article thumbnail

Seattle mayor proposes legislation to help convert commercial real estate for residential uses

GeekWire

(GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wants to make it easier for property owners to convert their commercial buildings for residential use, amid a backdrop of a shaky commercial real estate market and the threat of decreased tax revenue for cities. Read Harrell’s full office conversion proposal below.

article thumbnail

Zillow and Redfin earnings reports reflect slumping real estate market

GeekWire

(Redfin and Zillow Photos) Redfin and Zillow Group ‘s second-quarter earnings reports point to more pain in the real estate market as limited housing supply and climbing mortgage rates throttle transaction volume. The company’s real estate services division, its primary source of revenue, dropped more than 28% to $180.6

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Redfin CEO says housing downturn made real estate giant ‘leaner, hungrier and better’

GeekWire

But the Seattle real estate giant sees some silver linings. “We wouldn’t wish a housing downturn on anyone, but it has made Redfin leaner, hungrier and better,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in the company’s first quarter earnings release. Kelman said the company’s 2023 budgeting assumption predicts 4.3

article thumbnail

Former AWS real estate managers, accused of taking millions in kickbacks, challenge Amazon’s motives amid FBI investigation

GeekWire

Eleven data center deals are now the subject of a suit by Amazon vs. two former AWS real estate managers and others. Two of the participants in the August 2017 meeting — Casey Kirschner, an AWS real estate manager, and Carl Nelson, Kirschner’s boss and mentor — were leading that physical expansion for Amazon.

article thumbnail

Seattle considers expanding ‘JumpStart’ tax on big businesses to plug budget deficit

GeekWire

The city this week released findings from a report detailing ideas for progressive taxes to help plug a budget gap that is expected to reach $221 million in 2025 and grow by another $207 million in 2026. ” The JumpStart tax currently applies to salaries over $174,000 annually at companies with yearly payroll expenses of $8.1

Budget 97
article thumbnail

Seattle office market continues to struggle as vacancy rates rise for ninth consecutive quarter

GeekWire

Companies are reducing real estate footprints with the adoption of hybrid work policies. At the same time, the tech downturn that began in 2022 caused many companies to trim expenses and lay off workers, reducing the need for office space. Before the pandemic, vacancy rates in the Seattle region were around 6%.

article thumbnail

Commercial furniture and equipment procurement platform Source snags $8.5M

GeekWire

Source CEO Nicole Schmidt says the hospitality industry has been a driver of growth amid the broader real estate market slowdown. based startup that helps architectural and design firms procure interior design products for commercial real estate projects, raised $8.5 Source Photo) Source , a Portland, Ore.-based