This event is intended to provide buyers with an ideal, low-pressure opportunity to tour homes that are currently for sale. Even with the vast changes technology has brought to real estate, open houses are still considered an important part of the home search process. In fact, according to the National Association of REALTORS 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 45 percent of all buyers use open houses as a source in their home search.
For those who plan to tour open houses this weekend, here are some tips to help you get started:
Make a plan:
Pick a neighborhood or a route you are interested in and map out your open houses to make your day efficient. If you are planning on having lunch, pick a local restaurant to get a feel for the neighborhood.
Explore:
Walk around the neighborhood and familiarize yourself with the local amenities. If you are considering moving to the area, this will help you get a feel for it.
Dress for success:
Wear comfortable and casual clothes while house hunting. Also, consider wearing shoes that are easy to slip on and off when requested.
To find homes that are participating in this weekend’s Nationwide Open House event, contact your real estate agent, or a local Windermere Real Estate office. You can also find upcoming open houses at Windermere.com/Search.
During the months of February and March, we asked Windermere Owners, Agents, and Facebook followers to share the words that come to mind when they think about Windermere. We were pleasantly surprised by the consistency across all three groups and decided to create a word map with the results.
Total responses from each group:
·Owners – 33 responses
·Agents – 103 responses
·Facebook – 32 responses
Top words by audience:
·Owners: professional, quality, integrity
·Agents: professional, integrity, service
·Facebook: quality, professional, integrity
Thank you to everyone who participated in this fun and interesting study. We always value and appreciate your feedback.
Have you ever posted a question on your Facebook page to find useful information from your friends? Such as a local gym recommendation, a restaurant review, or a resource for children’s birthday parties?
Social media has become increasingly important to how we connect with friends, colleagues, family, and others in our social sphere. With this in mind, Windermere has adopted a new program called SocialBios, a social media application that helps us see how we are all connected through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. SocialBios turns a basic office webpage on Windermere.com into a social hub, so you can see how you are connected to agents in our network through friends and family online.
Research continues to tell us what we already know: most people who are looking to buy or sell a home rely on recommendations from friends or family to find a real estate agent. SocialBios helps you find an agent through these trusted contacts, connect with them, and potentially buy or sell a home through them.
This program is still new, but more offices will be joining throughout the year. You can find profiles for the following offices on Windermere.com/agents or through the following offices profile pages:
Windermere offices throughout our network work with local organizations year-round to raise money for the Windermere Foundation and their local communities. In 2011, we launched the “Building Better Communities, One Home Sale at a Time” campaign, to raise awareness for some of the amazing community partnerships our offices and agents have developed. These projects go above and beyond Windermere Foundation donations and our annual Community Service Day. Below are just a few of the events that took place during the month of March. You can follow all upcoming projects on our Building Better Communities page.
Clothing Drive:
Throughout the month of March, the Windermere Property Management/Lori Gill & Associates office in Edmonds, Washington teamed up with the Northwest Center to collect gently used clothing and small household goods to provide to local families.
North Shore Milk Money Project:
Windermere’s Northlake office in Lake Forest Park, Washington has partnered with the Milk Money Project to raise money for homeless children in the Northshore School District. The Milk Money Project is kicking-off its 2013 campaign on March 28 and will run until May 31. Look for the milk bottles in your local stores and donate your change to support the cause.
Silent Auction Fundraiser:
On March 21, the Windermere office in Redmond, Washington hosted their annual silent auction and fundraiser to benefit local families in need. The night’s festivities raised over $10,000 for the Windermere Foundation.
Food Drive:
The Windermere Greenwood office in Seattle showed their support of the Greenwood Food Bank by collecting food and money donations throughout the month of March. The office also submitted a video to the Verity Mom Cartwheel for a Cause competition, for a chance to win a $6,000 donation for the Greenwood Food Bank.
Windermere Serves:
On March 24, the Windermere office in Marysville, Washington hosted their second annual “Windermere Serves” event at Buck's American Cafe in Everett. Windermere agents took over as wait staff for the evening, with all tips and donations going to the Windermere Foundation and benefitting the Marysville Boys and Girls Club.
Washington Park Improvement Project:
The Windermere office in Walla Walla, Washington partnered with the city of Walla Walla to improve the Washington Park soccer fields, including permanent benches. The soccer fields are used by more than 500 local youth for practice and soccer games.
Thanks to your continued support and generous donations, The Windermere Foundation is able to provide funds to community organizations dedicated to supporting low-income and homeless families. Thank you for choosing Windermere. Together, we are Building Better Communities.
When approaching a kitchen or bath remodel or new construction, you can make things a lot more comfortable by getting creative with the heights of your base cabinets.
Standard heights traditionally have been 36” tall (including the thickness of the countertop material) for kitchen base cabinets, and 29” – 30” tall for bathrooms. These heights are good overall, but are surely not set in stone and can make life a lot more comfortable with some tweaking.
Consider the users’ heights when deciding on cabinet heights. If everyone in the household is tall, consider having the main area of the kitchen raised an inch or so. Chopping will be much more comfortable that way, and it will help avoid arm and back fatigue. If household members are various heights, consider having one area raised higher and another area at the standard height. If you have someone who requires lower heights, such as a wheelchair user, consult a design professional to assist with their particular needs.
In the bathroom areas, consider the primary users when determining the best heights. The master bath would likely serve adults, so having the base vanities at a taller 34” height will help to avoid stress on the users’ backs when utilizing the sink for face washing and tooth brushing. If a child uses the area, keep a small step stool handy for those times. A main hall bath outside the children’s rooms could have the standard height. If the children are a bit older (and taller) and you intend to remain in the home longer than a few years, consider the taller height there too for when the children are taller, as they do grow quickly!
Just a few adjustments can make for happy backs, and aren’t difficult at all to achieve if you plan ahead.
After 20 years as an interior designer, certified antiques appraiser, and personal property and lifestyle specialist, Lorelei Barrett added real estate to her quiver of skills in 2010. Her designs, products and advice have been featured in numerous regional and national home and building publications. She has been featured regularly on numerous television and radio shows, as well as home, design and trade shows, sharing her wealth of knowledge and advice. Lorelei resides near Spokane, Washington on a small farm accompanied by two horses, one cat and two West Highland Terriers.
Rarely does a day go by that one of us doesn’t get asked if this is a good time to buy or sell a home. Some people might think that our response is always an emphatic “YES!” because we work in real estate. But there really is no right or wrong answer. Everyone’s situation is unique, so in some cases the answer might be yes, but for others it might make more sense to wait.
The good news is that we’re finally coming out of the housing slump of the past five-plus years. Housing is a major driving factor of the U.S. economy, so regardless of whether or not you own a home, a stronger housing market is good for everyone. For some would-be home sellers, this positive momentum, combined with a rise in home prices and buyer activity, is enough to compel them to list their home. And right now the numbers appear to be on their side.
According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, there is currently a 1.2 months’ supply of homes in Seattle. “Months’ supply” basically means that if existing homes were to continue selling at the current rate, the inventory of homes would be sold by that many months. A “normal” market has about six months of supply; therefore lower numbers mean a shortage of inventory. If demand is greater than supply, this leads to a seller’s market, like we’ve seen in Seattle.
So what does this mean for buyers and sellers? It means as long as inventory levels and interest rates are low, competition amongst buyers will remain high, and home prices should continue to steadily rise – albeit at a healthy rate, not like what we saw during the housing boom.
With these types of projections, one might wonder why there isn’t a flood of homes coming on the market. The biggest concern we hear from many would-be sellers is that they’re going to lose money because their home is worth less today than it was at the peak of the market. A valid concern, to be sure, but remember, you’re buying and selling in the same market conditions, so if your home has lost value in recent years, it is almost certain that the next home you buy has as well.
It goes without saying that nobody wants to sell at the bottom of the market, yet at the same time, everybody wants to buy at the bottom. Obviously these two scenarios can’t exist at the same time, but for those on the fence, we’re here to tell you that there are definitely opportunities to be had by both buyers and sellers that are worth considering.
One of the most frequent questions interior designers hear is how to choose colors for a home. We all love color, but some people are afraid of using color in their home. Many find they fear committing to a certain color scheme or making a mistake after it is all done. Here are some ideas to help to get you started.
To try to determine just what colors to use in your home, look in your closet! You’ll see the basic wardrobe classics in there: black, brown, navy, beige/khaki. Those colors are neutrals and very applicable in your home color scheme. Now, check out the colors hanging there, too. Unless you are a serious fashionista, a certain color or two will emerge as a standard in your color preference repertoire. Even prints will feature similar colors. These colors are a great place to start to help you decide what colors to use in your home. If you love wearing certain colors and feel good wearing them, you will enjoy seeing them throughout your décor.
Lest you feel the need to paint an entire room tomato red (or whatever color you find that you prefer), just paint the walls a nice warm taupe or other neutral that you like and use the tomato red as an accent color with some of your accessories such as throw pillows, lamp bases, art on the walls or throw rugs. You can even practice with some inexpensive items you might find at a tag sale or discount store before you commit with higher priced items. Give it a try and don’t be afraid to keep working at it.
After 20 years as an interior designer, certified antiques appraiser, and personal property and lifestyle specialist, Lorelei Barrett added real estate to her quiver of skills in 2010. Her designs, products and advice have been featured in numerous regional and national home and building publications. She has been featured regularly on numerous television and radio shows, as well as home, design and trade shows, sharing her wealth of knowledge and advice. Lorelei resides near Spokane, Washington on a small farm accompanied by two horses, one cat and two West Highland Terriers.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise when I tell you that over 90 percent of home purchases in the U.S. involve an internet search at some point during the process. As a real estate company owner, this tells me that we better have a pretty compelling website. Research also shows that 73 percent of home buyers consider commute times a key factor when deciding where to live. What this tells me is that part of making Windermere.com compelling is giving the customer what they want – which in this case is information about how long it takes to drive between home and work during peak commute times.
That’s how we landed on INRIX Drive Time™ technology.
I’m excited to announce the release of a new home-buying feature on Windermere.com that takes the guess work out of one of most important factors when considering a new home: “How long will it take me to drive to and from work?” You don’t have to guess at the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, or school district, so why should your drive time be any different? It was this approach that led us to integrating actual drive time technology into Windermere.com.
Leveraging data from INRIX, the leading international provider of traffic information and driver services, our goal is to help home buyers know how long a commute they can realistically expect in traffic between their work and any home for sale on Windermere.com*. I know what you’re thinking: can’t I already get this information on most real estate websites through Walk Score or Google Maps?
Nope. Windermere is the first.
INRIX Drive Time goes well beyond other real estate websites that simply provide distance to work in miles or travel times based on traveling the speed limit. Windermere’s new tool provides drive times based on real-time traffic information sourced from actual drivers. It takes into account every traffic factor, including traffic congestion, road construction, accidents, holidays, weather, events, police activity, and historical traffic patterns. This information is updated every minute, then analyzed and compiled into a historical database that is updated every 90 days, ensuring home buyers have access to the most complete traffic data available.
To determine drive times using this new feature, home buyers simply enter their work address into a field directly on the property detail page on Windermere.com.
The tool automatically generates an INRIX Drive Time to and from work and a graph that shows how it varies by different departure times throughout the day.
Since INRIX helps us calculate the shortest route based on shortest drive time, not distance, it often suggests a route that commuters may not have contemplated themselves. We then provide the details of the route on a map.
Bryan Mistele, the CEO of INRIX, probably sums it up best:
“Nobody likes sitting in traffic, and although traffic problems won’t disappear overnight, smart applications of traffic data can help drivers not only save time on their existing commute but help them through the process of deciding on the purchase of a new home. Using INRIX Drive Time, Windermere will be able to better inform its agents and serve clients by arming them with information to help making the home-buying process easier.”
Thanks, Bryan, couldn’t have said it better myself.
To test drive the new INRIX Drive Time tool, simply go to any property detail page on Windermere.com.
Builders of new homes frequently discover new ways to differentiate their new construction from existing houses, hoping to capture the attention of potential customers by delighting and surprising them.
The more successful builders therefore develop keen skills in observing emerging social trends, incorporating features, finishes, and floor plans that fulfill the needs of new buyer groups in ways that are often clever, unexpected and relevant.
Here are several current home design innovations that provide us glimpses into ways our culture is changing:
1. Made-to-Order Homes: Many of us have grown accustomed to the convenience of shopping for—and customizing—household products online. Home builders are capitalizing on this trend, developing websites that make it easy for buyers to configure their home online. One builder has assimilated over 70 systems and manufacturer products like plumbing, electronics, HVAC, security, and more into a “core wall.” This allows the rest of the home design to be adjusted based on family needs. Warren Buffet’s recent purchase of Clayton Homes, the nations’ largest modular builder, indicates that online home ordering will be a growing trend.
2. Universal Design: Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65. Homebuilders have found that both older and younger homeowners want “universal design,” homes that better fit the needs of people across the widest range of ability and ages. Examples of universal design: Entries without steps and showers without thresholds. Electrical outlets are now being incorporated into light switches at eye-level, permitting homeowners to more easily plug in appliances like vacuum cleaners without bending down to the floor.
3. Activated Ceilings: The current generation of first time homebuyers is the first in history who grew up looking down—an unintended consequence of the popularity of handheld mobile electronic devices. This creates strain on the eyes, neck and shoulders which can result in a variety of vision, spine, and other health issues. Designers are addressing this by incorporating more dramatic visual features into home ceilings. By giving us reason to widen our range of vision, the hope is that overall health will be improved.
4.Fast House Nation: Many of us are now adjusting to an increased rate of change—rather than accumulating stuff, we crave more diverse life experiences. So, new homes are being delivered with inexpensive opportunities for self-expression and customization. Chalkboard paint is increasingly used as a wall color, permitting artistic expression for children (of all ages). New senior housing communities are incorporating parking spaces for food trucks near the entrance, bringing fresh and varying culinary experiences to residents.
5. Big Small Houses: We are requiring less space that does more for us. In fact, the National Association of Homebuilders expects the average size of a new home in 2015 will be 2,152 square feet, a 10% drop in size from 2010. Living rooms, dining rooms, home offices, and entry foyers are all on the endangered spaces list. Private, single-purpose rooms (like master bedrooms and bathrooms) are now expected to incorporate multiple and shared uses, such as coffee bars or exercise equipment. Wi-Fi networks and mobile tablet devices have rendered dedicated dens unnecessary. Look for “great rooms” to take center stage, incorporating the functions traditionally demanded of multiple smaller rooms.
6.Waning of the Book: As more readers gravitate to space-saving e-readers like the Kindle, printed books are becoming less common. As a result, bookcases are giving way to “collector” cases for displaying personal treasures like collectibles, antiques, family heirlooms, or natural artifacts such as gems or shells.
7. Families, Extended: Home markets serving international buyers often incorporate a greater number of culturally appropriate features. More buyers today wouldn’t think of living without extended family, and expect household spaces to be more purposefully designed for shared living. As a consequence, new homes are being built with multiple master suites. What some may have characterized as a “granny flat” in the past is positioned prominently in these new floor plans, reflecting the elevated social status and esteem of elder parents. Some designs, like home builder Lennar’s “NextGen,” are “homes within homes,” complete with eat-in kitchenettes and living rooms. Primary kitchens may incorporate isolated cook areas serviced by high-powered fans, to keep food aromas out of the living spaces of the home.
Windermere Real Estate is proud to partner with Gardner Economics on this analysis of the Oregon and Southwest Washington real estate market. This report is designed to offer insight into the realities of the housing market. Numbers alone do not always give an accurate picture of local economic conditions; therefore our goal is to provide an explanation of what the statistics mean and how they impact the Oregon and Southwest Washington housing economy. We hope that this information may assist you with making an informed real estate decision. For further information about the real estate market in your area, please contact your Windermere agent.
Regional Economics
On a year-over-year basis, the Oregon counties covered by this report increased employment by 0.8%, or approximately 14,000 jobs—a modest improvement from the 0.75% annual growth that was discussed in our last report. On a year-over-year basis, 16 counties saw their employment base expand and just eight saw employment contract.
The greatest increases in employment came in Jackson County (+4.1%). This was followed by Lane (+2.8%), Benton (+2.1%), and Klamath (+1.8%) Counties. On an absolute basis, Multnomah County maintained the largest increase with 5,500 additional jobs. This was followed by Lane County (3,900) and Jackson County, where employment grew by 3,080 positions.
On the negative side, job losses totaled 6,376 jobs spread across nine counties. By far the greatest losses were seen in Marion County, down 3,814 jobs. This was followed by Polk (-962) and Linn (-760) Counties. Losses in other counties measured less than 230 jobs each.
When we compare the data to that seen at the end of the third quarter, it is apparent that the state is stuck in somewhat of a rut, with both the third and fourth quarters showing job losses in 12 counties. That said, the market did add just under 8,000 payroll jobs in the fourth quarter of the year.
Inasmuch as the unemployment rate at the end of 2012 was better across the board from that seen at the end of 2011, the last quarter of the year saw a drastic turnabout in the unemployment rate in all but one of the counties surveyed. In every county but Benton, the unemployment rate rose between September and the end of the year.
This is concerning as the labor force contracted in all counties other than Lane. It is one thing to see the unemployment rate rise as more people start to look for work, but to see it increase with fewer people looking for jobs is a worrying situation. I hope that it is temporary, but I will be keeping a close eye on these figures as we enter the spring.
It appears to me as if the Oregon economy is stuck in low gear. It is expanding, but at a rate that is well below its potential. As such, I am maintaining the “C-” grade this quarter that I gave it in the third quarter. At some point the job market has to gather steam, I am just not convinced that now is the time.
Regional Real Estate
In the fourth quarter of 2012, the region sold 9,758 units of resale housing. Total 2012 sales amounted to 39,745 units, 13% more than were sold in 2011.
In 2012, the greatest growth in transactions was seen in Skamania County (+46%), Hood River County (+35%), Clatsop County (+27%), and Lincoln County (+22%). It was very pleasing to see that no markets saw sales volumes drop between 2011 and 2012.
Home sales continued to perform well in the fourth quarter, but quarterly sales shrank by 16% from the level seen in Q3. This is not a surprise, as seasonal fluctuations influence the figures. Additionally, I would contend that the worryingly low levels of homes for sale also contributed to the drop in sales.
When we look at home prices, 15 of the markets analyzed registered year-over-year price increases (down from 16 in the third quarter) with just eight showing declines in values from a year ago. In aggregate, the markets surveyed saw values increase by 11.2% over the same period in 2011.
Other than the substantial 63% growth in the small Klickitat County market, ten other counties registered double-digit gains from December, 2011. When compared to prices seen in the third quarter of the year, 13 counties are higher, one was unchanged, and nine declined in value.
I was happy to see that there are 14 counties where prices are now higher than we saw two years ago. This is quite an achievement, as 2010 saw the market artificially buoyed by the Homebuyer Tax Credit. More surprising is that three counties saw home prices higher than at the end of 2007.
A “C” grade is appropriate here. It has remained static for three quarters now, but the lack of inventory appears to be having a negative effect on values. I want to see more homes for sale before I consider giving a better grade.
Conclusions
There are plenty of metaphors that I could use to describe the Oregon job market, such as “weak,” “sluggish,” or “slow” but, in all honesty, a better word is actually “average.” Certainly, the job growth that was seen in 2012 has hardly put a major dent in the number of jobs lost through the recession, but the economy has been improving.
I believe that the lackluster growth that has been seen is a function of two distinct, but related, issues. The first is that the Federal government is starting to realize that it cannot expand in the manner that it has been. Because of this, employment in government services has not been positive. This is particularly interesting as, from a historic perspective, job growth following recessions has traditionally been led by government hiring. As such, it has fallen on the private sector to pick up the slack and add to their payrolls.
Private industry has, so far, been doing its best to answer the call to arms, but industry looks to the government for some kind of assurances that we will not fall back into recession. The current issues revolving around fiscal cliffs, debt ceilings, and sequesters are not giving businesses the assurance that they so badly need. Until the outlook on a national basis is clearer, we cannot expect private firms to increase their hiring and, as such, improvement in the employment situation in Oregon, and in most of the rest of the country, is likely to be lackluster.
The housing market in the state remains on a more solid footing with steady improvement seen pretty much across the board. Interest rates remain at or near historic lows which, when viewed in concert with the stability in home values, has acted as a catalyst and allowed many would-be buyers to get off the fence.
This is, indeed, positive but I fear that the lack of homes for sale—unless we see a dramatic turnaround in the spring—will leave buyers disenchanted. Along with many others, my fingers are crossed that we will see improvement in listing activity soon. It is sorely needed.
About Matthew Gardner
Mr. Gardner is a land use economist and principal with Gardner Economics and is considered by many to be one of the foremost real estate analysts in the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to managing his consulting practice, Mr. Gardner is a member of the Pacific Real Estate Institute; chairs the Board of Trustees for the Washington State Center for Real Estate Research; the Urban Land Institutes Technical Assistance Panel; and represents the Master Builders Association as an in-house economist.
He has appeared on CNN, NBC and NPR news services to discuss real estate issues, and is regularly cited in the Wall Street Journal and all local media.
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After 20 years as an interior designer, certified antiques appraiser, and personal property and lifestyle specialist, Lorelei Barrett added real estate to her quiver of skills in 2010. Her designs, products and advice have been featured in numerous regional and national home and building publications. She has been featured regularly on numerous television and radio shows, as well as home, design and trade shows, sharing her wealth of knowledge and advice. Lorelei resides near Spokane, Washington on a small farm accompanied by two horses, one cat and two West Highland Terriers. 
About Matthew Gardner
