#HB1110

[thelonesgroup]

Don't Let This Challenge Derail Your 2024

This is a time of year that I love - many agents are feeling full of promise and inspiration toward making changes in their business! I am also very excited about what is coming up for our industry this 2024 and beyond. We have a strong year ahead of us that is full of changes that many of us have never seen before. You need to be ready!

Whatever your resolutions this year - making more money, taking time off, getting your systems up-and-running, creating a buyer package - there is one critical component that I hope you are including in your business today: education.

This year, education is going to be an important part of what separates successful agents from agents who are left behind and miss the huge opportunities that will be shaking our markets.

Agents are very skilled at putting out fires: transaction fires, urgent buyer fires, listing drama fires. While many of you provide heroic and timely service to take care of your clients, you are neglecting putting time towards your own personal improvement. It's easy to fall flat when all of your time and energy has been spent putting out fires, but this 2024 will mark a period of changes in our industry. These changes mean investing time to expand and update your expertise.

For example, here in Washington State we are seeing a big change to how single-family residential property can be used. House Bill 1110, which passed last year, is already triggering big changes to municipal comprehensive plans through-out the state, allowing townhomes, duplexes, and multi-family units to be built in certain SFR zoned areas. It's a complex issue and agents who understand how this impacts property value and transaction management have a huge opportunity ahead of them.

Another change seen here in Washington State and elsewhere are new laws like HB1337, which allow much broader placement of accessory dwelling units (ADU) to encourage density and expand available housing. This is very exciting news for agents and property owners through-out our state!

And more are on the way. Just this month the Washington State House overwhelmingly passed HB1245, which will allow property owners to split lots. There are caveats of course, including that new lots must be no smaller than 2,000 square feet and not result in changes to existing affordable housing, among other details. When it goes to the Senate floor, we hope for its passage.

How legislation like these bills are changing the landscape of the market and creating opportunities for agents is just one topic of many at my upcoming State of the Market event, next week on the 24th. If you are looking for an easy opportunity to immediately elevate your knowledge and expertise, this is the best chance you may have this year and since it is an online event, you can participate from anywhere.

"But Denise!" I hear some of you say, "I am so busy juggling business. I don't have time to take out of my day to deal with these issues. I'll figure it out when it happens."

I understand the challenges that business brings. As a top-producing agent I know these challenges all-too-well. However, I also know that becoming a market expert was one of the most important things I could have done. The time I have spent developing expertise has paid me back thousandfold.

When I first set out on my plan to become a top-producing agent I saw my plans derailed by the unpredictability of the business again and again. One month turned into six and before I knew it, half the year had slipped by and nothing had really changed. My business hadn't grown and my quality of life was worse than ever. I knew that if I wanted my business to grow, if I wanted more quality of life, I had to find the time to grow my knowledge of the market and my trade.

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If I wanted my business to change, I needed to change. I needed a chance to be able to impress potential clients with my knowledge, not, "Let me get back to you on that." I needed to extend that knowledge through my marketing and connect with clients that were dealing with issues right now. And right now, there are a growing number of clients out there dealing with these issues and more.

I took a close look at how I was spending my time and made a commitment to grow my skills as an agent. After examining my tasks, I realized I was doing several things that were not bringing me closer to my goals. I was having long lunches with clients, touring properties that were too far away and that I had no buyer for, helping fellow agents market their properties. Admirable maybe, but ultimately not activity that was building my own business. I was procrastinating by filling my time doing work-tasks that made me feel like I was working, but that were not bringing in results.

Don't fall into this trap! If you are struggling to invest in your business knowledge and skills this year, look for inefficiencies in your schedule. That might be wasting time on the internet, spending time in the office with agents who aren't out working, touring buyers who haven't been prequalified, or something else. Set new rules in your business that give you the opportunity to invest in yourself!

As I mentioned, this January 24th, I'm presenting my State of the Market online. In three-hours you will learn more about what is happening in our industry, how we got here, and my predictions for where we are headed, than you will experience at any other time this year. Where are mortgage rates headed? How will that impact our market? How is legislation shaping our industry for years to come? How are evolving tenant friendly policies impacting landlords and investors? What must you know about second homes, ADUs, middle-housing, and other opportunity markets? I will be covering all of this and much more, growing your expertise and providing you with client-talking points you can use for the year to come. Don't miss it - go get registered right now!

By Denise Lones CSP, CMP, M.I.R.M. The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones has over three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development and more, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.

[thelonesgroup]

Wake Up Washington! HB1110 and HB1337 Are Now Law

AND THEY ARE CHANGING HOW YOU WILL DO BUSINESS!

This week I want to talk about what is changing in housing here in Washington State, with two new housing bills that Governor Jay Inslee signed-into law this past May, 2023.

The first one I want to talk about is HB1110. For those of you who don't know about it, please look it up. This legislation was designed to increase middle-housing opportunities in areas that were traditionally zoned single-family residential (SFR). That means that there are huge changes that have happened regarding what can be done with land that was originally zoned to only have one home on it. This legislation is changing how agents:

Price Property: Finding comparative properties and knowing how to price property that can support middle-housing development just got a whole lot more interesting.

Market Property: No longer are we just focused on the home. Suddenly, the property potential could be a huge game-changer to how you market a listing.

Research Property: If middle-housing development is an option, you need to know how this will benefit home sellers and how to communicate this opportunity to them.

If you are selling a single-family home now and that property or home has the ability to have additional units or product put onto it, could that property now be worth more money? These are the kinds of things that you will need to know.

SPECIALIZED ADU AND DEVELOPMENT TRAINING STARTS THIS OCTOBER AND LESS THAN FIVE SPOTS REMAIN!

This training on ADUs, valuation, condoization, development, density, and more will take place during ENCORE beginning in October through April. This is the cutting-edge training you need to understand the massive changes that are coming to our market with House Bills 1337 and 1110, as well as Comprehensive Plan Updates.

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The other house bill that was signed into law is HB1337. This bill was specifically designed to expand housing options by easing the barriers to construction. This is a huge one. Here, you have single-family residence properties that can now support ADU/DADU buildings and additions. This is going to affect not just property value, but will affect neighbors, the selling and buying of property, and more.

Both of these house bills are changing everything that agents think they know about valuing property and I highly recommend that you become familiar with both of these bills, because you are going to be hearing a lot more about them.

I've been following these bills since they were first presented, the conversations around them as they have been debated, amended, and evolved. These bills weren't just introduced and then passed. They have seen extensive review, conversation, and input. The bottom-line is that at the highest levels of government in the State of Washington, they are aware that there is simply not enough housing. Affordable housing continues to be a major challenge in many markets and that is one of the reasons these bills were created. We must have that middle market for housing and the changes to the barriers for construction will be a big part of the long-term solution that these bills help provide.

By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.

[thelonesgroup]

The Power of Data

This week I want to talk about data - yes data! This is not a boring data conversation we are having today because having the right data is crucial to understanding your market and your business success!

When you research and you begin to uncover and understand data - whether that is new construction starts in your area or how pending homes have changed from month-to-month, or how your town is updating its comprehensive plan - you will discover new opportunities for your business. Suddenly that data has come to life!

Having information has become one of the most powerful tools in our industry. This past year we have seen more changes in our industry to do with housing, mortgage rates, building, zoning and re-zoning, density, middle-housing, ADUs, and more. The list just goes on and on! Knowing the data that is behind these changes is your secret weapon. Whenever I am able to take data and research and bring it to life for my clients. When they can be at the forefront of these changes and benefiting from that knowledge, that's what gets me excited.

For example, five or six years ago I was in front of my Encore coaching group that I mentor and I had noticed that there had been absolutely no pendings in the 2-million and above market. Now there had been no pendings because there was a glut of inventory and things were overpriced. As I started watching the market there, I noticed something interesting - there was an uptick in pending numbers beginning. I mentioned this to my coaching group and told them that these properties which had been on the market two, three, even four months, would be pending in the next month. Some of my clients didn't believe me. A month later, at our next meeting, those properties had pended and my agent-clients asked, "How did you know that?" I knew it because I had been tracking these numbers on a weekly basis so I knew, that was not the time to push for a price reduction, that was the time to hold steady as the market rose to meet the demands of sellers. What a great opportunity for those sellers!

Again this year I am teaching my State of the Market class. Ever year the content is incredible and this year we are taking it up a notch again. In addition to trends, new construction, and resale, I'll be discussing HB1110 and HB1337, middle-housing, ADUs, how cities are changing their comprehensive plans and infrastructure - changes that are going to have important impact on your clients and your real estate business.

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Now, if you are wondering comprehensive plan changes are important, knowing which direction your local government is leaning and why creates opportunities for you. For example, some years ago I was present at a city council meeting and they were discussing annexation of a local neighborhood. I was working with a gentleman who owned a large piece of property in that area that he wanted to sell to a developer, but had held off because he believed that the city would never annex it. Having that data meant that I could go to him and be the one to tell him that annexing the area his property was being discussed. No other agent was communicating this valuable information to him, only me and only because I understood the value of being informed by city council meetings. When the time came to sell, I would be the first person he thought of to help him with that important transaction.

So, get involved! If you don't know what a comprehensive plan is, find out. If you're not sure how your city's planning is coming together, get involved. If you don't know how their decisions are going to affect you and your clients, be present! As a real estate professional, your voice and expertise is valuable to your local government. I highly encourage you to get involved.

And I highly encourage you to join me at State of the Market this year. It's going to be three packed hours of incredible information and you are going to feel way more prepared for 2024-2025 when you attend this event. The next few years are going to be pivotal years for real estate and you want to be at the forefront of that!

By Denise Lones CSP, CMP, M.I.R.M. The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, over nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.