Mike King 
Interest Rate Volatility Continues to Challenge MarketsEarly in my career I attempted to predict interest rate movements in our newsletter. I quickly learned to stay in my lane. In fact, I often tell my clients that if they think they can predict interest rates, they should be trading bonds instead of buying real estate.
Continuing our theme from last month, the Wall Street Journal recently published an article titled The Hottest Real-Estate Play Is in Your Neighborhood. The article highlights the growing popularity of strip retail centers.
We met with many clients and industry colleagues at the ICSC shopping center convention in Las Vegas last week. Here are a few of our takeaways:
The Washington State Real Estate Excise Tax is a tax that is assessed on the sale of real estate in the state. It is generally paid by the seller, although in some cases it may be split between the buyer and seller. The tax is based on the sale price of the property, with different tax rates applicable to different price ranges.
What we’re tracking The Fed is expected to raise the federal funds rate by 50 basis points at their meeting tomorrow. Another 0.5% to 0.75% hike is expected on June 15th.
Our team recently sold the Shops at Burlington, a 185,230-square-foot outlet center. Almost everyone we talked to was familiar with the property. It is hard to miss a 19-acre property along Interstate 5. Most everyone had a story of a time they had visited the outlet mall over the course of its 30-year existence.
We recently posted about The Checklist Manifesto for Commercial Real Estate. Included below is our books & records request checklist that we use once a property is under contract.
Atul Gawande, a surgeon and best-selling author, argues in his book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, that checklists are essential for reducing errors and increasing efficiency. He cites the airline industry’s reliance on flight-related checklists – and its remarkable safety record – as evidence of the power of checklists to make processes work.
It’s 2022 and we have a brand spanking new website. It is hard to believe, but our last major redesign was 8 years ago which feels like decades ago at today’s pace of change. We started from scratch and focused on the following features:
