Realtor News

No, they’re not really the same. Yes, you should care about what makes them different. Here’s a breakdown:

Oh, let’s just admit it, shall we? Browsing for homes online is fun and exciting! However, it is important to take everything with a grain of salt. Browser beware, though: those listings may be seductive, but they might not be giving you the complete picture.

You’ve worked with a REALTOR® to scour the listings, toured what feels like a million houses and finally found it: the house you want to call home. The next step is to make your purchase offer, and if you are like most people, the prospect can be quite intimidating.

Do you participate in a local food drive? Real estate professionals are some of the most active members of their communities. The Snohomish County-Camano Association REALTORS® is the biggest community contributor to the local Snohomish County food banks.

As September is REALTOR® Safety Month, SCCAR wanted to share some safety tips for buyers and sellers:

Phishing, hacking, wire fraud - these are all ways people attempt to steal from others online. As real estate searches and transactions move more and more online, the chances of being caught up in a cyber scam have become even greater.

Most consumers know homeownership is among the soundest investments an individual can make to begin building their personal wealth. However, owning a home is not just in the best interest of the homeowner. “Homeownership provides stability, builds communities, and is a driving force in our economy,” stated Jennifer Pederson, President of the Snohomish County-Camano Association of REALTORS® (SCCAR). Besides being a good investment, homeownership provides stability, brings families together, helps drive the economy, as well as the tax incentives to being a homeowner, and homeowners also build successful communities.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, REALTORS® have increased their philanthropic and volunteer efforts, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The Community Aid and Real Estate Report (the CARE Report) offers insight into the monetary and volunteer contributions of real estate professionals.

COVID-19 continues to reshape our lives, changing our daily routines and mandating precautionary measures which involve staying in our homes as often as we can. With people spending more time at home than ever before, home improvement projects are increasingly becoming top of mind for homeowners.

The National Association of REALTORS’® (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows 53 percent of all buyers used open houses as a source in their home search process. This figure suggests the value of open houses even in the internet era. However, just like everything else in the era of COVID, open houses have changed. To provide extra safety precautions for buyers and sellers here is a list of some things you can expect when visiting an open house, as mandated by the Governor’s Healthy Washington initiative:

Additional help could be on the way for first-time homebuyers. As a candidate, President Joe Biden proposed the First Down Payment Homebuyer Tax Credit, which could be significant in aiding potential first-time homebuyers. For starters, the credit could be used to cover all or a considerable share of a buyer’s down payment. With home prices rising ever higher, any down payment assistance is welcomed when a family is looking to buy.

Racial injustice is deeply rooted in history and is apparent in housing discrimination, even today. In honor of Black History Month, we wanted to highlight what we, as REALTOR® associations, are doing to ensure fair and equal housing opportunities. The Snohomish County-Camano Association REALTORS® (SCCAR), along with Washington REALTORS® (WR) and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), support equal opportunity in housing and oppose practices and policies which have a known discriminatory effect.

“Real Estate Agent” is a catchall phrase used, in casual conversation, to describe the three types of professionals who buy and sell real estate: agents, brokers, and Realtors®. No, they’re not really the same. Yes, you should care about what makes them different. Here’s a breakdown:

Oh, let’s just admit it, shall we? Browsing for homes online is fun and exciting! However, it is important to take everything with a grain of salt. Browser beware, though: those listings may be seductive, but they might not be giving you the complete picture.

Owning a home is not just in the best interest of the homeowner. “Homeownership provides social stability, builds communities and is a driving force for the national economy"...

“There’s more demand than inventory, which has pushed up home prices to levels above what many first-time buyers are comfortable spending,” said Denise McDonald, President of the Snohomish County-Camano Association of REALTORS®. “People spend countless hours going through the process of obtaining a loan and locating their perfect home only to find themselves competing in a bidding war.”

The Snohomish County Camano Association of REALTORS® (SCCAR) has worked hard to keep REALTOR® safety a foremost priority, but what about people looking to either buy or sell a home? Safety is a conversation far too many real estate professionals omit from their discussions with sellers and buyer. As September is REALTOR® Safety month, SCCAR wanted to share some safety tips for buyers and sellers:

You have worked with a REALTOR® to scour the listings, toured what feels like a million houses, and finally found it: the house you want to call home. The next step is to make your purchase offer, and if you are like most people, the prospect can be quite intimidating. In a seller’s market, there can be even more pressure on the buyer to submit an impressive bid. So how can you make sure the offer you submit is the one accepted?

Denise McDonald, President of the Snohomish County Camano Association of Realtors®, stated, “Silence is not an option given all that is happening with racial discrimination. The REALTOR® foundation is built on fair housing for all. Therefore, there is no tolerance for racism at SCCAR or in the REALTOR® industry.”

The resource introduced in this video breaks down the science behind implicit bias and gives solutions to unintended discrimination.