Market Updates

Market Updates NAR Settlement: The Latest Update Here is a quick update on a topic I have been keeping you up-to-date on all year. On August 17, 2024, the NAR Settlement requirements were enacted. This required significant changes to real estate practices across the country. This made big news and stirred headlines. The good news is in WA state we made the majority of these changes […]
Market Updates Election Year Market Trends – A Look Back To Look Forward As we approach November and the Presidential election nears, it would be good to look back on how election years have historically affected the real estate market.  There is certainly a lot going on and this stimulation can cause pause.  Buying and selling real estate is a big life event and the election is a […]
Market Updates Maximizing Your Property’s Potential – What You Need To Know About Middle Housing Higher-density housing is happening in our state and quite possibly right in your own backyard. This is called middle housing. Middle housing is a term for buildings that are compatible in scale, form, and character with detached single-family houses. In 2023, House Bill 1110 was passed in a bipartisan 35-14 vote in the Senate and 79-18 vote in […]
Market Updates Spring 2024 Insights and Trends As we sit almost five months into 2024 in the middle of the spring market and I reflect on how the year is going, I am grateful, amazed, and locked in on the stats. You see, the last four years since the start of the pandemic have been an eventful and wild ride. 2020 saw […]
Market Updates Three Hot Buttons In Real Estate The real estate industry has been in the news a bit lately. Not so much about the trends and home values. More so about class action lawsuits, which have stolen a lot of attention away from the positive activity that is happening in our market. While the lawsuit is an important story to track, one […]
Market Updates NAR Settlement Update As I am sure you have heard on the news, there is a proposed settlement agreement for the NAR (National Association of Realtors) Class Action Lawsuit. It has certainly stirred up plenty of headlines that have been glossy, and in many cases, inaccurate. Many of the reports and headlines have been national and it is important to […]
Market Updates Housing & Economic Forecast 2024 When real estate bleeds into my Real Life is when it gets really interesting. I provided this exact same recap to those of you who attended the event this month and those who had expressed interest but could not attend. So some of you have already seen this. Read it again though, I am sure […]
Buying a Home Law Changes Benefitting You On January 1, 2024, major changes to the Law of Agency will go into effect. These changes result from the real estate industry in the state of Washington wanting to elevate the level of transparency and consumer protection surrounding buyer representation. Senate Bill 5191 was voted into law requiring adjustments in how brokers operate when working with […]
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Market Updates Affordability Is Accessible Lately, we have talked about life changes leading to real estate moves. Sometimes moves are brought on by joyful advancements in life and sometimes they are motivated by hardship. Then there are times when your actual house just doesn’t fit your life anymore and it is time for something different. Whatever might be calling someone to make […]
Buying a Home The Decision Is Up To You There has always been a direct correlation between interest rates and home prices. The rule of thumb has always been when rates go up prices go down, and vice versa. This was temporarily proven true in the summer of 2022 when rates quickly rose by 2% (3.5%-5.5%) over 5 months. It caused a price correction in the […]
Market Updates Clarity Through Chaos: Using the Data to Drive Decisions I think we can all agree that we have been on a bit of a wild ride over the last 12 months in the real estate market. When the Fed decided to change its trajectory on interest rates in mid-2022, it created some chaos and confusion. When big changes happen, it is a natural reaction […]
Market Updates Matthew Gardner Mid-Year Update One of the reasons why we are fortunate to have Matthew Gardener as our Chief Economist at Windermere is his transparency. Every year, Matthew makes predictions for the coming year based on his monumental research and years of experience. Just this week, he reviewed his 2023 predictions and recorded the video below. Most of his […]
Buying a Home 10 State Bills Affecting Housing On April 23rd the Washington State Legislature adjourned after passing 10 new bills that will affect housing. Some of the bills are geared toward creating more transparency around brokerage transactions, some are intended to institute more opportunities for building density to provide more affordable housing, and some are more regulatory to help guide and ease […]
Buying a Home Understanding Interest Rates It is very important that consumers understand the difference between long-term interest rates and short-term interest rates. Long-term rates involve home mortgages such a conventional 30-year fixed, Jumbo, FHA, and VA loans. Short-term rates involve car loans, credit cards, and Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs). While both types of rates have gone up over […]
Home Ownership Millennials and the Housing Market Did you know that 53% of Millennials are still renting because they’re waiting for home prices to come down.  This figure is about the same percentage of renter households in Bellingham! But here’s the thing: the most recent data shows that home prices appear to have bottomed out and are now on the rise again. […]
Home Ownership 2023 Economic & Housing Forecast Thank you to all my guests that were able to join me at my Annual Economic and Housing Forecast event with Matthew Gardner, Windermere Chief Economist sponsored by Evergreen Home Loans. In case you missed it, below are my top 10 takeaways, with all of the slide information linked HERE. BELLINGHAM METRO AREA LABOR MARKET […]
Market Updates Holy Shift, Again! Markets change fast! We experienced a substantial shift in 2022 with the first half of the year feeling like a completely different market than the second half of the year. A 3-point increase in interest rate was the main culprit along with inflation and affordability for the 2022 market correction we experienced. A market correction is defined by […]
Market Updates National Market Summary Across the nation, we saw a real estate market correction in 2022 as interest rates doubled. Interest rates started the year at just over 3%, peaked in November at just over 7%, and ended at just under 6.5%. Since the first of the year, we are closer to 6% and anticipate rates to continue to improve towards […]
Market Updates 2022 Recap 2022 can’t be summarized with just a slideshow of properties sold- it was SOOO MUCH more than that. So much more than any other year because it was the year business finally felt genuine. Yes, I helped 40 families achieve their goals in real estate. We celebrated with joy and cried tears of frustration and […]
Buying a Home Key Factors to Note as the Market Recalibrates in the New Year 2022 has been an eventful year in the real estate market and the economy. After 2 years of pandemic-fueled demand and historically low interest rates, we experienced a shift. The Fed quickly raised rates (by 2 points) from April to October to combat inflation, curbing buyer demand as affordability took a hit. The overall economy is starting […]