In Case You Missed It: Real Estate News November 2018

By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator & Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager

Another whirlwind month in the world of real estate. Lots of turkey has been had and new trends have emerged. Like always, we want to help you sort through all of the noise and find the news that will impact or has impacted our beloved industry. It’s important to stay in the know for you and your clients!

Here are the top five stories to know for November 2018:

1. It’s official: Amazon HQ2 coming to NYC, Northern VA

Real estate agents are popping bottles all over the greater DC and NYC areas. Amazon has chosen both cities for new headquarters, bringing, “over 25,000 jobs and invest $2.5 billion in each of the two locales.” While potential home buyers and residents might not be stoked about inevitable rising home prices, you can bet the agents are! Like we have experienced in Seattle (the OG Amazon headquarters), the new Amazon HQs are likely to have a direct impact on home prices in both cities.

2. California’s Most Devastating Wildfire Scorches Entire Town

We know you know that these wildfires happened. We also know that Giving Tuesday has come and gone, but we’re putting this in our #ICYMI to remind you that there are many, many people who lost their homes, and no, they’re not all wealthy celebrities. Thousands of acres burned, thousands of homes burned down, hundreds of people are missing, and many lost their lives. Please consider donating to those impacted, including the firefighters that put their lives on the line.

3. Realtor association becomes first in nation to offer health plan

It’s no secret that Real estate agents are independent contractors, and with the territory comes getting to run their own business and set their own schedules, but also comes with lack of benefits, namely healthcare. Yet, that hasn’t stopped an association in Southern Alabama from providing it anyway. According to Inman, “The Baldwin County Association of Realtors says it’s the first in the nation to offer group health, dental and vision insurance plans that treat its 2,300 members, who are largely independent contractors, as employees of the association.” #Winning

4. Inman announces partnership with Sotheby’s International Realty, launches ‘Leading In Luxury’

On November 5, Inman announced their new section, Leading In Luxury, “a new sponsored section of Inman.com which brings Inman readers luxury lifestyle and creative insights into the latest trends from one of the world’s most respected luxury real estate brands, Sotheby’s International Realty. The new section will feature experts from Sotheby’s International Realty discussing trends, best practices and innovations in luxury real estate.” #ICYMI, partnerships are the new normal in real estate (we have over 40 of them). Chances are, headlines like this are going to be on the daily in 2019.

5. Windermere Real Estate acquired 50 percent of West Coast Commercial Realty

If you didn’t know, Windermere Real Estate is a REALLY big deal in the Pacific Northwest/West Coast. So when they announce that they’ve “acquired 50 percent of West Coast Commercial Realty (WCCR) to further expand its commercial real estate presence in the Pacific Northwest,” you bet our ears perked up. P.S. they’re part owner in MoxiWorks as well. Kudos to Windermere for making major moves!

Friendly reminder that 2019 is rapidly approaching and you should be thinking about how you’re going to crush it and boost your biz. First things first though: write down your goals. It’s proven that defining a goal and writing it down is one of the most important aspects of achieving it. As we all know, you can’t achieve a goal if you haven’t set one! Hurry – go grab a pen and paper!

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for another #ICYMI!