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FutureCast Forum Members Host VIP Encore Event At NEXUS Sales Center

By Realogics |

Over 50 Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) brokers and clients gathered on Monday afternoon for a FutureCast Forum VIP Broker Recap Event, which was held at the NEXUS Sales Center by invitation-only.

As part of their revolving monthly forum, founding members Brian O’Connor (O’Connor Consulting Group), Brian Evans (Madrona Financial Services), and Dean Jones (RSIR) kicked off their inaugural broker panel discussion with a focus on the downtown Seattle housing market, with an emphasis on the effects of job growth, empty nesters downsizing, and the additional draws of downtown living. The conversation was particularly relevant, as the event was hosted in the Sales Center for NEXUS, the only condominium project expected to deliver with occupancy in 2019.

Brian O’Connor highlighted the growing need for inventory, as he predicts apartment demand will start to decline while the desire for ownership will continue to trend upwards. O’Connor presented compelling statistics on historical and projected housing cycles, offering a macroeconomic overview of the recent booming population growth. While he notes that other economists predict a slight recession in the near future, O’Connor does not see the data to support that, but notes that most historical recessions have been caused by uncontrolled events.

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O’Connor discussed anemic inventory, growing population, and other market fundamentals during the FutureCast Forum VIP encore event.

Dean Jones highlighted the appeal and demand for downtown condominium living through the success the RSIR sales team has found with NEXUS, the 389-unit building that is already 83% pre-sold. Jones discussed the urbanization of Seattle, comparing it to the great migration of Europeans to the “new world” or New York. Instead of population growth being sourced by Europe, the Puget Sound is seeing a surge in Asian interest in real estate. In one observation, Jones noted that New York’s Downtown, Central, Park and Upper Eastside neighborhoods almost mirror the Seattle metro area’s Downtown, Lake Washington, and Eastside. Jones said many empty nesters are craving the “lock-and-leave” lifestyle that condo living affords, which allows them to easily spend months from home without worrying about maintenance whether it’s for vacation or to enjoy a second home.

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Jones shared a graph to illustrate the lack of new condominium supply, adding that most of the new inventory that will come onto the market over the next few years in downtown Seattle has already been presold.

Brian Evans, Principal and Wealth Manager of Madrona Financial Services, points out that these baby boomer investors are facing a major dilemma, as their successes in real estate have resulted in a failure in quality of life. While they dream of owning a vacation home, or traveling the world, they are tethered to investment rental properties, wondering when the next midnight call will come from a problematic tenant. Evans proposes the ultimate solution in a Delaware Statutory Trust (DST). A DST provides a solution that enables an investor to list their investment property for sale where previously they thought they were stuck due to income tax consequences. Not only can Capital Gains be deferred, under current tax law the gains can potentially be eliminated permanently for heirs.

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Evans shared the benefits of DSTs, a solution for baby boomer investors looking to retire. 

The discussion panel provided an interactive format, allowing audience members to ask questions as the enormous amount of information was presented. Upon conclusion of the presentation, brokers and clients remained to speak one-on-one with FutureCast members, in an effort to gain additional insight and information that might be helpful to clients or applicable in their own real estate endeavors.

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Following the Forum, members of RSIR stuck around to discuss key takeaways and gain additional insight from the panel of experts. 

As the first in a series, the intimate recap event provided the RSIR community with expert leader predictions that can only be found through the FutureCast Forum. Additional information around these topics and many more as they relate to Seattle can be found on Seattlein2020.com. Stay tuned for announcements and future events!