NEWS & INSIGHTS
What’s Happening
NW REporter
Amazon invests additional $25 million for state’s affordable housing
Amazon is earmarking $25 million for a new public-private housing fund to build affordable homes near transit across Washington state. The funding is from the company’s $2 billion Housing Equity Fund it announced in 2021 to create or preserve 20,000 affordable homes in its headquarters locations. The tech giant is [..]
NW REporter
Racial homeownership gaps still persist
Two recent reports analyzed the persistent gaps in homeownership between white households and people of color. In an analysis by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University (JCHS), a researcher concluded coordinated policies and programs, at both state and national levels, are needed to address racial homeownership gaps. [..]
NW REporter
Seattle King County REALTORS® joins initiative to boost region’s rate of Black homeownership
Seattle King County REALTORS® (SKCR) deepened its commitment to housing equity by joining the Black Home Initiative network (BHI). The association’s board of directors approved joining the regional program to support the goal of generating 1,500 new low- to moderate-income Black homeowners in the next five years. “Realtors know the [..]
NW REporter
Institutional investors may be scaling back in some markets
Institutional investors bought fewer homes during the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with the same period of 2021, but their market share held steady. Those were among the conclusions of a report by Redfin Corp. Its analysis of 40 major U.S. housing markets showed investor purchases plummeted 45.8% annually in [..]
NW REporter
Seattle #4 on New Flex Index
Seattle is the 4th most flexible metro area in the United States and Washington ranks 3rd among states, according to a new index from Scoop Technologies. Rankings were tallied from around 4,000 companies with 25,000 office locations and 100 million employees. “Work’s future and success depend largely on flexibility – [..]
NW REporter
Northwest Green Home Tour
Join the green movement! This year’s Northwest Green Home Tour, a free-to-the-public showcase, is scheduled for April 29 from 11 AM to 5 PM. Produced by the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, the event features “projects in all shades of green” around the Puget Sound area. It includes backyard cottages, remodels, energy [..]
NW REporter
Trailblazer who “always makes time” to support others is named 2023 Seattle-King County First Citizen
Statistics only tell a small part of the remarkable impact of this year’s Seattle-King County First Citizen Award recipient. “She’s a trailblazer in the community as well,” said one admirer. For her extraordinary accomplishments as an athlete, a community volunteer, an advocate for LGBTQ equality, and her philanthropy, recently retired [..]
Monthly Market Update
Brokers say housing activity seems to be trending in direction of a normal seasonal market
Open house traffic has been brisk around Western Washington, signaling the start of the spring market, suggested brokers at Northwest Multiple Listing Service. They noted softening prices are enticing some would-be buyers, while others remain on the sidelines hoping fluctuating mortgage rates will stabilize or decline. “It’s a very interesting [..]
NW REporter
News In Brief
Offices in 10 major U.S. cities are now just more than halfway filled, according to a report from security tracker Kastle Systems. The firm said it's the first time since early 2020 that occupancy has crossed the 50% mark. While Seattle is not on the list, the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) is tracking [..]