Spread the Word Contest Winners Announced

Congratulations to our winners and to the three schools that will receive gift certificates for art supplies!

A $100 gift certificate from RMLS™ is currently on its way to three schools in Oregon and SW Washington. Winners of our Spread the Word Contest were able to choose the school that would receive one of three gift certificates, which is to be used to purchase art supplies for students.

The Fair Housing Council of Oregon’s annual Fair Housing Poster Contest is underway, with submissions due March 17th. RMLS™ encouraged our subscribers to submit a plan for how they were helping to spread word of this contest for children. The first two subscribers who emailed us their “Spread the Word” plan won a $100 gift certificate for art supplies to donate to the school of their choice! However, we had three great plans emailed to us within a short period of time and decided to award three winners instead of just two!

Congratulations to our winners:
Sheila Done, Century 21 Wright & Assoc.
Wendy Wampach, RE/MAX Equity Group
Joy Hurley, Coldwell Banker Professional Group

Sheila Done chose Ladd Acres Elementary School in Hillsboro as the recipient of her $100 gift certificate for art supplies. Sheila has two children (in first and fifth grade) who attend this school and was happy to help get the word out about the poster contest. Her plan consisted of emailing teachers and parents of students at the school, in addition to posting the contest flyer on the school’s front doors. Below is a picture of students from Ladd Acres Elementary who will benefit from these art supplies!

Wendy Wampach chose to donate her gift certificate to Mill Plain Elementary in Vancouver, Washington, where she is the current Art Discovery Coordinator. She also teaches art classes to students at Mill Plain Elementary. Wendy sent the Fair Housing contest flyer to the District Coordinator and to the other Art Coordinators for the Evergreen School district. With a total of 21 elementary schools in the district and more than 300 art volunteers, this plan surely helped spread awareness of the poster contest. Here is a photo of some Mill Plain Elementary students engaged in artistic activities:

Joy Hurley serves as a Board Member for Yamhelas Community Resource Center (YCRC). YCRC is a local 501c-3 that organizes a preschool and after-school programs for at-risk youth in the communities of Yamhill and Washington Counties. The organization collaborates not only with the school district, but also with other local non-profits to provide resources for children. To help get the word out about the Fair Housing Poster Contest, Joy’s plan included distributing copies of the flyer to the YCRC art class and the local Girl Scout Troop. She also requested that the school district place the flyer on their website. Joy is excited to have won the gift certificate for YCRC, as she says its art program is in need of funds and will find this donation very useful. Here is an example of art done by some of the students:

Again, congratulations to our winners who took time out of their schedules to help spread awareness of the Fair Housing Poster Contest. They should also be commended for submitting plans to RMLS™ in an effort to win $100 for a school in need of art funds. Let’s also congratulate those who did not win, but who are helping to spread the word anyway. This poster contest is a great way to get kids involved in a fun community project. Hopefully the Fair Housing Council will see an outstanding turnout of poster submissions to their contest!

For more information on the poster contest, visit the Fair Housing Council of Oregon’s website. Or, click here for a copy of the contest brochure!

Are “Walkable Cities” a Bright Light in Real Estate?

How does this affect Washington and Oregon?

A new Brookings Institute study predicts the future of real estate is in “walkable cities,” described as, “walkable, accessible communities with convenient transit linkages and good public services like libraries, cultural activities, and health care.” This is good news for Oregon and Washington, an area of the country particularly rich with interesting, walkable (and bikeable, of course) towns!

According to the report, the new real estate boom will come from the “Millennial” generation, or the kids of the Baby Boomers, born between 1977 and 1994, who amount to 76 million of our country’s population. (Full disclosure: I am one of those 76 million.) The report claims that Millennial aspirations “have been informed by ‘Friends’ and ‘Sex in the City’, shows set in walkable urban places, as opposed to their parents’ mid-century imagery of ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and ‘The Brady Bunch,’ set in the drivable suburbs.” (Unfortunately, the above examples of ‘Friends’ and ‘Sex in the City’ don’t quite match the ideal, walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods described elsewhere in the report, since both shows were set in New York City. But that’s beside the point.)

Rest assured: this study does not mean that Millennials will flock to Portland and abandon Oregon’s smaller towns. In fact, the report uses as a prime example Utah’s preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In addition to building up Salt Lake City, Utah built up the entire surrounding four-county area to create a large variety of “dense walkable neighborhoods built around transit stops.” Additionally, Portland is used as an example of transit directly benefitting real estate, stating that the city’s decision to spend $50 million on the downtown streetcar created $3.5 billion in private-sector development around the streetcar lines.

The best news in the report simply counteracts the onslaught of bad housing news the media seems to focus on these days. Simply put, when the Millennials begin buying houses, they will constitute the largest market of first-time homebuyers in history. This is good news for everyone. Similarly, with a focus on public transit and less of a reliance on personal cars, homeowners will have more cash on hand. The study cites an astonishing figure: Cutting one car out of the typical household budget can allow that family to afford a $100,000 larger mortgage.

Overall, this spells good news for Oregon and Washington, which contain a wide variety of interesting, green communities (both large and small) that greatly appeal to Millennials. As this generation begins to wade into the housing market, the future of the real estate market in the Pacific Northwest looks very hopeful.

RMLS™ Subscriber a Finalist for the 2010 REALTOR® Technology Spotlight Award

Congrats to Kelly Ranstad of Hybrid Real Estate

The Center for REALTOR® Technology (CRT) holds an award each year to honor REALTORS® who have shown excellence and visionary use of technology. This year, an RMLS™ subscriber has been announced as a finalist for the 2010 REALTOR® Technology Spotlight Award. Congratulations are in order for Kelly Ranstad, principal broker and owner of Hybrid Real Estate!

According to CRT, the award aims to recognize those who have implemented, created or embraced technology in a way that shows understanding of the medium and therefore puts them in a ‘best in class’ category. In addition, these individuals utilize innovative and effective strategies and increase awareness within the real estate industry of technology trends. For more on the award, visit CRT’s website.

Kelly Ranstad has been kind enough to give us some intellectual morsels in response to questions regarding this award. Her answers provide key insights into how technology can be useful for real estate professionals. Below are her answers:

In what ways have you used or implemented technology to get you recognized for this award?

Kelly: It is very easy to get caught up with a lot of “meaningless” technology as a REALTOR®. Agents can spend a lot of time and money on programs that are ineffective and often difficult to use. One of my roles within my company, Hybrid Real Estate, is to train agents on how to implement technological tools that are relatively inexpensive, but extremely effective when used correctly. A lot of agents would like to do more with the Internet, but don’t know where to start. I offer a class called, “Tech Tuesday,” where agents get together to bring their tech questions and demystify the Web. We have covered a variety of things: From something as easy as e-mail signatures to Facebook and social networking to websites. I have agents that hardly used e-mail before and are now building individual websites for their listings. It’s beautiful!

What were your feelings when it was announced that you were a finalist?

Kelly: I was honored just to be nominated for this award and to be recognized for my efforts nationwide. I am ecstatic! We have put an enormous amount of energy to build our company’s practical implementation of technology and to not just gain Web presence, but to help our REALTORS® secure listings, buyers for those listings, and for the buyers themselves. To be associated with such a young company (only 2 years old in December) and gain this kind of attention already is truly awesome.

How do you think the use and knowledge of technology benefits REALTORS®?

Kelly: In the past many of the technology-based marketing tools that we use today were very expensive, not practical, or overly technical. The tools that make a difference today are affordable, intuitive to use, and can be quickly learned. My focus is to see technology for what it is in today’s market and implement it in a practical way. Our agents don’t want another tool that looks neat, but that doesn’t increase their bottom line. We are talking about “practical technology.” Practical technology is a tool that benefits an agent by attracting more business in an affordable way.

There is a tool right now that I’m anticipating implementing over the next year. I started looking for it a year ago, but it didn’t exist. Six months ago companies popped up and offered what I was looking for. It is very likely that in the next six months it will be affordable and I’ll look forward to implementing the tool into Hybrid Real Estate. It will save everyone time, the company money and allow everyone to do more. That is practical technology and that is what our company is about. It’s about merging everything you have come to expect from a traditional real estate company with that next step in technology. It’s also about understanding where we are with technology, looking for needs within our industry and then anticipating the changes that will happen before it’s already happened. That is what it takes to be on the cutting edge of our industry.

According to Kelly, Hybrid Real Estate’s motto is “Innovation is our Tradition.” The 2010 REALTOR® Technology Spotlight Award is designed to honor individuals such as Kelly, who believe that technology is a powerful tool in the real estate world.

RMLS™ Communications Department Receives Bronze Beacon Award

Awarded for communications plan during the new RMLS™ Comparative Market Analysis release

The RMLS^™ Communications Department has been honored with the Bronze Beacon Award of Excellence by the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (OCIABC).

According to OCIABC, the annual Bronze Beacon Communicator Awards program was created to give local communications professionals the opportunity to showcase their work and receive recognition for communication excellence. Past award recipients include Kaiser Permanente, Nike, Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, and Providence Health & Services.

OCIABC also aims to provide communications professionals with networking and learning opportunities. The organization’s mission is: “To foster excellence and awareness of communications as an integral function of every organization.”

Last spring, members of the RMLS^™ Communications Department submitted an entry for the Bronze Beacon Award. The entry was entitled, RMLS^™Comparative Market Analysis Release, and gave a comprehensive overview of the communications plan for the new RMLS^™ Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report feature. The entry included samples of communications tools that were used during the release, as well as a written explanation of the plan’s goals and results. These samples consisted of Twitter, Facebook, RMLSweb and blog posts, as well as printed materials and eight electronic tutorials.

This week, the RMLS^™Communications Department was notified as a recipient of the Bronze Beacon Award of Excellence. This wonderful news has instilled a sense of pride in members of the department, as well as the whole company, who all contributed in making the CMA release possible.

In case you didn’t know that we recently released a new CMA, here is some information about our new, transformed CMA report feature. View our tutorials below:

Or, print out our Creating a New CMA in RMLSweb quick reference guide.

In addition, RMLS™ is offering a new training course called CMA & Statistics. To view the training calendar, log onto RMLSweb, go to Toolkit on the toolbar at the top of the screen and scroll down to Training Calendar.

Or, you can contact the RMLS™ Training department at 503-236-7657 or call help desk toll-free at 1-877-256-2169 or via email at helpdesk@rmls.com

Scam Alert

Attention all Realtors®

Numerous Realtors® have reported receiving emails and phone calls from a person out-of country who claims to need assistance with an all-cash real estate purchase. The caller may also insist on the need to retain a lawyer with a trust account, and requests a referral. The Realtor® or referred lawyer soon receives a substantial check (reports are from $150,000 to $500,000) to be deposited into broker trust account or lawyer trust account. Soon thereafter another call is received from a person purporting to be the attorney for the scammer in his home country. The foreign attorney says that the funds were sent out of country without appropriate government authority and must be immediately returned in order to avoid sanctions and penalties. Holder of the funds is pressed to wire the money without delay. Needless to say, the purchaser and the check are a fraud.

If you receive questionable requests for service or referrals, be cautious and inquire further.

Press Release: RMLS™ Awards Scholarships to PSU Students

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2010

RMLS™ Awards Scholarships to PSU Students

Four Portland State University students receive the RMLS™ Scholarship

PORTLAND, Ore. – RMLS^™ (Regional Multiple Listing Service), the largest Realtor^®-owned multiple listing service in the Northwest, has donated four $1,000 scholarships to students in Portland State University’s Center for Real Estate program.

“We are pleased to be a part of PSU’s program because we understand the importance of attracting motivated and skillful individuals into the real estate industry,” said Kurt von Wasmuth, President and CEO of RMLS™.

The award reception, which was held last Friday, May 21 in PSU’s Urban Center, was comprised of students, teachers and those working in the Portland real estate community, to honor those receiving scholarships. The recipients of the RMLS™ scholarship were: Raihana Ansary, Eric Hayes, Emily Picha and Nicholas Wright.

With an array of food and beverages, the reception was an intimate gathering and gave students the chance to speak with a representative of the company that sponsored their scholarship. These motivated young students spoke of the various projects they were working on and enlightened the crowd about their desire to pursue goals in the real estate industry.

“Each of the RMLS™ Scholarship recipients is a student in Portland State’s Graduate Certificate program in Real Estate Development, which is a 25-credit program focused in training in real estate finance, real estate development, and real estate economics,” said Director of the Center for Real Estate, Dr. Gerard C.S. Mildner.

As stated on PSU’s Center for Real Estate program’s Web site, The Center strives to “provide the real estate industry with talented and well-prepared graduates seeking careers in real estate.”

The reception demonstrated the success of Portland State’s program in helping to mold students into future leaders of the real estate world.

About RMLS^™

RMLS^™ produces and provides multiple listing and related services to facilitate cooperation between its more than 12,000 REALTOR^® subscribers. It is the primary source for real estate information and the premier Multiple Listing Service in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, visit www.rmlsbenefits.com.

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Supra Lockbox Acitivity – Updated Through March 21

Minimal changes from previous week

When comparing the week of March 15-21 with the week prior, the number of times an RMLS™ subscriber opened a Supra lockbox increased 1.0% in Washington and decreased 0.4% in Oregon.

Click the chart for a larger view

Archive
View an archive of the Supra lockbox statistical reports on Flickr.

Fall down the rabbit hole and land at this year’s annual 2010 RMLS™ Trade Fair – April 1

Don’t be late for a very important date

RMLS™ is hosting its annual Trade Fair at the Oregon Convention Center.

The theme, “Realtors in Wonderland,” is inspired by the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland. Visit exhibitors with cutting edge technology benefiting your business, get credit hours and enter to win door prizes.

April 1, 2010
10AM-4PM
Oregon Convention Center
FREE ADMISSION

Classes Available:
PMAR presents “Peering Out of the Hole” (Credit Hours for OR Agents Only)
Back by popular demand…John Mitchell presents a 2010 Economic and Real Estate Forecast.

CCAR presents “Transition Course” (Credit Hours for WA Agents Only)
This course explains the real estate license laws that are effective as of July 1, 2010 for Washington agents only and how this will affect real estate firms.

HomeQuest presents “Building your HUB”
An overview of using social media to create a central HUB to run your business around.

Is it Really the Age of the Incredible Shrinking Home?

Average square footage of sold homes increases in most RMLS areas

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the size of homes being built and purchased getting smaller. The National Association of Home Builders reported that the “the average size of a new home that was completed in 2009 fell to 2,480 square feet from 2,520 square feet in 2008,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The median home purchase shrank from 1,825 square feet in 2008 to 1,800 square feet in 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

I wanted to find out if the same would hold true in RMLS™ coverage areas, though, and here’s what I found:

As you can see, only three areas that we cover in Oregon & Washington dropped (Columbia Basin, Douglas County & Union County). In Portland it grew 1.52% and it was up 1.37% in Clark County. Coos County posted the largest increase at 4.85%.

I found our numbers a bit surprising. One school of thought is that the square footage would drop because first-time buyers have dominated the market in 2009, which you would think would mean smaller houses. That would make sense to me; I was a first-time buyer in 2009 and my house is 1,088 square feet.

On the other hand, what may have actually happened is that prices on homes with large square footage dropped so much that buyers have been snapping up more space for less money.

What do you think? Is the square footage of homes you’re working with shrinking? Are buyers more interested in smaller homes now? Or are they looking to grab more space while prices are low?

Press Release: Kurt von Wasmuth Named President and CEO of RMLS™

Kurt von Wasmuth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2010

Kurt von Wasmuth Named President and CEO of RMLS™

RMLS^™ Board of Directors promotes company’s Senior Vice President

PORTLAND, Ore. – RMLS^™ (Regional Multiple Listing Service), the largest Realtor^®-owned multiple listing service in the Northwest, announced the promotion of Kurt von Wasmuth to President and CEO today.

Von Wasmuth joined RMLS^™ in 1998 as a Help Desk Technician and most recently served as Senior Vice President. He has also held management positions in training, communications and information services within the company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington.

“With more than a decade of leadership in the industry and a strong focus on subscriber priorities, our Board of Directors is confident in Kurt’s ability to lead RMLS^™in this challenging market,” said Gary Whiting, a principal broker with John L. Scott and the 2010 Chairman of the RMLS^™ Board.

“I’m excited to step into this role and look forward to helping RMLS^™ grow its services and solutions for real estate professionals in the Northwest,” said von Wasmuth.

Former-president and CEO Beth Murphy retired in December after 11 years in the position and 15 years with RMLS^™. After initial plans to move into a consulting role with RMLS^™, she has instead elected to embrace full retirement.

About RMLS^™

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