Living 7 Tips For Sustainable Living at Home There’s always room for improvement in a household’s quest to go green. From how you use your appliances to the way you consume and dispose of food, every lifestyle choice you make at home presents an opportunity to be more eco-friendly. Adopting more sustainable practices has obvious environmental benefits and helps to improve quality of life, but […]
Selling a Home Staying Safe When Selling Your Home Nowadays, home staging is an integral part of the home selling process. The impact of home staging is crystal clear, but how you go about it deserves some consideration. Many homeowners will hire a home staging professional, trusting their expertise to make their home as appealing as possible to buyers. However, if hiring a professional isn’t in […]
Local Market News Matthew Gardner’s Top 10 Predictions for 2023 Matthew Gardner’s Top 10 Predictions for 2023 1. There Is No Housing Bubble Mortgage rates rose steeply in 2022 which, when coupled with the massive run-up in home prices, has some suggesting that we are recreating the housing bubble of 2007. But that could not be further from the truth. Over the past couple of […]
Buying a Home What is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)? In the process of buying or selling a home, you’ll frequently come across the term “MLS.” The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a group of regional databases of homes for sale accessible only to real estate agents and brokers. Their ability to access the MLS makes it easier for buyers to find the right home and for sellers […]
Economy Are We in a Housing Recession?   Hello there, I’m Windermere’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner and welcome to this month’s episode of Monday with Matthew. A little while ago, a housing analyst was being interviewed about the current state of the residential market and they suggested that the country is in a “housing recession.” Well, needless to say, this got a lot of attention from […]
Selling a Home 7 Tips for Staging Your Home Yourself Nowadays, home staging is an integral part of the home selling process. The impact of home staging is crystal clear, but how you go about it deserves some consideration. Many homeowners will hire a home staging professional, trusting their expertise to make their home as appealing as possible to buyers. However, if hiring a professional isn’t in […]
Buying a Home What is an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)? An integral part of the formula to successfully buying a home is securing the correct amount of financing. Once you’ve found the home you’d like to pursue, one of your primary tasks is exploring different loan products to see which best fits your situation. Eventually, you’ll come to a fork in the road where you’ll need […]
Home Improvements Contemporary Interior Design Although there are certain fundamental principles to contemporary design, it is constantly evolving. While other interior design styles are often rooted in a specific period, contemporary design is set in the present. What’s popular now is what’s popular in contemporary design. Its ability to remain timeless is what gives contemporary design its greatest quality-it never goes out of style. […]
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Economy The Continued Decline of the Housing Market Index Hello there, I’m Windermere’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner and welcome to this month’s episode of Monday with Matthew. Today we are going to take a look at the new home market where headwinds are certainly growing. And the reason this particular subject piqued my interest was that the National Association of Home Builders just released their Housing Market Index for August, and […]
Buying a Home Moving Checklist: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Moving Process Once you and your agent work through the process of selling your home, there comes a point when it’s time to switch gears and get ready to move. It can be difficult to juggle the various steps of the moving process, especially if you’re Buying and Selling a Home at the Same Time. Using a moving […]
Buying a Home What Is a Homeowners Association and How Much Are HOA Fees? Becoming a homeowner comes with many responsibilities, but if the home you’re purchasing requires you to be part of a Homeowners Association (HOA), you’ll have to follow additional guidelines and pay additional fees. As you’re looking for homes, talk to your agent about whether purchasing a home that’s part of an HOA is right for you. […]
The Gardner Report Q2 2022 Western Washington Real Estate Market Update The most recent employment data (from May) showed that all but 2,800 of the jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered. More than eight of the counties contained in this report show employment levels higher than they were before COVID-19 hit. The regional unemployment rate fell to 4.5% from 5.2% in March, with total […]
Home Improvements 9 Summer DIY Projects When home-project lists pile up, it can leave some homeowners feeling overwhelmed by their to-dos. One helpful strategy is to prioritize your projects by season. The following list of simple and cost-effective summer projects will help make the most of your summer at home while preparing for the seasons ahead. 9 Summer DIY Projects 1. […]
Selling a Home Understanding the Value of Your Home: Market Value vs. Assessed Value and More The math of a home sale is relatively straightforward. Sellers list their home at a certain price, a buyer makes an offer, and eventually the two parties reach a final, agreed-upon price. However, between these two points in the selling process, there are several other figures that go into to setting a home’s value that […]
Buying a Home How to Win a Bidding War When Buying a House In a seller’s market, many buyers are competing for a limited number of homes. This creates fierce competition amongst buyers and ideal selling conditions for sellers. Sellers will commonly receive multiple offers for their home, often over their original asking price. As the offers stack up, bidding wars will ensue, since only one buyer can […]
Local Market News The Growing Housing Affordability Problem This video is the latest in our Monday with Matthew series with Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. Each month, he analyzes the most up-to-date U.S. housing data to keep you well-informed about what’s going on in the real estate market.  Hello there, I’m Windermere’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner and welcome to this month’s episode of […]
Community News How to Plant an Herb Garden Homeowners are always seeking ways to breathe new life into the spaces in their homes. Using nature to achieve this transformation is beneficial in several ways. Planting an herb garden not only helps to make your kitchen feel fresh and sustainable, but it can make your food taste better, too. Here are some tips for […]
Selling a Home Preparing to Sell Your Home: A Complete Checklist Getting your home ready to sell can feel like a circus act. Without the right organization, juggling the countless moving parts involved in this stage of the selling process can take its toll. This is the perfect opportunity to create a checklist to keep yourself on track and within your budget. The following information will illuminate […]
Buying a Home What Happens After Making an Offer on a House? Making an offer on a house feels like a reason to celebrate. You’ve applied for financing, worked with your agent to search for available listings, put in time attending open houses, and have found the place you’re ready to call home. However, celebrating at this stage in the buying process could leave you heartbroken if your offer […]
Windermere Foundation Windermere Foundation Sets Sights on $50 Million in Total Donations In honor of Windermere’s 50th anniversary, the Windermere Foundation has set a goal to reach $50 million in total donations raised by the end of 2022. At the end of last year, the Foundation surpassed $46 million in total donations, leaving a nearly $4 million gap to eclipse the $50 million mark. Through the fundraising efforts of offices […]