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Windermere Launches Sam Smith “Hi Neighbor” Homeownership Fund
Windermere Vice President of DEI, Samantha Enos, recently announced our partnership with non-profit Community Development Financial Institution HomeSight on a new loan product to increase purchasing power and help bridge the affordability gap facing Black/African American homebuyers.
The Sam Smith “Hi Neighbor” Homeownership Fund
“The Sam Smith ‘Hi Neighbor’ Homeownership Fund is designed to help low-to-moderate-income home buyers who have historically been underserved by traditional lenders,” said Enos, adding, “Through donations from the Windermere Foundation, U.S. Bank, and JP Morgan Chase, the Sam Smith fund is helping to reduce barriers to homeownership by funding loan products for Black/African American first-time home buyers in Washington State.”
Named after Washington State Legislator Sam Smith, who championed the passing of the state’s Open Housing Law barring discrimination based on race and religion in 1967, our hope is that, together with HomeSight, we can be part of a solution that helps increase Black/African Americans homeownership in the state of Washington.
According to a report by National Association of REALTORS®, Black/African American home buyers are more than twice as likely to be rejected for mortgage loans than white home buyers. Nationwide, only 43% of Black/African Americans can afford to buy a home versus 63% for Whites. In Seattle, the Black/African American homeownership rate is 25.8% compared to 50.9% of White homeowners. While in King County, the median income for Black households is $48,075, about half the median income of White households at $94,533.
Carl Smith, son of Legislator Sam Smith, said “It’s an honor and a pleasure to have the Sam Smith name used to pursue equity in home purchases,” said Mr. Smith, adding, “My grandfather instilled in my father that the way to have freedom is to have land and for people in that era, it was freedom.”
Since launching in November 2021, Windermere has contributed $80,237 to the fund through donations from our agents, offices, and company leadership, including a personal donation of $50,000 from the Jacobi family to help seed the fund. Windermere Co-President, OB Jacobi, said that the goal is for Windermere to raise $250,000 annually. Darryl Smith, Executive Director of HomeSight, adds that the fund has already helped three families realize their dream of homeownership and there are currently four additional families in the process of looking for homes.
HomeSight identifies borrowers that qualify for the Sam Smith fund and grants up to $12,000 to use towards their home purchase costs. The loans can be layered on top of the buyer’s existing mortgage loans or work in conjunction with other HomeSight purchase assistance programs. Sam Smith deferred loans are repayable in thirty years, when the homeowner refinances, or when they sell. Once the loans are paid off, HomeSight resolves the funds, ensuring availability to future borrowers.
For more information on our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, visit windermere.com/dei.
Windermere Real Estate Celebrates 50th Anniversary
In honor of our 50th anniversary, Windermere set a goal to reach $50 million in giving and officially announced our third generation of leadership during our 2022 Kick-Off event.
Seattle – On Wednesday, January 26, we hosted a virtual event for our agents, franchise owners, and staff, to kick off 2022 and celebrate our 50th anniversary. More than 4,400 people attended the virtual event to hear from several speakers, including company founder, John Jacobi, Windermere Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, and keynote speakers Matthew Ferrara and Candace Doby. Second-generation leaders, OB Jacobi, Jill Jacobi Wood, and Geoff Wood kicked off the event by reflecting on Windermere’s 50-year history and the pride that comes from still being a family-run organization. They also introduced Lucy Wood, daughter of Jill and Geoff, and the third generation to take on a leadership role within our company.
Founded in 1972 by John Jacobi, Windermere started with seven agents in a single office in Seattle, WA. Over the next two decades, Jacobi would grow Windermere into Seattle’s largest real estate brokerage and eventually the largest in the Pacific Northwest. But according to son, OB, his dad never had aspirations of becoming a large company. “My dad’s goal was to build a real estate office where the agents were respected on the same level as other business professionals, so he made it a priority to hire people who were above all else, professional,” said OB Jacobi, adding, “It was because of the quality of the people who joined Windermere that the company began to grow and thrive.”
Fifty years later, Windermere is the largest regional real estate company in the Western U.S. with over 6,500 agents and 300+ offices in 10 states. Last year we exceeded $43 billion in sales.
During the January 26 event, the second-generation leaders talked about how their dad set out to change the real estate industry. According to son, OB Jacobi, his dad didn’t believe in awards and felt the highest achievement an agent could earn is repeat and referral business from their clients. He also thought it was the responsibility of real estate agents to make their communities a better place to live, and in 1989, through the creation of the Windermere Foundation, pioneered a giving model that is now used by real estate companies around the country.
“My dad and his team came up with an idea that would make it really easy for agents to give back,” said Jill Jacobi Wood. “It was simple but sort of ingenious; every time an agent sold a home, a small donation from their commission would automatically be made to the Windermere Foundation. All that the agents had to do was sign up to donate and we handled the rest.”
Jacobi Wood added that the goal was to create a system that would allow Windermere to make a big difference without being a financial burden on any one person. In its first year (1989), the Windermere Foundation raised $90,000 for low-income and homeless families. In 2021, our network collectively raised over $2.5 million for a total of $46 million in donations. In honor of our 50th anniversary, the Windermere network has been given a new challenge: to reach $50 million in donations by the end of 2022.
Windermere CEO, Geoff Wood, closed the 50th anniversary event by saying, “Great companies don’t stagnate or stay the same. They are constantly evolving and looking for ways to improve, grow, and give back. Over the past 50 years we have done just that; here’s to 50 more.”
Windermere Partners with UW to Launch Internship Program
The University of Washington College of Built Environments (CBE) announced a new paid internship program, Aspire, that offers financial support, mentoring, and skill-building through academic and professional office settings to students, with a focus on those from historically underrepresented or marginalized groups. In partnership with Windermere Real Estate, this CBE-led internship will begin today, July 13, and will focus on the single and multi-family residential real estate market in the greater Seattle area.
During the eight-week paid summer internship, the eight interns will work and study for 25 hours per week. They will interact with real estate industry and academic leaders, while learning about the important role homeownership plays in building thriving communities. The program participants will gain skills in financial principles, sales, marketing, intercultural fluency, and leadership. At the end of the internship period, interns will present their work to industry professionals and participate in tours showcasing a range of processes in the home buying sector.
Students who complete the eight-week Aspire internship will also receive a $5,000 scholarship, funded by Windermere and awarded in Autumn 2021. This scholarship aims to help the next generation of real estate professionals lead and build our communities in inclusive and equitable ways. Windermere has committed to continuing to support this internship through the upcoming academic year and beyond.
Windermere president, OB Jacobi, stated that this partnership is a continuation of the more than three decades long relationship between Windermere and UW, which started with the first Windermere Cup Rowing Regatta in 1987, and has continued through ongoing financial gifts to both athletic and academic programs at the university.
“After learning about Windermere’s commitment to increasing diversity within the real estate industry, Renee Cheng approached us with an opportunity to partner with the College of Built Environments on the Aspire internship program,” said Jacobi. “Our goal is to inspire interest and engage students of color in the wide variety of careers and leadership opportunities available to them in real estate.”
Renee Cheng, Dean of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, highlighted the Aspire program’s real world learning experiences: “It can be difficult for our students to appreciate the historical role of homeownership in building generational wealth, particularly if their own lived experience includes housing insecurity. This program equips students with the context and confidence to engage with the role of home in the built environment.”
Aspire program manager Alexis Wheeler agreed, saying that “in addition to building intergenerational wealth, homeownership cultivated a sense of belonging and stability, encouraging people to grow into the fullest version of themselves and fostering vibrant communities throughout our region. Through the Aspire program, students will also develop an appreciation for this aspect of ‘home’ and its role promoting a more inclusive and equitable society.”
The Aspire internship specifically sought students from historically underrepresented or marginalized groups and/or those with lived experiences with housing insecurity. With a robust slate of over 40 applicants, the CBE and Windermere were able to select a strong inaugural cohort of Aspire interns, which includes students majoring in Real Estate and Community, Environment, & Planning (CEP), as well as majors beyond the CBE.
The Aspire Internship will run from July 13-September 1, 2021. This is an ongoing internship opportunity for CBE and other UW students, offered in collaboration with our community partners.
To learn more about our DEI Initiatives like this one, visit Windermere.com/dei.
Windermere Acquires Sacramento’s Largest Independent Real Estate Company
The heads of Windermere Real Estate Geoff Wood, Jill Jacobi Wood, and OB Jacobi have announced that Windermere has acquired the largest independent real estate company in Sacramento, CA, Lyon Real Estate. Founded in 1946 by William L. Lyon, Lyon Real Estate has over 800 agents in 17 offices throughout the greater Sacramento area and generated $2.86 billion in sales last year. It is ranked 111 out of the top 500 independent brokerages in the US according to Real Trends.
“Windermere has been looking for the right opportunity to grow our network in Northern California and approached Lyon because of their strong, reputable brand and the commonalities between our two companies,” said Windermere co-president, OB Jacobi. “They’re a second-generation, family-owned organization. They’re agent-centric and customer-focused. And they care deeply about giving back to their community. We couldn’t think of a better fit for Windermere,” he added.
Jacobi shared that under the terms of the acquisition, Lyon Real Estate will continue to operate under their name and brand, and will maintain the current leadership team, including president and chief operating officer Pat Shea.
“This is the blending of two accomplished companies which will each maintain its own identity for the time being, and when the time is right, the Lyon brand will further immerse itself into our organization,” said Jacobi, adding, “Because of the strength of the Lyon brand, we want to be very thoughtful about this process.”
Shea said that over the years Lyon has been contacted by a number of suitors seeking a strategic growth opportunity, but the right fit didn’t come along until they were approached by Windermere, whose company leadership Shea has gotten to know over the past 10 years as fellow members of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. “We picked Windermere because it is well suited to maintain Lyon’s legacy and grow it in the future,” said Shea, adding, “This also fits in with the Lyon family’s succession plan whose first priority was to leave the company they built and had run over the past 75 years in the best possible hands for the long term.”
Jacobi said that while Lyon is still operating under its existing brand, it is now a part of the greater Windermere network and will benefit from Windermere’s enhanced marketing resources, professional development, relocation and referral services, and in-house chief economist, Matthew Gardner.
Windermere Launches Redesigned “People First” Website
Windermere Real Estate has launched a redesign of its website Windermere.com as a part of the company’s brand refresh evolution that started with new logos and more modern branding two years ago, followed by the launch of the company’s “All in, for you” brand campaign in 2019.
Windermere Marketing VP Julie Dey said it was the “All in, for you” campaign that guided the redesign of Windermere.com, mirroring the people-first approach that emphasizes the relationships Windermere agents have with their clients. This includes a wide variety of people-focused photography and videos, as well as real-life stories about the great lengths Windermere agents will go for their clients. The Windermere.com home page also features the recently launched Human Algorithm video which tells the story of how Windermere agents bring their client’s unique vision of happiness to life.
“While most real estate websites are heavy on imagery of homes, we’ve chosen to go in an entirely different direction,” said Dey. “In fact, the only images of homes you’ll really find on our site are in the search results, because for us, real estate is first and foremost about relationships and personal connections. And that’s what we hope our website reflects.”
Dey added that the new site was originally intended to launch over the summer but was delayed so the company could work with Portland, Oregon-based agency Smith + Connors who specialize in inclusive and future-forward marketing. Dey said the agency was hired to evaluate Windermere’s website and digital marketing products through a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion lens.
“As a part of Windermere’s strong commitment to DEI, we felt it was important to take a pause and bring in some experts to make sure we were living up to our goal to foster a sense of belonging,” said Dey. “We think the end result illustrates that our people-first approach is focused on inclusivity.”
In addition to the redesigned branding, Windermere.com features a new blog and content pages focused on the buying and selling process, home value estimates, its community involvement, and Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner’s latest economic reports and commentary.
Windermere is Now on Spotify!
Since so many activities connected to our homes are enhanced by music, we want to fuel the joy and memories of those experiences through home-inspired playlists on our very own Spotify channel.
Windermere Living Fall Issue
Welcome to the fall issue of Windermere Living!
Join Us for the 33rd Annual Windermere Cup This Saturday
On May 4 the Montlake Cut will play host once again to the Windermere Cup rowing regatta. For the past 33 years, Windermere Real Estate and the University of Washington have joined together to host this event, which brings the world’s best crews to Seattle to compete against the perennially acclaimed UW men’s and women’s teams. Held annually on the first Saturday in May…
Childproofing: Protect Your Family and Your Home from Potential Hazards
When you think of your home, it likely conjures up feelings of safety, shelter, and comfort. However, accidental injuries in the home are one of the leading causes of harm to children 14 and younger. By taking certain precautions, many of these accidents can be prevented.
While supervision is the best way to keep your children safe at home, you can’t watch them every second….
Windermere Launches “All in, for you” Branding Campaign
Windermere Real Estate has officially launched a new branding campaign on the heels of the company’s brand refresh that was completed in 2018. The “All in, for you” campaign is the next step in bringing the refreshed Windermere brand to life by amplifying the company’s unique “why”.
Told, in part, through stories generated by actual Windermere agents, the “All in, for you” campaign sets….
