The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?

Speaker 1: [0:09] Hello, hello, and welcome to the Awesome in Seattle podcast. This is Christian Awesome with the Awesome Nossum Group at Wilson Realty here in Seattle, and I am joined by the rest of the Awesome Nossum Group. We have the one and only Jason Saldarriaga.

Speaker 2: [0:24] As always.

Speaker 1: [0:27] Sarah Kate Davis.

Speaker 3: [0:29] Hello, guys.

Speaker 1: [0:30] And Charlotte, I mean, Charlotte Reynolds.

Speaker 3: [0:34] Whoop-whoop. Christian, did you say this is Christian Awesome?

Speaker 1: [0:39] No.

Speaker 3: [0:40] Oh, I thought I heard that and it was pretty cool. It just runs into each other.

Speaker 1: [0:44] It's just Christian Awesome. It just, it always blends, always. Uh- Loved it … so today's podcast is a good one. Uh, we are going to talk about how Governor Inslee on April 24th, Friday, uh, allowed a partial opening of construction. We're gonna talk about the big news with the West Seattle Bridge, and how that's gonna affect real estate prices in West Seattle, uh, because that got closed down. And then we're just gonna give you a quick recap of what we're seeing right now, boots on the ground, agents on the ground, what we're seeing in the market, how that, uh, can help you as a buyer and seller in today's local market. So, let's start off, uh, with Jason. Talking about construction and, uh, what is and is not allowed still. So Jason, you wanna take it from here?

Speaker 2: [1:34] Yeah. So as you said, on Friday, Governor Inslee, uh, released I guess phase one of a three-phase to slowly reopen the construction industry. Uh, with phase one, um, only low-risk projects are allowed to start. And so what does that mean? To him, a low-risk project is one that's an existing construction project, so nothing that's… No new construction projects, uh, can start. It has to be something that was already in motion and being built when the stay-at-home order was enacted, and it has to be only activities that workers can remain six feet apart doing. So any kind of work that requires workers to be closer than six feet apart are not allowed on phase one. They're allowed on, potentially on phase two and three. And of course, there's a lot of requirements for the builders and the construction industry. So the main ones are that there has to be a dedicated safety advisor or supervisor at all sites larger than six workers. So if it's single family, like detached construction, you don't necessarily need a dedicated safety supervisor at each house. If you have more than six workers, you're gonna need a supervisor dedicated to just making sure that everyone's fulfilling, uh, the social distancing guidelines and keeping records of everything, which is also another thing they have to do. There's increased scrutiny on maintaining good record keeping for each job site, so who was there, when were they there, what visitors visited at what, what time. The reason for that is, um, you know, our goal as a state is to really have a system in place that allows us to do good contact tracing, and that's part of that. All staff has to be trained on COVID, COVID-19 safety and wear PPE at all times on, beginning on day one. That's, that's crazy. So that's something that they're gonna have to work… Yeah. Yeah. They're gonna have to work on training all their employees. And-

Speaker 1: [3:34] And somehow find PPE

Speaker 2: [3:36] Correct. Um, and the- exactly, yeah. And all workers have to have their temperature checked each day, and, um, hand washing stations are installed are, at all sites. There's more, but those are the main requirements that people are talking about. So if we see that these strategies are working over the next few weeks, um, then we can expect that these restrictions will continue to be loosened, and phase two will be implemented, which will, um, authorize some activities where workers have to be closer than six feet. Obviously, a lot of construction requires that, so that'll open up a lot of opportunities. But yeah, that's where we're at right now. I know the construction industry worked really hard over the last month or so to get to a point where they were in line with the social distancing guidelines to find a way to make this work. The real estate industry did this very quickly. Um, like within the first week of the stay-at-home order, we, we were able to im- say, "Look, you know, we really just need to show houses, do inspections. We need to allow appraiser, appraisers to come on the property. Otherwise, most things can be done from home. This is what, how we'll do them and, uh, to protect everyone." And, and the construction industry is now getting a chance to do that. So it's exciting to see.

Speaker 1: [4:55] Yeah, I know I have a client that's buying a new construction house, and I mean, things are just on an indefinite hold. And, uh, heard from them, uh, on Friday after this was announced by Governor Inslee, and they're like, "Okay, well, this is great news, but we still don't know exactly what that means. Uh, we have to connect with all of our contractors and see, you know, do they have staff still that is, uh, ready to go, or do they have to rehire everybody? Do they… They don't have the PPE. They gotta…" I mean, there's a lot of steps that have to happen before they can even get going. Um, so it's, uh- It's interesting. Interesting times. Just like everything else, you gotta be nimble, you gotta be, uh, willing and able to, you know, go with the flow in this, in this situation. So, I mean, it's, it's a good positive, uh, move. I hope that, um, everyone plays by, by the rules so that they can open it up even more with phase two out of, out of three, um, so that we can get things moving. So.

Speaker 2: [6:02] Amen.

Speaker 1: [6:03] Yeah. Uh, Sarah Kate, a current West Seattle resident. Yes, sir. What is happening with the West Seattle Bridge closure? How, how's that going? What's, what's the, what's the opinion of the people in your land known as West Seattle?

Speaker 3: [6:19] Oh, God. I feel like I could talk about this forever and ever. Um, but, uh, there really are two West Seattles, if you will. Mm-hmm. You can break it up into North West Seattle and South West Seattle.

Speaker 4: [6:33] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: [6:33] And the South West Seattle market and the people that are living here aren't as affected as the people that are living in North West Seattle. Yeah. Because they rely more heavily on the West Seattle Bridge to get downtown as I-5.

Speaker 1: [6:49] Yeah.

Speaker 3: [6:49] Where I live- The

Speaker 1: [6:50] North Seattle people do.

Speaker 3: [6:51] Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And where I live in the south of West Seattle-

Speaker 1: [6:55] Mm-hmm … Speaker 3: we have 509 that's easily accessible that will take us to I-5 or downtown. 509. So, um- Also known as the most underutilized freeway in all of Seattle.

Speaker 3: [7:05] Oh, I love it. Jamming on 509 every day.

Speaker 1: [7:07] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: [7:08] Going to, going to meet clients. But, um, it's, it's really easy for me. Like, it, it, I wouldn't take the West Seattle Bridge anyway, so. Yeah. It's not really affecting us on this end too much, and I think that, um, as far as the market's concerned, I think people are, you know, freaking out a little bit and- The reason is there's not really any answers right now.

Speaker 1: [7:29] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: [7:30] You know, the West Seattle Bridge opened in '84, and was supposed to have a 75-year lifespan, and we're not gonna get there. So

Speaker 1: [7:41] 36 years later, it's dead.

Speaker 3: [7:44] And it cost $150 million. So-

Speaker 1: [7:47] Geez.

Speaker 3: [7:48] Yeah, pretty crazy. And the bridge carried nearly 100,000 vehicles and 25,000 transit riders-

Speaker 1: [7:57] Per day … Speaker 3: every day. That's crazy.

Speaker 3: [7:59] Yes. Yeah. And they're saying around 62,500 people left West Seattle each day to commute to work- Mm-hmm … either downtown or North Seattle, and those same people come back every day. So it's, it's a main thoroughfare, and people really depend on it to get to work.

Speaker 4: [8:15] Yeah.

Speaker 3: [8:15] So I think it's gonna affect, you know, some people that have to go downtown that were really living in the Northwest Seattle or were looking to move. So I think that the Northwest Seattle market might cool off a little bit. I know that, uh, Seattle is trying to work to possibly add another Elliott Bay water taxi to service, you know, West Seattle to downtown commuters, but right now- Mm-hmm … that taxi only carries a little over 270 people.

Speaker 1: [8:49] Yeah.

Speaker 3: [8:49] So, I mean, that's- Yeah, 120- if you think about that- … Speaker: 000 a day. Exactly. So if you think about those numbers, we're still at a deficit, but, you know, they're trying- Yeah … to ramp up public transit, but, you know, while we're in COVID, they don't really have good numbers suggesting the n- the next best move for them as far as getting people, um, to downtown or North Seattle from West Seattle.

Speaker 1: [9:11] Yep. So- I mean, that said, I could see long-term, I think anyone- Mm … that's in West Seattle that wants to stay in West Seattle, if you're living somewhere long-term, uh- Exactly … and you're not planning to move, this isn't really gonna affect you too much, uh, price-wise, real estate prices-wise, 'cause once they have a solution and it's opened back up, it's, I don't think that's gonna be that big of a difference. Um-

Speaker 3: [9:36] I agree. I think long-term ownership is the ultimate goal here.

Speaker 1: [9:40] Yeah.

Speaker 3: [9:40] You know, and people, people love West Seattle so much, and they don't really leave West Seattle for anything except for work. It's true. Yeah. I mean, you have your grocery stores, you have your cute boutiques, you have bars, restaurants, coffee shops. You have all that here, and West Seattle already feels like such an island.

Speaker 1: [9:56] Yep,

Speaker 3: [9:56] exactly. So, um, I, I don't know how much it's going to impact the housing market, like I said, except for people that maybe are living in that Northwest Seattle corridor that really- You know, that they commute downtown every day. But that being said, after this whole corona thing, I think people are gonna be working from home a lot more often. I agree. Yeah. And I think companies are gonna figure out how to have their employees work from home. So a lot of things are up in the air right now- Yeah … as far as how it's gonna affect the housing market. I think that maybe people that were priced out or found West Seattle to be a little competitive, maybe they'll come back to the West Seattle market because it may be getting a little less competitive due to the- Yeah … West Seattle bridge closure.

Speaker 1: [10:43] I 100% agree. I mean, there were numerous offers on any good house that came on the market, just like the rest of Seattle.

Speaker 3: [10:50] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1: [10:51] Uh, and that's gonna most likely, I mean, we haven't seen the data yet, but most likely that's gonna cool off a little bit as people try to figure out what's gonna happen and how they're gonna- You know, get people in and out. Um, but I see it, uh, I don't see it, like, having some drastic impact. I don't either. I had clients, I had clients the night that this happened text me, numerous clients that are West Seattle residents that I've helped buy there, and some were freaking out, and others were just like, "Eh, what do you think's gonna happen? We don't really know." And I mean, I basically said pretty much what you're saying, is I don't think it's gonna have a huge, huge impact on prices. People that are living in West Seattle generally love it and don't need to or want to leave if they don't have to. And then lastly, with all this coronavirus stuff and everyone working from home anyway, I, I think most employers are gonna be very open, much more than they ever were before, to allowing people to work from home. So, um, I don't, I don't see a huge, huge impact, uh, on, on that. If anything, it's just gonna be a little bit less competitive, like you said.

Speaker 3: [12:05] Exactly. And I think that it might be a good market for investors to jump just because if things really pan out how we'd like them to pan out, the new construction of a West Seattle bridge will also carry- Mm-hmm the light rail, and that would be- Yeah … a huge game changer. And that is right now tentatively set to open March, um, not March, sorry, um, 2030.

Speaker 1: [12:29] Yeah.

Speaker 3: [12:29] So.

Speaker 1: [12:30] That would be a huge, huge plus.

Speaker 3: [12:32] Yes.

Speaker 1: [12:32] I mean, it's almost a, a blessing in disguise. Hopefully it turns into a blessing in disguise- Hopefully … long term. Yeah, hopefully. We'll see, but hopefully. Yeah. Okay, cool. Uh, Charlotte, what's, what is going on in the market? What are you seeing? I know you're out there every day just like Sarah Kate and Jason, uh, but what are you seeing? What's going on?

Speaker 4: [12:52] Yeah, it's interesting to say the least. Mm-hmm. Um, it's either, you know, competitive, things that are getting listed right now are very competitive. Um, but then there was that weird, you know, kind of, uh, timeframe when we were non-essential. Mm-hmm. So we saw definitely a drop in listings there while that was all being sorted out. Um, so if it, depending on when it was listed within the last few weeks or so, it's either, you know, selling immediately or it's been sitting on the market for a few weeks.

Speaker 1: [13:23] Yeah. I think, uh- Yeah … we've had two different clients that houses that were listed, you know, right after we were listed as essential and before, uh, photographers and stagers were allowed to do anything, um- That's when agents had to take their own photos and do things like that. And, uh- Mm-hmm … that, those homes that were listed right then in that small, you know, 10 to 14 day window seem to be sitting, and you can get a deal. I mean, we'll see what happens, but I know one of our clients got a deal on, on a place that was like that, 'cause it just didn't look great online 'cause the listing agent had to take the photos themselves.

Speaker 4: [14:05] Yeah. I've seen that as well in regards to the pictures.

Speaker 1: [14:10] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 4: [14:10] Um, and you know, I had a situation where we did have a listing that had been on for about three weeks, and we go and view it, and then the next thing we know they have two other offers in hand- Yep you know, with ours as well, so. Yep. Um, again, it's very case by case basis. Um, and it's almost like a tale of two markets as we were seeing, like, a few months ago. Mm-hmm. Um, again, depending on when those homes were put on the market in regards to, you know, all the changes with the stay-at-home order, and essential and non-essential businesses.

Speaker 3: [14:41] Yeah.

Speaker 4: [14:42] The other thing I've noticed too is that, um, you know, review dates are still very much a thing. Mm-hmm. Um, but it's been interesting. I've had, uh, two houses for the same client in the last week, uh, where the sellers took an offer before the review date. So that's an interesting question, what, you know, where are the sellers' heads at with this thing? And I think a lot of them are, you know, freaked out by what's happening in the market. They're unsure of the future. So, you know, they're getting a solid offer, maybe a little bit over the asking price, you know, pretty much straight out of the gate after getting it listed, and maybe they're just afraid that they won't get something else or not something as good. Um, so that's kind of my thought process there. I don't know if you guys had any other inclinations about why sellers might be taking offers early.

Speaker 1: [15:28] Uh, no, I 100% agree. I think it's, it's all about their mindset. Um, some sellers, they just don't know what's going on, and, and depending on their agent, uh, they could be getting either good or bad advice, advice on that. Mm-hmm. And sometimes they're just taking any old offer that comes in before the offer review date. Um, it's, it's interesting. It's a… If they truly understood the market, I don't think they would generally do that, unless it was an offer that was great and had no contingencies at all. Um-

Speaker 4: [16:00] Yeah … Speaker: then maybe that's something to consider. But, I mean, if there's any contingencies in there, it's like, well, if you wait a few days, the market's strong enough that you'll probably get an offer without them, so. Mm-hmm. It's,

Speaker 1: [16:11] it's an int- interesting, uh, situation, for sure.

Speaker 4: [16:15] What I've been telling people, and Christian is, has been harping on this for the last couple weeks, is just be able to be nimble and move quickly and do something. If you see something come on the market, my advice is don't sit around and wait three days to see it. Let's get out and see it, um, because either it has a review date, um, and you know we wanna be able to get in and, and pre-inspect and all that stuff, or, you know, they might take something early. So my biggest advice is if you wanna go out and see something, let's get you out as soon as possible to see it, to make sure that you have, you know, the, the biggest chance of, you know, being able to do something and getting the house.

Speaker 1: [16:49] Yep. Yeah. I mean, it's, uh- It's, it's a crazy mo- market right now. It's moving quick. Uh, generally multiple offers, and generally for over the asking price. So, um, don't, don't wait. Um, and we've seen numerous houses that come on the market that don't initially have an offer review date. Mm-hmm. And then they get an offer immediately, and then they get two other people that say, "Hey, we're gonna make an offer too." And then they're like, "Oh, well, never mind. We are gonna a- add an offer review date on there." So w- we've seen that on numerous occasions too over the last week or two. Yeah. So it's a, it's an interesting, interesting market for sure. I mean, it, it's slightly hard to predict, but, uh, as long as you're paying attention and you're willing to move quickly, it seems like you can, uh, you can potentially get some deals or at least, you know, get a house. So they're, they're out there. Um, I mean, I don't know long term, uh, how many listings we're gonna see compared to where we were at last year. Um, the data hasn't come out yet. I know for March, before this really all happened, we actually had about the same as, as last year. Um, but once the data comes out for April, once this real stay-at-home order was truly in place, uh, I think we're gonna see some pretty dramatic, uh, decreases in listing numbers. Um, but that doesn't necessarily mean too much. I mean, we were all stuck at home. There was a week where we weren't even able to be real estate agents and do anything other than virtually. Um, and there was a lot of uncertainty. So time will tell, just like everything else in real estate, it always moves slow. There's, um- Mm-hmm … it just takes time to really figure out what's going on. You can't really jump to conclusions. You can only try to interpret what's happening and in, at the moment, and, and kind of forecast how that's gonna affect things moving forward for our clients. So I think we've been doing a good job of that, um, and keeping people up to date on, on what's happening and, and what to expect.

Speaker 2: [19:00] For sure.

Speaker 1: [19:02] Uh, any tips we can give anybody on, on how to, uh, handle buying in this market, in terms of, you know, how to, how to spot a deal or not?

Speaker 2: [19:14] Yeah, I mean, I think you, we kinda touched upon this right now. Every situation's a little different.

Speaker 1: [19:20] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: [19:20] Every listing's a little different. Sometimes there are those that are sitting. I was talking to clients yesterday at a house, um, about this. Something sitting for 40 days doesn't necessarily mean much about the property at all. It could have nothing to do with the property. Worse yet, uh, if something like went pending inspection and came back, um, or went pending and came back online after that, a lot of buyers, they instantly aren't int- interested in that house, and it'll sit for months and months on end. And it could be as simple as, um, the buyer lost their job and couldn't- Mm-hmm … buy the house. It has n- it could have nothing to do with the sellers. In fact, it could be a positive, because it demonstrates they accepted an offer that was a little weaker maybe than you would expect them to accept. So- Yep … uh, you know, it, I think that's definitely one aspect to it. Also, I think, uh, us agents, we're scrambling day by day to make things work for our clients, and sometimes that forces agents to put listings on with photos and that sort of thing, that aren't really of the quality that we would nor- normally get. Um, and like you s- we s- talked about this already, we're seeing that on occasion as well, and doesn't necessarily have much to do with the house itself at all. It could be- Yeah … very much about the situation, so.

Speaker 3: [20:44] Very true.

Speaker 2: [20:45] Yeah. I think that's important.

Speaker 1: [20:48] Yeah. I know that, uh, yesterday I just looked at homes that had been on the market for at least 14 days and older, just to see if I could spot some deals here and there, and, um, I ended up, you know, finding a couple potential that could work for clients and shot it over to them, and they were like, "Oh yeah, this could, this could work. The photos don't look great, but I see why you said this might be a good one." Um, so I mean, that's, that's another tactic of, of how to do this right now. Uh, you gotta be a little smarter than the average bear, and, and, uh, and you know, think outside the box a little bit, so. Cool. Well, uh, that is it for this episode. I hope you got a lot out of it. If at any time you have any questions about buying or selling in this market, uh, we are more than happy to meet up virtually, uh, or face-to-face, um, if you'd like, but virtually is pretty much what everyone's doing right now. Um, we have all the tech tools that enable us to do that. Uh, so yeah, if you are interested at all in chatting and just trying to get a feel for what's going on and how that affects your current situation, we are here to help. Uh, it's very, very simple to reach out to us. In fact, you can just schedule an appointment right online on our website, awesomenossum.com/schedule. I cannot say that word very well. Uh, but yeah, it's very easy. You can just go to our website awesomenossum.com/ … I still can't say it… schedule. Uh, or just click on the tab at the top and, uh, find a time to talk with us. So that is it for us. Thank you very much for listening, and, uh, stay safe. We'll talk soon.

Speaker 3: [22:32] Bye.

Speaker 1: [22:32] Thank y'all. Bye.

Speaker 3: [22:34] Thank you.