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Category: Industry News
Industry News
Issues & Impacts
Issues & Impacts is a quarterly publication produced by the SEATTLE KingCounty REALTORS® to inform members about current issues and successes within your Governmental Affairs Department. SEATTLE KingCounty REALTORS® (SKCR) is ensuring that public policies support homeownership and your business’s bottom line. View the full publication (PDF, 17 pages, 372KB)
Industry News
New drinking water rules of which Kitsap County home sellers should be aware
New drinking water regulations are taking effect in Kitsap County this year of which real estate professionals and prospective home sellers need to be aware. An updated drinking water ordinance approved by the Kitsap Public Health District Health Board in 2018 created several rules for new and existing Group B [..]
Industry News
Buyers getting “some relief” as key indicators point to strong summer for housing market
KIRKLAND, Washington (July 8, 2019) – Inventory, pending sales and prices all increased during June compared to a year ago, according to the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The same report, which covers 23 counties in Washington state, shows year-over-year drops area-wide in both the volume of new [..]
Industry News
Northwest MLS revises 28 forms
Northwest MLS member-brokers and subscribers can now access revised forms, which were published for use on Xpress Forms and Transaction Desk on July 1. The changes, made primarily for clarification purposes, were outlined in the 5-page Legal Bulletin 21 issued in early June. The revised forms include: Listing Agreements (Form [..]
Industry News
News In Brief
Washington was recently named the Best State Economy in the nation by WalletHub, and it had a healthy lead over second-place Utah. The agency compared all 50 states plus D.C. in 28 metrics across three general categories: Economic Activity, Economic Health, and Innovation Potential. As you might imagine, Washington scored [..]
Industry News
WSU researchers develop eco-friendly alternative to Styrofoam insulation
Researchers at Washington State University have developed a plant-based material that for the first time outperforms Styrofoam for insulation. Additionally, they developed a simple, environmentally-friendly manufacturing process to make the foam using water as a solvent instead of other harmful solvents. WSU said the researchers are now developing formulations for [..]
Industry News
Realtor.com editors release guidebook for home buyers
Editors at realtor.com have released their first book, a 125-page guide for first-time home buyers. The book, titled “The Essential First-Time Home Buyer’s Guide,” was written to help prospective homeowners navigate the home-buying process, from the search to financing and negotiating – “all with a real estate agent’s help, of [..]
Industry News
Buyers’ perceptions on affordability may be improving
Buyers’ perceptions about their ability to afford a home may be shifting, albeit slowly, in a positive direction, according to the latest Housing Trends Report. Prospective home buyers are asked to estimate what share of homes available in their markets they believe they can afford. For the first quarter of [..]
Industry News
Fed Reserve economists discuss constraints on housing activity
Although the U.S. economy is “in a good place” following recent periods of turmoil and uncertainty, one of the missing pieces of the expanding economy has been housing, according to economists who spoke at a recent Federal Reserve press briefing. John Williams, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank [..]
Industry News
Home buyers are “better off,” but market is heating up
KIRKLAND, Washington (June 6, 2019) – The housing market in western Washington may not be as hot as it was last spring, but it is heating up, suggested one industry leader in commenting on the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Matt Deasy, president of Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc. [..]