Thank you for helping us help our neighbors in need.  Every time we help you buy or sell a home, we make a donation to the Windermere Foundation which supports organizations that provide shelter, clothing and hope for families in need.  In the spirit of giving we wish you a wonderful holiday season.

This year Windermere Whatcom owners, agents, and staff put together 60 complete turkey dinners that were donated to the Dorothy House, Lydia Place, Women’s Coalition, Bellingham School District, Lynden Community Services, and local Birch Bay families. A tradition of serving our community over the holiday season, Windermere associates from every office donated the items to complete the turkey dinners and hand delivered to each of our families in need. A special thank you the Box Maker who donated the boxes to deliver our dinners!

Windermere Whatcom has been voted by our patrons and neighbors as one of the best businesses in our community and is the recipient of this year’s award, Best of KOMO Communities WINNER 2011. With all of the local competition, this was an honor being named the Best of KOMO Communities!

Ferndale’s Old Settlers Weekend is the longest continually running annual picnic in the state. Held at Pioneer Park in Ferndale during the last weekend of July, the Ferndale Heritage Society volunteers open the park’s historic cabins for public viewing. The Pioneer Days event also includes a parade, baseball tournaments, food vendors, a talent show, musical entertainment, and more.  This year, Windermere Real Estate was excited to take part in the parade featuring a float that included the Windermere kids and their parents passing out candy and waving to the spectators.

Here’s some good news if you’re looking to buy or refinance in the near future. Mortgage Rates, specifically 30-year fixed mortgage rates, are expected to stay below five percent through to next year, according to mortgage financier Fannie Mae.  The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.80 percent in the first quarter of 2011, 4.70 percent in the second quarter, and is expected to remain unchanged in the third quarter before rising back to 4.80 percent in the fourth quarter. In 2012, it’s expected to rise to 4.90 percent in the first quarter, 5.00 percent in the second quarter, 5.10 percent in the third quarter, and you guessed it, 5.20 percent in the fourth quarter.
 
“With a downgrade of the outlook for economic growth and the unemployment rate, as well as an improving inflation expectation, we now expect the Fed to postpone hiking the Fed funds rate until the second half of 2012, instead of earlier in that year,” wrote Doug Duncan in a market analysis released today.

No one has a crystal ball, but for first time home buyers they may have more buying power right now than ever with these rates and the current prices.  For investors the word is “incredible opportunity!”

Not only is Windermere the leading brokerage for selling real estate, but it’s the pride we take in making our community a better place to live that sets us apart from other companies.  Every year, Windermere Real Estate shuts our doors for the day to roll up our sleeves and make a difference in our community, lending a helping hand to an organization in need.  On Friday June 17^th, Windermere owners, brokers, and staff spent a day landscaping the grounds, and painting the interior of the Lydia Place, a women’s and children’s shelter.  With a little elbow grease, hard work, enthusiasm, and lots of fun, we were excited to be a part of making a huge difference to their residence.

This long standing tradition is held the first Saturday of June every year along Front Street in downtown Lynden.  The purpose of this parade is to pay tribute to the agricultural community of Lynden and its social and economic impact on the surrounding areas.  A parade unlike any other, the Farmer’s Day Parade boasts agricultural, commercial, organizational and plenty of community entries.  Windermere was excited to get involved and join the parade with a tractor filled with real estate agents and Windermere kids.

The Padden Triathlon is an excellent first, second, or twenty-second triathlon. The course is simple, stunning and well-staffed. They’ve made everything as simple as possible so you can focus on the event and enjoy. For those of you interested in Triathlons, this is a good one year after year! Check out http://www.Trithecookie.com for more info!

Windermere Real Estate/Whatcom Inc has a new and exciting relationship with YouTube!  Beginning May 15^th, all active listings present on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service will be launched to our specially designed Real Estate Channel. We take pride in offering our clients the most innovative marketing and successfully driving this information to popular social media outlets, such as YouTube, Zillow, Realtor.com and Craigslist. We are excited about this partnership and the opportunity to spread our company’s voice to our community!

Feel free to visit our channel and subscribe at: http://www.youtube.com/user/windermerewhatcom

Windermere Real Estate exhibited for the second year in a row at the British Columbia Real Estate Convention held March 11^th & 12^th at the Vancouver Convention Center.  More than 10,000 Canadian, Asian, and other foreign attendees learned about Real Estate opportunities throughout Western Canada, Mexico, Arizona, and Whatcom County.

Windermere was the only Northwest brokerage at the convention, and were prominently positioned throughout the event.  Windermere Realtor and KGMI’s Radio Real Estate host, Mike Kent was a keynote speaker addressing the ins and outs of purchasing and owning U.S. Real Estate.

Windermere sent a select group of cross border experts to man their booth and the strength of the Canadian Dollar and relative savings for Canadians on Whatcom County real estate resulted in exciting interest and actual sales for their Windermere clients according to Broker Wynden Holman.  Wynden added “We have recognized the very positive impact on our local market due to Canadian interest and transactions” and goes on to credit their 56% market share in the Birch Bay and Blaine areas  to Windermere’s marketing efforts to reach Canadian Buyers.