Market News Eastern Washington Real Estate Market Update The Washington State economy added 96,900 new jobs over the past 12 months, representing an annual growth rate of 2.9%—still solidly above the national rate of 1.5%. Most of the employment gains were in the private sector, which rose by 3.4%. The public sector saw a more modest increase of 1.6%. Even with solid increases in jobs, the state unemployment rate held steady at 4.7%...
Market News Oregon & Southwest Washington Real Estate Update The State of Oregon has added 43,700 new jobs over the past 12 months, representing a robust annual growth rate of 2.3%. Job growth picked up in the first quarter of 2018, with significant annual gains in Education & Health Services (+26,000), Leisure & Hospitality (+9,700), and Construction (+7,400). Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1%.
Market News Utah Real Estate Market Update According to the Labor Department, Utah added 46,200 non-agricultural jobs over the past 12 months, representing a very substantial growth rate of 3.1%. Although the area has experienced a slowing in employment gains, the economy is running at full employment, which limits how many new jobs can be created. In February, the unemployment rate was measured at 3.1%, down from 3.3% a year ago.
More Windermere Real Estate Hits Refresh Button on Company Brand When you’ve been in business for 46 years, you learn that one of the keys to being successful is knowing when it’s time to spruce things up – and that’s exactly what we’ve done with the Windermere brand. We knew we didn’t need an entire brand overhaul, but a little facelift was definitely in order.
Market News Colorado Real Estate Market Update It’s good news for the state of Colorado, which saw annual employment grow in all of the metropolitan markets included in this report. The state added 63,400 non-agricultural jobs over the past 12 months, an impressive growth rate of 2.4%. Colorado has been adding an average of 5,300 new jobs per month for the past year, and I anticipate that this growth rate will continue through the balance...
Market News Nevada Real Estate Market Update Employment in the Las Vegas metropolitan area maintained the same growth rate as the final quarter of 2017, with year-over-year employment up by 2.7%. Over the past 12 months, the area has added 26,300 new jobs. This job creation has led the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to measure 5.1%. This is the same rate as a year ago due to growth in the civilian labor force.
Market News Southern California Real Estate Market Update The counties covered by this report—Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside—added 164,100 new jobs between February 2017 and February 2018. As a result, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.8% to 4.1%. Employment growth in Southern California continued to pick up a bit as 2018 started, and I anticipate this will continue as we move through the year.
Buying 10 Key Qualities to Look for When Selecting an Agent Buying a home is one of the most significant financial and emotional purchases of a person’s life. That’s why it is so important to find an agent that can not only help you navigate the home search process but one who can also answer your questions and represent your needs from start to finish.
Don't Miss Our Next Post
Subscribe Now
Market News Western Washington Real Estate Market Update The Washington State economy added 96,900 new jobs over the past 12 months, representing an annual growth rate of 2.9%—still solidly above the national rate of 1.5%. Most of the employment gains were in the private sector, which rose by 3.4%. The public sector saw a more modest increase of 1.6%. The strongest growth was in the Education & Health Services and Retail sectors, which added 17,300...
More Windermere Foundation Nears $36 Million in Total Donations Raised! Thanks to the generosity of Windermere agents and the community, the Windermere Foundation collected over $330,000 in donations during the first quarter of 2018. Individual contributions and fundraisers accounted for 58 percent of the donations, while 42 percent came from donations through Windermere agent commissions. So far, we have raised a total of $35,869,961 in donations since 1989...
Design Why You Should Stay Put and Improve the Home You Have In "Staying Put," architect and writer Duo Dickinson has assembled a terrific and practical guide to help us make real improvements to our homes. Dickinson, an advocate of well-designed and affordable homes for all...
Market News How to Get Back to a Balanced Housing Market Developers are not building enough single-family homes to keep up with demand. The reason why? Cost. Windermere's Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner explains why new construction is so cost prohibitive and how to shift the trend.
Design Why Not White Marble? Are you thinking about replacing your kitchen or bathroom countertops? The choices are endless; tile, granite, soapstone, wood, or maybe marble? White marble often gets a bad rap because it’s a more porous metamorphic stone than most (which means it’s prone to stains and scratches), but we beg to differ, and here’s why.
Design Home Decor Through The Decades As we celebrate our 45th anniversary here at Windermere, we’re feeling a bit nostalgic. The fundamentals of helping our clients buy and sell homes haven’t changed much over the past 45 years, but the way we decorate our homes sure has. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and explore interior design trends from the past four decades...
More Windermere Foundation by the Numbers In 2017, the Windermere Foundation raised over $2.4 million in donations, bringing the total to over $35 million raised since we started this effort in 1989. The infographic shows how donation dollars are put to use. The largest share (33 percent) supported Youth and Child Programs to fund things such as programs for underprivileged students, and resources for children in crisis.
Market News How Tax Reform Affects Homeowners New tax legislation was signed into law at the end of 2017, and it included some significant changes for homeowners. These changes took effect in 2018 and do not influence your 2017 taxes. Here's a brief overview of this year's tax changes and how they may affect you*.
Living Artfully Organizing Your Bookshelf When it comes to organizing a bookshelf, there are a multitude of directions you can go. For example, a simple Pinterest search will turn up endless results of bookshelves stylishly organized by color, but what if that entails separating books from within a series? For some of us, that’s like separating our children. Ultimately, how you organize your bookshelf is a personal choice based on...
Design 12 Tips for Making Your Bedroom Cozier At the end of a long day, your bedroom should be a sanctuary of comfort that welcomes you in. But, as a room that guests rarely see and in which homeowners spend most of their time with their eyes closed, its upkeep frequently gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Thankfully, there are some little design tricks that can make a big difference.
Buying Homeowners Insurance: Protecting Your Home In addition to providing shelter and comfort, our home is often our single greatest asset. And it’s important that we protect that precious investment. Most homeowners realize the importance of homeowners insurance in safeguarding the value of a home. However, what they may not know is that about two-thirds of all homeowners are under-insured.
Design A Home Addition: What to Consider Before Starting to Build Adding on to your current home may be your best bet if you’re short on space, but you don’t want to move or can’t find another house in the area with all the qualities you’re seeking. It’s also an attractive option if the house you have is lacking just one significant element (a family room, another bedroom, a larger kitchen, a separate apartment, etc.).