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As a leader in our Tri-Cities Real Estate Market Windermere Tri-Cities prides itself on staying up to date on both our local economy as well as the national economy.  Lately all the signs are showing that the national economy is beginning to stabilize and show more consumer confidence.  The Fannie Mae reports from April of 2012 show more detail into that growing confidence and Home Value Stabilization.  Read the full article below.  For more detailed information on our local housing market and economy contact a Windermere Tri-Cities agent today, call 509.783.8811.

Fannie Mae: Confidence in Economy and Home Values Increasing

05/07/12 By:  Esther Cho

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Windermere Real Estate/Tri-Cities is always eager to spread the word about great events and community activities happening in our area.  Read below to learn about the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive taking place on Saturday, May 12, 2012.  A big thank you goes out to our local area letter carriers for doing their part in helping fight hunger in the Tri-Cities.

Tri-City letter carriers to collect food
By KRISTI PIHL — TRI-CITY HERALD STAFF WRITER
Posted: 3:22am on May 11, 2012 2012-05-07T21:24:40Z
KRISTI PIHL Tri-City_Herald

Tri-City letter carriers will carry food in addition to letters on Sat., May 12 as part of the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
The U.S. Postal Service holds the food drive nationwide to collect food for area food banks. An estimated one in six Americans go without food, according to a news release.
To participate, leave a bag of non-perishable food where your letter carrier normally delivers your mail on Saturday. Your letter carrier will then pick up and deliver the food to a local food bank.
Examples of non-perishable items include cans of soup, meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, juices, boxed food such as cereal, pasta and rice.
For more information about the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office or go to either www.helpstampouthunger.com or www.facebook.com/StampOutHunger.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, having collected more than 1 billion pounds of food since its inception in 1993. In 2011, Americans donated 70.2 million pounds of food, which marked the eighth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds were collected.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/11/1931812/tri-city-letter-carriers-to-collect.html#storylink=rss#wgt=rss#storylink=cpy

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As the Tri-City area continues to grow so does our need for quality medical facilities.  We are happy to share this exciting news and look forward to seeing the new facility.  If you have any questions about the development around the new hospital please contact one our Windermere Tri-Cities agents in our Kennewick location at 509.783.8811.  Read below to see more details on the new hospital.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                      For more information:

April 20, 2012                                                                                                                     Heidi Taffera, (425) 269-9981

KGH COMMISSIONERS ANNOUNCE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HOSPITAL TO BEGIN

KGH Commissioners today announced financing has been secured to begin construction on a new hospital at its Southridge campus, which will provide the community with a much-needed, long-anticipated new facility. The project is expected to begin next week and take up to 24 months.

“Our community has waited a long time for this announcement, and we know they are as excited by this as we are,” said Commission President Jim Mefford. “The Tri-Cities community continues to grow at a rapid rate. Plans for hundreds of new homes, apartments, a commercial district, retail and upscale restaurants and a multimillion-dollar sports complex in Southridge confirms the need for more health services close to home. Our new 74-bed hospital at Southridge, complemented by our 27-bed facility at Auburn, will ensure that we will be able to continue to provide quality health care services to this growing community close to home.”

The new Southridge campus also will house a medical office building with physician offices that will open shortly before the main hospital. The hospital and medical office building will occupy about half of KGH’s 40-acre Southridge property, which is located at the center of where much of the Tri-Cities’ future growth is expected to happen. With convenient highway access, the campus can be easily reached by people living in Benton and Franklin Counties, as well as Northeast Oregon.

The new hospital will be three stories high with nearly 200,000 sq. feet of space, replacing an outdated, cramped facility that is 60 years old. By updating and expanding its hospital facilities, KGH will be able to accommodate new technologies and replace overcrowded patient rooms with single-occupancy rooms. The size of the emergency department will increase from 14 to 27 rooms, the intensive care unit will more than double in size from six to 14 beds and surgery will have six rooms, in addition to the three surgical rooms that will remain in operation on the Auburn campus. The oncology and cardiology departments will be relocated to Southridge, as well as the Joint Replacement Center.

The Southridge campus is just three miles from KGH’s Auburn facility, which will continue to house its recently remodeled Family Birth Center and an expanded urgent care center. Current doctors will remain onsite, as will administrative offices.

 KGH also operates a third campus at the Medical Mall near the Toyota Center and Vista Field in West Kennewick. The Medical Mall offers ambulatory services, physician practices, outpatient surgery, as well as OP imaging, a retail pharmacy and a new, state-of-the-art Endoscopy Center.

The hospital is expected to cost up to $112 million to finance, construct and equip. It will employ about 250 family-wage construction jobs, with about 80 percent of those jobs going to workers living in the Tri-Cities area, and generate more than $7.6 million in local wages. Once built, the new hospital will create an additional 100 permanent, direct healthcare jobs. Currently, KGH employs 1,179 people, with an annual impact on the community of $87 million which includes payroll, benefits and taxes.

The new hospital facility is just one aspect of how KGH is growing its healthcare services to meet the community’s long-term needs. Over the past four years, KGH has hired 36 new physicians at KGH Physician Clinics, nearly doubling its medical staff to 80. KGH currently has over 270 providers on staff.  It has expanded services by systematically developing a network of urgent care and walk-in clinics, which served 40,693 patients in 2011. Its walk-in, after-hours pediatric clinic – the only one in the area – alone served 2,684 patients last year.

“We are excited about the plans to move forward,” said Commissioner Wanda Briggs. “Our new hospital, along with all the other services we offer, ensures that our community will have access to the quality healthcare it needs and deserves. This project also will continue to ensure that residents in the Tri-Cities will have a choice of healthcare providers and we believe that is of great benefit to our area. We are so proud of the partnership we have with our district residents, and the support they offer us.”

“KGH has a compelling growth story,” said Tom Baker, Chairman of C.D. Smith Construction, Inc., the general contractor and financier for the Southridge project. “The community is rapidly growing and demanding availability of quality, health care services close to home so people don’t leave the community to receive care. We recognize that KGH needs to expand in order to continue to deliver quality care to the community.  From the beginning, we knew KGH represented an attractive project management and investment opportunity.  It has a solid track record in the region, not only in terms of management and operations, but also in its deep relationships with the community it serves. We are pleased to participate in this exciting project.”

C.D. Smith Construction Inc., founded in 1936, is a large privately held construction firm with an area of expertise in building state-of-the-art healthcare facilities nationwide. 

“We developed a financing structure that allows KGH to own the hospital operations and the hospital license. We will lease the building from the private investor group and have the opportunity to buy it in 10 years. That is what we intend to do. This is a model that works well for us and one that we can afford. It also allows us to free up capital to enhance services at the same time,” said Glen Marshall CEO at KGH.

Private sector financing is commonly used in the health care industry from publicly traded hospitals to community-owned facilities.  KGH worked with Healthcare Development Partners, one of the nation’s largest, privately held, full-service, design-build, healthcare real estate companies, to secure a private investor group to finance and build the hospital. HDP has successfully developed more than $1.5 billion in healthcare real estate for a variety of clients. 

Sincerely,

Glen Marshall

Chief Executive Officer

Kennewick General Hospital

900 South Auburn Street

Kennewick, WA 99336

 Work:  509.586.5827

Cell:    509.378.9347 

Fax:     509.586.5892

email: glen.marshall@kphd.org

web:   kennewickgeneral.com

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More good news coming from the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey of 2012.  Although the Tri-City market has stayed strong through the many ups and downs of the National Housing Market news, it is always beneficial to hear the overall morale of the nation is rising as the housing market stabilized, this news will only continue to strengthen what is already a consistent and stable market in the Tri-Cities area.  Contact a Windermere Tri-Cities agent to find out the latest local market information, 509.783.8811. 

Consumer Attitudes Stabilize, Positivity Spreads

Posted By susanne On March 14, 2012 @ 3:56 pm In Business Outlook,Consumer News and Advice,Finance and Economy,Real Estate Trends,Today’s Marketplace,Today’s Top Story,Today’s Top Story -

 Americans’ concerns about key economic and housing issues are beginning to subside, according to results from Fannie Mae’s February 2012 National Housing Survey.

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The National Housing Survey is once again showing the strength of home ownership versus renting.  Although Windermere Tri-Cities understands there is a need for both buyers and renters, and that is why we have a entire division of our company that can help you with your  property management/renting needs.  As well as 50+ highly skilled and trained agents that are actively working to stay in tune with what our local market is doing. Windermere Tri-Cities is here to help and guide you through the buying or renting process and we have professionals to help you all along the way.  For all your buying or renting questions contact a Windermere Tri-Cities agent today and find out what our local market is doing.  Call 509.783.8811 we are here to help you with all your real estate needs! The article below summarized what the National Housing Survey is saying for 2012, check it out.

National Housing Survey 2012

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 04:00 AM PDT

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Spring has Sprung and things are buzzing around the Windermere Tri-Cities Office.  It seems the recent nice weather days and sunshine have put a spring in everyone’s step.  Although the Tri-Cities has had a relatively mild winter, it is still a nice treat to see longer days and sunshine coming our way.  This is such a neat time of year for sellers and buyers to sell or find their perfect home.  Homes are at their best when the lawn starts greening up and the flowers start to bloom!  Our Windermere Tri-Cities agents are here to help you with all of your home purchasing or selling needs.  Here are some helpful points to remember,  from our friends at KCM Blog, in regards to the spring market.  Remember our Windermere Real Estate/Tri-Cities experts are here to help you, call an agent today 509.783.8811 

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Windermere Tri-Cities – The Southridge area is booming with growth and is poised for continual growth both residential and commercial.  Currently Windermere Tri-Cities represents three builders in that area, Pahlisch Homes, Landmark Homes, and Sullivan Rowell are all building residential homes in that area.  Will future plans including many more phases of homes, the hospital, and continued commercial building it is easy to see that Kennewick will have its own city within a city in the coming years.  If you have any questions and would like to take a tour of the upcoming Southridge area please contact Windermere Tri-Cities today to set up a tour with one of our experienced agents, call 509.783.8811.  The article below is from our local Tri-City Herald and offers a much more in depth look at what is in store for the Southridge Development.

tricityherald.com / News / Mid-Columbia News
 
Published Sunday, Mar. 18, 2012
Modified Sun, Mar 18, 2012 07:53 AM 4 Comments
Kennewick looks to Southridge for growth
By John Trumbo, Tri-City Herald
   
 Paul T. Erickson/Tri-City Herald – Kathy and Perry Smith were the first on their block to move in last September at the Sagecrest subdivision in the Southridge area of Kennewick. They hope to still have a good view toward Southridge High School as the neighborhood continues to grow and develop around them.
KENNEWICK Ten years ago, the Southridge area was an empty landscape, an unimpressive back door to Kennewick.
Northbound motorists had three landmarks to interrupt the monotony of Highway 395 and Interstate 82.
The first was the isolated outpost of the Washington State Patrol, cueing drivers to slow to 55 mph.
Then the Southridge High School campus sat to the west across amid acres of dry, wind-weathered grass.
Finally, the towering Walmart sign at 27th Avenue, signaling to motorists the necessities of a traveler’s life were almost within reach: fuel, food and motels.
But all that is changing, with more on the way soon.
Today, a masonry sign, “Welcome to Kennewick, Washington Wine Country,” serves as the city’s southern gateway greeting.
The 9/11 Memorial stands as a sentry and symbol of community pride at the edge of the city, and a sports complex with pavilion show passers-by that Kennewick has more to offer than strip malls and stoplights.
With plans for hundreds of new homes, apartments, a commercial district, retail and upscale restaurants, a multimillion-dollar sports complex and a community hospital, Southridge is on the grow.
“It is our future,” said Mayor Steve Young.
The city is plowing $13.6 million into the earth: building roads and installing water and sewer lines to ensure that Southridge will attract investors, businesses and people.
This summer will see Southridge spring to life with baseball and softball tournaments, as well as soccer matches at the newly opened municipal fields. On Thursday, a $3.2 million pavilion officially opens its doors to indoor sports and other events.
Also this year, major road construction is planned for Southridge Boulevard, Ridgeline Drive and Hildebrand Boulevard, including two new roundabouts.
Developer Matt Smith of Bend, Ore., is pushing ahead on the second phase of homes in Sagecrest, with a third phase planned. And developers Milo Bauder and Robert Young have started earthwork for their residential project west of Sherman Street and north of 36th Avenue.
Commercial developer Dean Maldonado has 200 acres of commercial property at Southridge, with deals already secured with Taco Bell and Comfort Suites.
“We’ve got $1.8 million under contract, just waiting for the hospital to go,” he said.
Maldonado also has 41 acres of residential land across from Southridge High poised for development this summer. The preliminary plat application is for 50 homes.
A long time coming
The Southridge vision is an echo of what Kennewick’s city leaders were saying six decades ago.
“Growth of Kennewick Since Origin Has Been Astounding,” read a headline in the Tri-City Herald in February 1950.
Then, Kennewick’s 12,000 residents reflected phenomenal growth, having bloomed from a town of less than 2,000 people in 1918.
Post-war prosperity and optimism prompted the chamber of commerce to boast in 1950 that the fledgling city offered home-seekers and investors “the brightest prospects of any city of comparable size in the nation.”
The chamber also promoted the city as having “a temperate climate, ideal community life and unbounded opportunities.” Those themes continue to be sung by the Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau.
Jim Beaver, Kennewick’s mayor for 12 years, said his grandfather used to take him to a hill where Southridge is today and point to the empty fields to the north and west.
Where the young man saw nothing in particular, the elder Beaver envisioned rooftops “as far as the eye could see.”
What Beaver’s grandfather saw then is what current leaders see coming soon.
The 2,500 acres in the current Southridge Subarea Plan call for developing 7,200 new homes on 1,360 acres with about 200 acres of commercial property.
Inevitable growth
“Cities grow, they just do,” said Bob Spaulding, the eight-year chairman of Kennewick’s planning commission.
“Early on, we were talking about Southridge being a super center for commercial and retail,” Spaulding said.
The idea was to have a planned community called Southridge Village.
City staff began talking a decade ago with property owners on how to design a community where people could work, live and play in close proximity.
But the city had a full to-do list that included deciding the future of Vista Field, building a $19 million convention center, taking on an antique carousel project, extending Steptoe Street, revitalizing downtown and developing Columbia Park.
Young, who was on the planning commission and the Kennewick General Hospital Foundation board at the time, said the city simply had too much going on and nothing was getting finished.
“The council was out of funds, and there were other priorities,” said Young, who was appointed to the council in 2010.
With the change in city leadership, which included a new city manager, planning director, mayor and three new council members, came a shift in priorities.
Young, who had become mayor, said the focus was to start getting projects done, beginning with Southridge.
“We wanted to make it more than a sports complex, but a mixed-use area with a new Kennewick General Hospital and retail,” Young said.
When Kennewick qualified for local revitalization money from the state, the council knew it had a means to build the Southridge dream.
“Economics is what is driving Southridge now,” said Spaulding.
Steve Young agrees. “There can be no other future for the city than to grow south,” he said.
City growth was hemmed in by the Columbia River on the north and Richland to the west. And on the east side is a cobbled mix of land uses and rural county roads that would make growth difficult.
Southridge’s untouched landscape offers a blank slate for the new vision of “retail, restaurants and rooftops to support it,” said Jeff Kossow, the city’s economic director.
He receives two to three calls a week from developers interested in Southridge.
“They see Kennewick as the most progressive community in the region, hearing that development is welcome here. We are not ag, and we are not research- and service-oriented. Our leaders are looking to growth, not to stifle it,” Kossow said.
Planning Director Greg McCormick said cities such as Kennewick, which don’t have a well-established and recognized downtown area, typically have “nodes of activity.”
In Kennewick, that would include the original downtown and Columbia Drive, Columbia Center mall and areas along Clearwater Avenue and at 27th Avenue and Highway 395.
“Land-use patterns change over time,” he said. And as Southridge develops, jobs will follow.
“It will take time, but things will change. I can see a spin-off with medical facilities,” he said, based on the new Kennewick General Hospital building planned for there.
The first to arrive
Vonda and Greg Smith, owners of Z Place on Zintel Place, chose to build their salon and spa in the Southridge area in December 2010, believing it was where Kennewick’s next big growth spurt would be.
“At first, it was a little scary being way out here in the tumbleweeds,” Vonda Smith said.
It was one of the first businesses to take hold in the Southridge area. Vonda Smith said being right off Highway 395 and not far from the Canyon Lakes housing community has been a boon for her business that had been on Clearwater Avenue for almost 23 years.
“As soon as the hospital goes up, this area will grow like crazy,” she said.
On the west side of Highway 395, the Meadow Hills Veterinary Clinic opened in the fall of 2009. Veterinarians Susan Thorson and Janine Swailes selected Southridge for their second Tri-City clinic based on the city’s plan that predicted 7,200 homes eventually would be built there.
“We wanted a good location where there wasn’t another clinic within several miles. And there’s no other direction the city could grow,” Swailes said.
Six months ago, Perry and Kathy Smith were the first on their block to move into one of the new homes under construction just west of the clinic.
The retired couple have a wide-angle view of Southridge’s open spaces from their back deck in the Sagecrest subdivision.
“This seemed to be a good fit for us,” said Kathy Smith. They lived 35 years in the Tri-City Heights neighborhood off Canal Drive, deciding to move after their four daughters were raised.
“When we were growing up, people were selling land out here, and we said, ‘Who would buy out there? There will never be any houses out there,’ ” she said. “But now it looks like there will be a lot more houses,” she said.
‘It is all new business’
Kim Shugart, senior vice president for the Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau, believes the development of Southridge will enrich more than just one neighborhood.
“Southridge will have salons, tasting rooms and the sports complex. And the indoor facility is a big plus to the region,” Shugart said. “The way they’ve planned Southridge, we will have more tournaments coming. It is all new business.”
One weekend tournament attracting 1,500 people can add $187,000 to the region’s economy, she said.
“We are becoming a much more vibrant community, more cosmopolitan. The things we’re doing for visitors (at Southridge) provides a much better quality of life for our citizens,” Shugart said.
Tim Dalton, executive director for the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership, believes developing Southridge will benefit the city as a whole, particularly the downtown.
“More people at Southridge will mean more people downtown, especially as the (Port of Kennewick) develops on Clover Island and along Columbia Drive,” he said.
Ann Steiger, owner of Old Roxy Theater Antiques and Gifts in downtown Kennewick, agreed.
“The city has made a huge investment in Southridge. It is part of their overall plan. The downtown and riverfront area is another part of the plan. If we do our work correctly, Southridge will encourage people to our side of Kennewick,” she said.
City Manager Marie Mosley said Southridge is a top priority but not the only one. “It doesn’t mean the rest of Kennewick isn’t important too. This will help sustain the whole community,” she said.
Mosley said Southridge is coming together well despite the general economic downturn nationwide.
“We would’ve liked to see things progress quicker, but it has been difficult for some of these developers to get financing,” she said.
What is happening at Southridge reminds mayor Young of what Harold Thompson encountered when people told him no one would buy a home way out where he was developing a golf course community called Canyon Lakes. The successful upscale development sits east of Southridge along Highway 395.
“If you don’t have a vision for it, you’ll never know if it can happen,” Young said.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/03/18/1869527/kennewick-looks-to-southridge.html#storylink=cpy

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Windermere Tri-Cities “Item of Value”

With a strong local market and consistent activity, the Tri-Cities area is truly unique.  At times the national statistics do not apply to our area but it is still very important that we educate ourselves and compare them to our own local numbers.  This week Windermere Tri-Cities would like to share what we like to call an “Item of Value”, we hope you find this to be a valuable resource in making your decision to buy/sell  now or buy/sell later.  Remember Windermere Tri-Cities can help you with your Real Estate needs and questions we are only a phone call away, call us today 509.783.8811.

Is Now the Time to Buy or Sell?

 With spring on the horizon, many people are beginning to think about selling their homes. Even those not currently considering a move are curious about the state of the American housing market.

 More than 80% of Americans view housing as critical to the nation’s economic recovery, and nearly 70% feel that a presidential candidate’s position on housing will be an important consideration in the voting booth¹.  Whether you’re thinking of buying, selling or are actively involved in the market, the statistics below will give a clearer perspective of the state of the market.

 Current National Trends in Housing

70% of Americans view owning a home as part of the American Dream^2.

62% of consumers feel that buying a home in the current market is a good investment over the next 10 years³.^.

$190,000: Median home price, ⁴ up from $170,000 the previous year^5.

$155,000: Median home price of first-time buyers⁴

$219,500: Median home price of repeat buyers⁴

Home ownership rate rose to 66.1% in Q3 2011, up from 66.0% in Q2 2011.⁶

95% of metro areas are expected to see home prices rise in the next year.⁷

75.1% of homeowners state that their home defines their identity.^1.

 Talk to Your Real Estate Professional Today

While these figures provide an overview of the national market, keep in mind that your local market may differ.  Consult your trusted real estate professional for more information about your local market. 

 Sources: 

1. Move, Inc.

2. Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2011

3. Bank of America:  Mortgage Index Study, December 8, 2011

4. National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers 2011

5. National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers 2010

6. National Association of REALTORS

7. CNN Money, November 4, 2011

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We are happy to announce our continued support of the 3rd Annual A PINK NIGHT TO REMEMBER event held March 24th at the TRAC Expo Center. Windermere Tri-Cities is proud to partner inthe efforts to fight back against breast cancer and we look forward to helping the Making Strides group grow this event to an even bigger and better success.  Windermere Tri-Cities is once again sponsoring a table and we will be there to enjoy the social hour, and dinner for an evening of fun to help fight breast cancer.  If you need more information please contact us at 509.783.8811 and we will put in contact with Making Strides.  Mark your calendars for March 24th at 5:00 pm at the TRAC Expo Center in Pasco.

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Windermere Tri-Cities is always pleased to hear positive feedback from our community and we are honored to do business in the Tri-Cities.  The partnership with HAPO thru the Community Enrichment Foundation is going to be a driving force in giving back to the Tri-Cities area . The recent $15,000 donation to the Kennewick Police Department was highlighted in the Tri-City Herald Editorial Board, to read the full article see below.

Our Voice

Thumbs Up – Electrifying Development

To HAPO Community Credit Union and Windermere Tri-Cities for their contribution of $15,000 to ensure all 90 commissioned Kennewick police officers will be equipped with a Taser.

Chief Ken Hohenbers said the Tasers already in use have decreased the number of injuries to police from those who tried to resist arrest.

Putting this tool in the hands of every officer means fewer injuries yet.  The men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our community deserve the best tools available.

Tri-City Herald Editorial Board

Greg McConnell, publisher