Executives at Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) announced today the addition of veteran brokers Rebecca Mitsui and Tom Skepetaris to the firm’s expanding Builder Services Group within RSIR’s fast-growing New Developments division. The highly experienced duo was also appointed to RSIR’s Strategic Advisory Council to further their valued industry contributions within a new paradigm of development opportunities.
“We are elated to have attracted Tom and Rebecca to RSIR and lead a turnkey solution for builders to identify land, design and develop distinct product lines, and then retail new homes like no other,” said Dean Jones, President and CEO of RSIR. “I have tremendous respect for their accomplishments, and for the innovations that they will bring into this division. The timing of our alignment could not be better as we enjoy exclusive technology and builder matchmaking services precipitated by the House Bill 1110 mandate throughout the region.”
Jones pointed to Tom and Rebecca’s matchless performance drawing upon more than 25 years of experience in the new-home sales ecosystem and closing 3,700+ unit transactions. According to a Northwest Multiple Listing Service (“NWMLS”) report, since January 2020 the team ranked #1 for Rebecca Mitsui and #2 for Tom Skepetaris for listing units with more than 1,000 units sold, pending, and actively listed—representing more than $800 million of inventory. Most of this production is new construction housing including townhomes, single-family, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs), mostly through Seattle’s in-city neighborhoods.
“Accessing this level of market knowledge and builder relationships in the local industry makes Tom and Rebecca’s contributions to our Strategic Advisory Council deeply important,” added Jones. “Our team provides the builder community a one-stop-shop from initial concept to final closing. We can help grow their enterprise too with access to capital markets, distinctive mortgage products, and award-winning marketing solutions.”
The timing of this alignment is ideal. Jones recently announced an exclusive licensing agreement signed with Realtie Intelligence Evolution–a property evaluation platform and builder matchmaker enterprise to help RSIR brokers optimize and scale throughout Washington State associated with House Bill 1110. Under the legislation, all municipalities must conform with upzoning their single-family lots to allow multiple dwelling units by July 1, 2025, which is anticipated to become a bonanza for brokers and builders alike in this gold rush of development.
“We are simply better together,” said Mitsui. “We explored our options and found our new home at Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. The opportunity that is before us is unprecedented. We couldn’t be more excited!”
Mitsui was drawn to RSIR’s culture of collaboration, vertically integrated marketing, advertising agency CLAY, and the deep bench of experience with new developments.
“In addition to exclusive business development tools offered by Realtie’s technology, we will enjoy a treasure trove of capable brokers to help promote and represent our listings,” said Skepetaris. “This is a goldilocks moment for our growing team not just here in Washington State, but eventually everywhere the Sotheby’s International Realty brand seeks to build out similar builder services.”
Skepetaris noted that progressive upzoning like House Bill 1110 is highly likely in many other municipalities as the US continues to suffer from a lack of affordable housing. By specializing in the entire process from “dirt to door,” as Mitsui opined, RSIR is primed to identify thousands of development prospects in the coming years and targets more than 10,000 housing units by the end of the decade.
“Given the massive housing shortfall we are experiencing, I anticipate that local builders are set to become very active,” said Matthew Gardner, a leading real estate economist in the region and a fellow member of the RSIR Strategic Advisory Council. “This is a timely combination of policy, technology, marketing prowess, and human capital. The team that RSIR has assembled is undoubtedly well positioned to service the tremendous wave of development that is expected following HB1110.”
Gardner noted that The Puget Sound Regional Council predicts nearly 6 million residents will be living in the region by 2050, necessitating 46,000 new housing units immediately and an estimated 810,000 over the next 25 years. He said the most urgent need is micro-housing projects in existing neighborhoods, especially as high-rise condominium developments are proving to be elusive, in part because of construction liability risk for the declarant, as well as the significant cost in developing this product type. House Bill 1403 is currently working its way through the WA State Legislature in hopes of attracting more developers to play their role in building more for-sale housing.
“We are very fortunate to have insights from our Strategic Advisory Council to offer thought leadership on all these matters, and Tom and Rebecca are going to find themselves in some very intriguing conversations that will lead to a plethora of opportunities,” concluded Jones. “I’m confident that our team will be invited to the table with think tanks for municipal governments, family offices, local institutions, and other land interests to help envision, entitle, develop, market, and sell many innovative products in what I believe is going to be a very compelling chapter ahead for all involved. The excitement is building.”
RSIR’s Strategic Advisory Council is comprised of industry thought leaders, including:
- Dean Jones, President & CEO of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty
- Trevor Jones, President Emeritus of T. Jones Enterprises
- Tadashi Shiga, Executive Director of the RSIR Land Division and Co-Founder of Realtie
- Kelly Mann, Executive Director of RSIR Development Strategy
- Dehlan Gwo, Vice President of RSIR New Developments
- Rebecca Mitsui, RSIR Builder Services Group and Tom & Rebecca Team
- Tom Skepetaris, RSIR Builder Services Group and Tom & Rebecca Team
- William Justen, President of Justen Company
- Matthew Gardner, Principal of Gardner Economics
- Kurt Owen, Senior Vice President and Wealth Management Portfolio Manager of UBS
Watch a recent interview with Tom Skepateris and Rebecca Mitsui below.