President's Message From Cheri Daniels
Our world has been in turmoil for the last few years, most recently with a war between Russia and the Ukraine, the January 6th hearings, controversial decisions from the Supreme Court, gunmen shooting innocent people throughout our beloved nation, mortgage interest rates rising, wildfires, floods, talks of a looming recession, Covid-19 and its variants to name a few.
It’s easy to get caught up and feel overwhelmed, for these are important issues to address and be engaged with…but we need to just take a step back, take a deep breath and acknowledge some of the positive things happening in real estate and your association.
We live in a state and a country where we have multiple listing services with rules and regulations our members follow that protect not only the members of the association but the community it serves. Some countries do not have these protections for the public and harken back to the days of “Buyer Beware” in real estate.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Washington REALTORS® is committed to recognizing, honoring, and respecting the inherent value and human dignity of all people. We take an active stance against racism and discrimination in housing and have written this into our Strategic Plan & Community Values Statement. Additionally, Washington REALTORS® has partnered with Momentum Professional Strategy Partners to form The Connecting Real Estate Advisory Group to discuss the future of real estate while identifying ways to engage our communities inclusively and equitably about entering the real estate profession.
REALTORS® ADVOCATE
We advocate for homeownership and property rights. How many other organizations are actively providing solutions and ideas to address the housing crisis? This is what we, meaning YOU and Washington REALTORS®, do! We’re preparing to enter a contentious election cycle and a busy 2023 Legislative Session (a budget year, no less). WR’s Advocacy Team and our volunteer leadership are diligently working with your elected officials to address:
Housing Affordability
Housing Inventory
Taxes and Fees on Real Estate
Agency Issues ...and more
Take a peak at Government Affairs Director Nathan Gorton’s update on page 5.
COMMUNITY STEWARDS
Across the country, almost 66% of all REALTORS® volunteer monthly in their community. Giving back is part of who we are as both people and as professionals. We have a self-funded REALTOR® Relief Foundation that steps in when natural disasters hit anywhere in the country to assist people who have lost their homes…because that is who we “R”.
Your membership with Washington REALTORS® provides benefits to not only us as real estate professionals, but to our clients and communities. I encourage you to dig deeper into our REALTOR® benefits and into what Washington REALTORS® does for you and our communities. If you use these benefits, you may save more than you pay for your dues—I like that kind of math!