REALTORS® hear future real estate challenges at Runstad Center Dinner

Kailey WaringEvents

Board members of the Seattle King County REALTORS® gathered at the Seattle Westin last night to hear Microsoft’s Brad Smith address challenges for our region at the annual Runstad Center Leadership Dinner. The Runstad Center, part of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, has a unique program educating the next generation of real estate industry leaders.

Seattle King County REALTORS® also work with the Runstad Center as a key partner to discuss and educate our members, consumers, and legislators about the housing supply crisis in our region and proposing solutions.

“The Runstad Center plays a key role in the development of the next generation of real estate professionals. Our strong and deep industry involvement  provides our students with the skills, education and values critical to our community’s continued success,” said Anne Lawler, Board Chair and Peter Orser, Acting Director of the Runstad Center.

Our success as a community is not without its challenges, and keynote speaker Brad Smith, President & Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft, addressed some of these challenges. “At a time when it’s easy to be frustrated by discord and lack of progress, [we need to] come together as a community to address these problems [such as traffic, loss of middle income jobs, rising home prices, homelessness], said Smith. “It takes more than great buildings to have a great community. We need to have a great infrastructure to make the vitality of those building comes to life.”

REALTORS® continue to be on the forefront of these regional challenges, offering insight and proposing solutions. Sam DeBord, President-elect of Seattle King County REALTORS®, said of the event “We support the Runstad Center and its leadership in shaping our housing future. Working with others, REALTORS® can help achieve a more balanced approach in meeting the needs of today’s housing market.”