere Foundation donations from several Windermere Real Estate offices in the Seattle area is Treehouse. Treehouse’s mission is to give foster kids a childhood and a future. Their goal that they have set to achieve by 2022, is to see youth in foster care graduate from high school at the same rate as their peers across Washington State. And to provide them with support and a plan to launch successfully into adulthood. Donations from the Windermere Foundation have helped Treehouse clients like Ashley, get the support she needed to turn her life around.
“I didn’t have a childhood that all kids should have–like making friends my age or playing sports. I changed the path that I was on because I wanted to give people a reason to believe in me. You have to want to change and speak your truth, but you can’t do it without people believing in you. You can get through the darkest situations, you just gotta look for a little crack of light. Treehouse is that crack of light for me,” ~Ashley
2018 also marked the third year of our #tacklehomelessness campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, in which Windermere committed to donating $100 for every Seahawks home game defensive tackle to YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides critical services to homeless youth. While the Seahawks didn’t make it past the first round of the playoffs, they did help us raise $31,900. When added to previous seasons, the total donation for the past three years is $98,700! We are grateful for the opportunity to provide additional support to homeless youth thanks to the Seahawks, YouthCare, and the #tacklehomelessnesscampaign.
Thanks to our agents, offices, and everyone who supports the Windermere Foundation, we have been able to make a difference in the lives of many families in our local communities over the past 30 years. If you’d like to help support programs in your community, please click the Donate button.
To learn more about the Windermere Foundation, visit http://www.windermere.com/foundation.
COAT DRIVE for NE Seattle school children
Windermere Community Service Day 2017
Thank you to everyone for an other successful Community Service Day. The weather held out and the street looks as good as it ever has. We have already received some feedback from neighbors and they are overwhelmingly supportive and appreciative of the work you all did.
A special thanks to Marie Davis who spent the day as our videographer and also spent hours editing the video. Thank you Marie. I know how hard it is to make us all look this good.
It does my heart good to stand behind a group of people who work so hard not only for their clients but for the greater community at large. Thanks again Wedgwood for all the hard work.
– Rob Graham
