Inman Innovators and a walking tour of our new neighborhood!

I was surprised and more than a little humbled when I heard I’d been nominated for an Innovation award this week by Inman News. After all, I’m not software developer or a budding mogul. I sell houses for a living.  But it’s a job I’m proud of, and I’m always trying to improve.

A few years ago Marguerite (a fellow nominee!) and I decided to start making videos together. We had no specific goals, but we did have an agenda: empower consumers with useful real estate info, and add some transparency to a process that is often laden with anxiety and mistrust.

We delivered this info as ourselves. There are no real estate robots here. Just real ladies with crooked grins and greying hair, and some sensitivities about our chins. That was terrifying but also freeing. We’ve been validated by the clients who have chosen us even after watching our on-camera antics, and that support has made it easier to accept our own quirks – and encourage others to do the same. 

So what’s the relevance of all this in the midst of a devastating week as a nation? We have a diversity issue in the Real Estate industry and I don’t think the buyers & sellers of the future are going to tolerate it.  Ideally, Realtors should reflect the makeup of the communities where they live and work. I hope in some small way we can encourage people to be their true selves in their marketing and business interactions, without the fear of losing business as a result. 

A TOUR OF OUR NEW NEIGHBORHOOD

Not sure if you heard, but we moved into a new office in April!  We are still very much a part of the Windermere Professional Partners family, but we wanted to be a little closer to the heart of the city, and the perfect place presented itself. Our new office is at 621 Pacific Ave, in the historic Northern Pacific building. We are to a vibrant business and museum district and the ever expanding University of Washington Campus — not to mention several watering holes that make real estate tolerable on the truly hard days.

We hope you enjoy our latest video is a walking tour of our new neighborhood. Come down for a visit when you’re at the Farmer’s market this Summer!