Real Estate Show Updates with Tina Grimes RVAR

Full Video Transcript Below

Real Estate Show with Tina Grimes June 2023

Alice Lema: [00:00:00] Well, hey, Southern Oregon, welcome back to the Real Estate Show. So glad you could join us today. I'm Alice Lema. I'm a broker here in beautiful southern Oregon with John L. Scott Real Estate, and today we're welcoming back Tina Grimes from the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors. She's the CEO and Chief Operating Officer of our local real estate agent organization and she's gonna bring us up to speed on some of the things that are happening at the national level and also statewide and locally. It's very interesting. Always fun to get an update from Tina Grimes of Rogue Valley Association of Realtors.

In the meantime, let's take a quick look at our local statistics. This week, Josephine County prices year over year are down 7%, the average single family residential home in Josephine County will now cost you $421,377. The number of solds year over year in Josephine County are down 27%. The number of [00:01:00] listings year over year in Josephine County are down 11%. We had zero closings for short sales. Zero foreclosures closed, and zero million dollar closings in Josephine County this week.

Jackson County prices year over year are down 5%. The average single family residential home will now cost you $498,803 in Jackson County. The number of sold year over year in Jackson County are down 51%. But that's looking to change shortly. The number of listings year over year in Jackson County are down 12%, and we had one foreclosure close in Jackson County this week for $318,000 in White City. It was a double wide on nine acres. We had zero short sales closed in Jackson County this week, but we did have a 1 million closing in Jackson County this week, 1.1 million in Gold Hill. It was five acres on the Rogue River. [00:02:00] With a 4,500 square foot house. I saw that one. It was amazing.

Klamath Falls prices year over year are up 5% to an average $358,437. Congratulations. Klamath Falls, you're coming back up. The number of solds in Klamath Falls year over year are down 40%. The number of listings in Klamath Falls year over year are down 6%, and we had zero foreclosure, zero short sales and zero million dollar. Closings in Klamath Falls this week.

So folks, you can see it's starting to look like we're bottoming out. That's why we check these every week. We're gonna welcome Tina Grimes from the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors and talk to her about some of the market changes as well as what's going on with the local agents in the valley and also what's happening nationally in real estate. Stay tuned. We'll be right back after a quick word from our sponsors. [00:03:00]

Well, hey, Southern Oregon. Welcome back to the Real Estate Show. We're here with Tina Grimes today. She's the CEO and Chief Operating Officer of the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors, our local group. Thank you so much for coming back on the show, Tina.

Tina Grimes: Always a pleasure.

Alice Lema: So we haven't had a chance to circle back with you since before the holidays, so we have a lot to catch up on with our local realtor organization.

Tina Grimes: Yeah, sounds good. Yeah, we got. A whole lot going on.

Alice Lema: So let's start with right now, because right now we have kind of a weird market. But it's, it's trying to settle down. And then we also have this month as being national home ownership month. Which is always near and dear to our hearts as realtors.

Tina Grimes: Of course. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, the, the market right now, I don't know what to make of it. It's strange. [00:04:00] Cuz prices, well, it depends on which area of the valley you look at. In some places prices aren't coming down at all yet. Other places prices are starting to come down. Days on market is definitely going up. It is taking longer to sell things. And a lot of that I think has to do with the interest rate. And, but because there's not a frenzy, buyers are taking time to be more selective since they are gonna have to spend more money to do it.

Alice Lema: Yeah. Yep. Then there's that.

Tina Grimes: So yeah, so it's just, it's interesting. And that's the thing. So you can look at the overall number for the counties, for both Jackson and Josephine County. And that's one story. But then when you start digging into the individual communities within that county, it's, they all tell radically different stories. White City is night and day different from Jacksonville, which is night and day different than Talent, which I mean, it is just crazy. So, Yeah.

Alice Lema: Yep. And that's what a bumpy market looks like. A lot of volatility of a [00:05:00] lot of variety. Yeah. So one of the things you guys do is you track how many agents are coming in and going out before we leave today, would love to get some numbers on that.

Tina Grimes: Actually, I just was looking at those numbers yesterday for a, a committee meeting I was having. So I, I know, got 'em off the top of my head. We actually, so our overall membership count is staying pretty steady, but we have definitely seen a dramatic decrease in the number of new members coming in. This time last, in the first quarter of last year, we had 55 new members join, and in the first quarter of this year it was 32, so

yeah, it almost went down to half. And our annual dues billing is coming up, so we'll see how many people. Decide that that's their time to get outta the business. We'll see. It'll be, it's gonna be an interesting dues billing cycle.

Alice Lema: So, and that's kind of how we know, because a lot of people will just make their [00:06:00] decision at that point. Interesting.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. When you get a $680 bill in the mail, that can make your, make or break your decision.

Alice Lema: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Well, we all think you're worth it, but Yep. I totally, I totally get it. Yeah, totally get it.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. If somebody's, you know, kind of just barely hanging on, that can, that can be the dis, that can be a big deciding factor.

Alice Lema: So. Yeah. But one of the things that, that money goes to support is ongoing education, isn't it? Isn't that a lot of what you guys do?

Tina Grimes: Yeah. So, and that's one thing, this is more for our members than the general public, but one thing that the members may not realize, we, you know, you get that bill. We only keep a portion of that cuz we are actually collecting the dues for not only us, but the state and national associations at the same time.

Alice Lema: Really?

Tina Grimes: So out of for so you're the bill that you guys are all gonna get next Tuesday, it's $681 this year and we're only gonna keep $195 of that.

Alice Lema: Oh my gosh. That's nothing.

Tina Grimes: Everything else goes either [00:07:00] to state or to national. So For the, what you get from us at the local level. We make sure we have enough continuing ed classes that you shouldn't ever have to pay for a, an education class to renew your license. We so tons of education, tons of just business development, even if it doesn't qualify for CE credit we try to do Quite a bit of that. And then we also enforce the code of ethics and help provide mediation and ombudsman services. We do a lot of advocacy with local legislators and connecting and just making sure.

You know that if they're talking about doing something that impacts housing or property rights that they have, and it's not that we go in automatically opposed to everything. We just wanna have the conversation of, have you really thought through all the ramifications of this? . In fact, I just learned about one at lunch today that we're gonna be reaching out to the city of Ashland and having a [00:08:00] conversation cuz they're considering banning natural gas in all new construction.

Alice Lema: Oh my goodness.

Tina Grimes: Yeah, so that could be, and, and you know, I, I, I actually haven't sat down with them to find out why or what their reasoning is, what the stat that they have. But that's the thing. We wanna just sit down and have the conversation with them and say, okay. What's, what's behind what you're thinking is, and then have we really talked, thought about the ramifications to housing and, and, and people's livelihoods moving forward.

Alice Lema: So yeah, boy, people love their natural gas people like their gas stoves, their gas fireplace, their, their heaters. Yeah. Yeah. So is that something that a community can do?

Tina Grimes: Oh yeah, they can. And it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be that Well, I should say. Oh yeah. But what, so Eugene passed this a while ago and now is currently the city of Eugene is currently being sued over it, so.

Alice Lema: Oh, really?

Tina Grimes: Yeah. So we'll see it. We'll we will [00:09:00] see if what Ashland ends up doing, but You know, they can, they can definitely set, that would just be part of basically building codes for new construction, cuz they wouldn't be to link people with existing natural gas in their homes that they have to take it out. That wouldn't be what it is. Would just be, it wouldn't be allowed moving forward. Wow.

Alice Lema: And new houses are so expensive. Most people really want at least a gas range and a gas furnace, if not also a gas fireplace. Interesting. Well, this is why we like talking to you. Cause you are, you are on the edge of all things that are happening in real estate land for sure. So yeah. Maybe later in the year you can come back and we'll talk about how that worked out with Ashland. It'd be interesting in a month or two or three. Yeah.

Tina Grimes: Love to, in fact, like You know, I could bring a couple people with me that more knowledgeable about this than I am, and they could talk about some of the other local issues that are going on that impact property rights and [00:10:00] real estate.

Alice Lema: I know one, that one that comes up surprisingly often in the legislator is the deduction for mortgage yeah to deduct your mortgage. So why is it important for people to have a deduction for their mortgage, do you think?

Tina Grimes: So unfortunately the screen froze on me, so I didn't catch the first part of what you said. That's ok. No, I think it was my internet, not yours.

Alice Lema: So so yeah, we're just talking about kind of the, this is National Home Ownership month and one of the perks is that you get to deduct your mortgage interest off your taxes. Yes. Yeah. I just wondered if you could speak to that and why it's important. And the realtor groups do try to help educator legislation, why it's a bad idea to cut that out of the budget?

Tina Grimes: Yeah. So, you know, it, so it's, it's the oldest tax deduction in place, actually oh, over a hundred [00:11:00] years old. And has proven to just, it, it base, it sends a message, first of all, that we as a country believe in the value of home ownership. But especially for, you know, first time home buyers. Maybe those that are right on the edge of being able to afford it, that can be the difference of whether or not, hey, I can afford this mortgage if I know that at the end of the year I get to deduct all that interest off my tax bill. So it's hugely important and getting rid of it would send the message that, you know, we, we, we don't care about home ownership. We don't care about. You know, that kinda thing. And, and, and any country that doesn't have that tends to be predominantly renters, not homeowners.

Alice Lema: Oh, that's interesting. Wow.

Tina Grimes: And I don't have actual numbers on that, so that's an anecdotal statement. Please nobody just quote that as gospel truth.

Alice Lema: But there, there does seem to be a difference is what you're [00:12:00] saying.

Tina Grimes: But there is definitely a difference and the, and the key thing too is that, and this, they're, they, you can find hard numbers on this all over the place, that the net worth of somebody who owns a home versus the net worth of somebody who rents is night and day different. Even if they owe every dime on that home, that's their net worth is still a lot higher. Because that, that is a continual. Equity building investment. Whereas renting, you're not building any equity.

Alice Lema: So, well, not for yourself.

Tina Grimes: Not for yourself not.

Alice Lema: And not trying to make light of that. Sorry.

Tina Grimes: And not, and not that and not that we shouldn't have rentals. We need rentals. There is a absolute purpose and a place for rental properties. But we don't wanna become a nation that discourages home ownership in favor of rentals. I mean, ultimately, you know, it's part of the American dream to own your own home.

Alice Lema: So that's partly [00:13:00] how we have a middle class and wealth building for the average, you know? Yes. Mom and pop.

Tina Grimes: Yep. So that's, that's one of the tenants that the National Association of Realtors will stand. I mean, they will fight to the death on that one of not getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. It just surprises me how often that comes up on the table for the every legislation Yeah. Yeah.

Tina Grimes: At both the state and the national level. Because it's a very, it's a low hanging fruit. It's an easy thing to grab and attack and, and say, Hey, Let's cut this out. That'll make a big difference in our bottom line, but they don't think about the bigger ramifications of that.

Alice Lema: See, and I think that's one of the beautiful things about the Association of Realtors and our local Rogue Valley Association of Realtors is you're there to educate all kinds of parties to the benefits financial and community ongoing into the future of home ownership, because it really does have a big impact.

Tina Grimes: It has a huge impact on the community as a whole and not [00:14:00] just economically. There, there are proven social impacts, beneficial social impacts to home ownership. You know, they, they kids do better in schools. Crime rates go down in areas that are owned, not just rented. What are some of the others I can think of? I pulled off a list cause I didn't wanna forget them. Civic participation tends to be up. So people because they care about the community because they own a piece of it.

And again, not to say that renters can't care too, these are just the statistics prove are, are showing that in areas where it's predominantly owner occupied homes. The, these things tend to happen. So and health benefits, it actually has proven that health be, people's health is better.

Alice Lema: Wow. That's interesting.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. Yep. So all kinds of different socio and economic. And then economically there, it [00:15:00] actually and I pulled this off of an AAR's website today, but the for every home that is purchased, It adds an additional $181,800 into the local economy. Through you know, the income. So the income that's generated by all the parties involved in the transaction from the real estate agents to the mortgage brokers, to the title company, people, to the inspectors, to the appraisers. There's that. Then there's expenditures related to the home purchase.

Alice Lema: Oh, oh, oh. Like appliances.

Tina Grimes: Then there's the multiplier of you know, Buying new furniture, buying appliances, buying new carpet buying. So there's that impact.

Alice Lema: And then and we're gonna have to have you hold, I'm sorry. This is what happens every time we have you on the show, we just have so much to talk about. We're talking to Tina Grimes, rogue Valley Association of Realtors, and we're gonna have to pick up right after quick word from our messages. Were brought to you by the Rogue Valley Association of [00:16:00] Realtors, John L. Scott Ashland and Medford, and Guy Giles Mutual Mortgage. Sorry folks, but you're just gonna have to hang on. We'll be right back with Tina Grimes.

Well, hey, Southern Oregon. Welcome back to The Real Estate Show. I'm Alice Lema. I'm a broker here in beautiful southern Oregon with John L. Scott Real Estate, and we're getting to chat with Tina Grimes today, one of my favorite all-time people to talk to from our local Rogue Valley Association of Realtors. Welcome back, Tina.

Tina Grimes: Thank you.

Alice Lema: So at the end of the last session, we were so enthralled, I had to rudely interrupt you. Please finish your thought cuz we were talking about some of the benefits of what happens in a transaction and the community benefits. Yeah. When houses are sold.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. Well, and just to finish the balance of it is then so we talked about the fact that it adds economic impact to the community with people buying new appliances and furniture and carpet and drapes and whatever it may be.

And then there's the, the follow up to that is that all those people that work at those places, [00:17:00] then the wages for them, which then they in turn go shopping with, and it's just this constant domino effect. But yeah, so they have figured that for every, and this is just in the state of Oregon, for every house that sells over $181,000, Goes into the community up from that house

Wow. Yeah. That's, that's jaw dropping. Yeah, that's great. But it's also great that people feel settled and less vulnerable as homeowners. And I know in Oregon with the ongoing landlord tenants, situation and housing shortage, boy, if, if you're trying to rent right now and, and there's nothing wrong with rented, like we were talking about in the last segment, because there's a place for that in our community.

We've done it at some point or another.

Alice Lema: Yeah. Yeah. And may again. Right. But the, the idea of the landlords, we have so many selling now in Oregon that it really is, is exasperating the crisis. And [00:18:00] so that vulnerability of having to move all the time Yeah. Really goes away when you buy something.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. And yeah, it, it's, we have seen a, a huge influx of landlords selling their rental properties, which they don't necessarily get sold to be, to stay as rental properties. They get sold and then somebody turns them into their primary residence, which is great, but that then further adds to our vacancy, rental vacancy issues. So yeah, it's, you know, governor Kotek has this initiative to have 30,000 homes built in the next, in the, across the state of Oregon within the next few years. And it's a laudable a goal, but there's a lot of red tape standing in the way to get that done. And so I know that the Oregon Realtors is working very closely with her to try and overcome some of those hurdles so that we can get some, get some more inventory, get some more building going on. Cuz that is, we [00:19:00] definitely have a shortage.

Alice Lema: Well, and there's, there's so much red tape and so much expense for the builder involved in that red tape. Do you think the governor will consider easing any of those?

Tina Grimes: Hopefully, I know she's already having conversations with B L C D about

Alice Lema: What, what is that? She's the I need, sorry. I'm sorry.

Tina Grimes: That's ok. And these may not be exactly right, so don't quote me, but I, but was it B L C D? B L C D? I think it's the Department of Land and Conservation Development, yes.

Alice Lema: Something like that, right? Yes. D Okay. Gotcha. Yeah. Sorry.

Tina Grimes: So they, they basically are in charge of en enforcing the land use laws. That is their job. And so I know she's already been having extensive conversations with her and we may even see some executive orders come out that kind of [00:20:00] change how they do things to try and ease up on some of the red tape.

But yeah, I, I'm not sure, I'm not sure specifically to Oregon, but I know on a national level, cuz I just heard this figure a few days ago, that right now in the nation, 24% of the expense of a new home is in regulatory fees. 24%.

Alice Lema: Wow. I'll bet. What do you think Oregon is higher?

Tina Grimes: I, I, I suspect they might be.

Alice Lema: That's why, that's what mentioned from the Builders Association I think was quoting like 150, $160,000 a house Yeah. In Oregon. So we should, we should go back and ask him, ask him about that. Yeah. But 25%. Wow. Wow.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. Yeah. It's nuts.

Alice Lema: So well, good, good for her for.

Tina Grimes: Actually, I, I really hope that we're able to spur some of this on. She, she is [00:21:00] very focused and very determined on increasing the housing inventory and mm-hmm. And we are all for that. And so we're working with her to do it in the most responsible way, best way possible. You know, so that it, so that it benefits the economy, benefits the residents of the state of Oregon. Cuz we don't want to just throw up a bunch of ramshackle stuff that's gonna fall apart in five years.

Alice Lema: Yeah. That is a concern of, yeah communities, they, they worry about that. I mean, it's great to have more housing, but what kind of housing are we talking about?

Tina Grimes: Right, exactly. So I do know that the state association is working very closely with her and they're already more than once they've reached out to, you know, the local associations and said, Hey, here's what we're talking about. How will this look for you guys? Cuz obviously, what will work for Portland is not gonna work for Klamath Falls. Falls is not gonna work for Brookings. What works for Brookings is not gonna work for Medford. I mean, everybody's different. So I do appreciate that the [00:22:00] state association is then getting that additional feedback so that it's not just all, well, hey, this will work for Portland, so we're gonna say it works for the whole state.

Alice Lema: Which seems like, I mean, we always feel in Southern oregon, that's what they're doing. It's just all about Portland. Yeah. Oh, well that's good that there's some communication about the, the local needs and wants.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. It's encouraging. That's, it's, I it's very encouraging. So yeah.

Alice Lema: And it's interesting cuz we probably have a lot more acres that don't have houses on 'em, but that doesn't mean that we would want all of our farmlands to be turned into housing.

Tina Grimes: Exactly. Exactly. I wanna do it wisely and so that we maintain our the beauty that we all love here.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And the food. Yes. For those of us that like to eat. Yes. So, yeah. Well, I'm such a big fan of the realtor organization. You guys do a great job. Education wise for the agents, the new ones are they getting any different training than, say, [00:23:00] somebody who started 10 years ago? Like, what is the realtor education series like these days?

Tina Grimes: So for new members coming in the, so the amount of the training is not really changed. Because we, so, as much as I would love to grab ahold of some of these people and actually give them hours upon hours, upon hours of training on how to do their job, we have to stay outta that. Cuz what we can't do is tell you how to do your business. Got it. Here's the code of ethics. Here's what you have to follow with the code of ethics. But we cannot say, you know, here's how you fill out a contract. Here's how you have a conversation with your client. We don't, we can't say that, right? We can't do those things.

So for us, the new member onboarding is more about just making sure they know the code of ethics, make sure they know what their responsibilities are in that, which in turn actually puts them in line with 99% of the state law because they're very [00:24:00] similar. Yeah. So we do, we do emphasize the code of ethics. We do talk some about Antitrust and, and then of course we teach them how to use the MLS system, so which you guys use every day. So that's, that's the focus of our new member onboarding.

You know, different offices have different training programs that they put their agents through. And that's something that when we do have people call us that, that, you know, and we do get this occasionally where people call and say, I just got my license. Now what do I do? And we say, well now you need to start calling around to the different offices. See, see who's taking on new agents. But don't just let them interview you. You need to interview them too. And you need to ask them what they're gonna do for you as a brand new person who doesn't really know what they're doing.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. That's good advice. Yeah, very good advice. Yeah.

Tina Grimes: Cuz every, every office has a different training program.

Alice Lema: So mm-hmm. And a different culture. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're all businesses unto themselves, so that's really [00:25:00] great advice. Yeah. We're talking to Tina Grimes, the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors. We've been talking about education and legislation since we just finished or we're about to finish a legislative session in Oregon. Do you have any, any comments about what's kind of coming down the pike from, from all those legislators meeting.

Well, oh. Well, we sit down this session, this session has been really interesting with you know, the, the Republican walkout in the Senate side.

Oh, I forgot about that.

Tina Grimes: Yeah, yeah, unfortunately. So there's been some, some bills that are, that are gonna get stalled out because of that that, that are, we're okay with because we didn't want them to pass. But there was also some really good bills that we had proposed that are gonna get stalled out.

That it's kind of sad that they're not gonna be able to go anywhere now. But [00:26:00] you know, overall I think it was a pretty good session as far as, you know, do no harm. Yeah. But nothing, nothing catastrophic happened. You know, one of the things that not necessarily from this particular session, but one of the things that we, everybody needs to be keeping an eye on is that the you may recall from last session the wildfire bill with the wildfire interface passed and the maps got rolled out and there was such an uproar from the public that they pulled them all back and were reevaluating them while they're getting ready to re-release those maps. Oh, okay. I believe they're planning on doing it this fall. I'm not sure of the exact date. But already hearing rumors of insurance companies thinking about, you know, they're, they're questioning whether or not they're gonna renew people's policies based on those maps.

So that is something [00:27:00] that we're keeping a very close eye on. We're actually was having a conversation with Colin Milan last night, which he's one of our local realtors here, but he's also very connected at the national level. So he was going to, as he put it, run it up the flagpole at NAR. And he could get some assistance from them in how to navigate all of this. So stay tuned on that. But that is something property owners because it's not just residential, it affects, these mapping things affect commercial properties too. So something any property owner should be keeping a close eye on and be ready to contact your legislator when those maps come out. If they haven't really changed from the last version because the last version was a mess.

Alice Lema: Well, you know what's so nerve wracking is I didn't think it all the way through that the commercial buildings are obviously gonna be affected as well, and that could have a real impact on how business friendly or non-business friendly Oregon is or [00:28:00] is perceived to be.

Tina Grimes: And I think already struggle in that area.

Alice Lema: We do, we do, like when you go on the, the heat maps for business friendly states in the United States, Oregon's not not at the top by any means, but we love it here and we're not picking on Oregon. We're just being matter of fact, right?

Tina Grimes: No, no. So I, I just said that I was just on the phone, somebody last night and I was driving out through, actually I was driving out through Sam's Valley and looking at the, the rain coming down. I just said, you know, I just, and I was looking at the Table Rocks right there back to the really dark stormy clouds. It was just the coolest view and I just, I just said I was on the phone with somebody, I said, I love where I live. I would not wanna live anywhere else and yes. I know sometimes our legislation can be a little wonky, but wanna live anywhere else. I don't, I love this place, so, and I.

Alice Lema: It does make, make us better. So kinda quirky. Yeah. I'm the same. I drive around every day and go, I can't believe I get to live here. Right. I can't [00:29:00] believe I get to live here. Yeah. But it does have its challenges. And I think didn't California one of the insurance companies did pull out.

Tina Grimes: Yeah, they did.

Alice Lema: One of the big ones. I, I don't know if we're allowed to name 'em. I don't remember which one, but yes, they did. So, yeah. Yeah. So that makes us, us all nervous. We've gotta take another quick break. We're talking to Tina Grimes Rogue Valley Association of Realtors. We'll be right back. Do not touch that dial.

Welcome back, everybody to the Real Estate Show. We're talking to Tina Grimes, Rogue Valley Association of Realtors, CEO, and Chief Operating Officer Tina. Sorry, we just get to talking and had to cut you off again at the last break, so that's okay. Yeah, you wanna.

Tina Grimes: We're actually kinda at a stopping point, so you were good.

Alice Lema: Yeah, well that's good. That's good. But that fire, that fire map conversation is really unnerving for people, especially after what happened last time.

Tina Grimes: Yeah, it is. And and at this point, my only answer is just to keep your eye on it because we don't know what the new maps are gonna look like yet, so.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. [00:30:00] So has the has the legislator said how it's gonna be unrolled? Like, are they gonna have public hearings this time? Are we just gonna get a letter in the mail like we did last time?

Tina Grimes: That, I don't know. All I've heard is that the new maps are about ready to be released, but I haven't even heard a date specific on that, so.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. Okay. All right, well, we'll have to keep keep an eye on that one. Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about some of the things that the Realtor Association does in the community.

Tina Grimes: So we've mentioned this before when I've been on, but realtors are so, and they're so involved in community efforts. I, I don't know that there would be a single charity in this valley that doesn't have a realtor involved in it in some way, shape, or form. That's at least one. At least one, yeah. That's, that's just the nature of it. [00:31:00] Because you guys, well, you don't just sell houses. You're selling community, you're selling way, you know, you're representing a way of life.

Alice Lema: I agree.

Tina Grimes: You know, that's why, you know, Somebody looking for, you know, somebody looking for the vibe that Ashland has is not gonna wanna buy a house in White City. Somebody who want, wants the vibe that Jacksonville has with all the historical stuff. They're not gonna wanna live in, you know the brand new subdivisions out in Central Point. I mean, it's just, People are looking for not just a house, they're looking for a way of life.

Alice Lema: Yep, yep. We are a lifestyle destination, aren't we?

Tina Grimes: Yes. So you know, so, so you guys being involved in the community is, is just kind of a natural extension of your job, but it also is, it is not just that, you're not just doing it for your job, you're also doing it cuz you genuinely care about the community. I have yet to meet a [00:32:00] realtor who doesn't genuinely care about the community we live in. And I love that. I mean, I, that's one of my favorite parts of what I get to do. So yeah, so one of the things actually that we at the association did in the last, we started working on it a couple years ago, but got it all finished up just a couple months ago here.

We actually formed a charitable foundation. Very excited about that. So we now have our separate arm of the association that is a charitable foundation and its sole purpose is going to be to work with entities like Habitat for Humanity and Access, who administers our first Time Home Buyers grant that we sponsor and hearts of the mission. Anybody who does housing related, shelter related type work, okay. We're gonna be the, the foundation will be working with them. And so we're very excited about that.

And then, but we also added an element to it of not just pardon the crude phrasing, but [00:33:00] throwing money at the problem. We're not just gonna do that. We also want the foundation to engage in, you know, like community education about the value of home ownership. Community, you know, research opportunities to, you know, all those kinds of, so it's gonna be,

Alice Lema: That's a really good idea.

Tina Grimes: Multi tiered. And I, yeah, it's gonna be exciting.

I love, it's great. I, I'm excited to really get it going. Like I said, we just finally got it all formed about two months ago. So we're getting ready to really launch it.

Alice Lema: So Well, congratulations.

Tina Grimes: Thank you. Yeah, we're excited. So moving forward, a lot of our fundraising will be for the foundation. But that's, it'll kind of just be a funnel because that it'll go from the foundation over to Habitat or Access or wherever we need to, wherever the money gets needed is most needed. So, That's exciting. And one of the things we are definitely looking at is that habitat is gonna be doing some over the next few years is gonna be doing homes in Ashland. They were [00:34:00] given some projects in Ashland to do.

Alice Lema: Oh wow. That's great.

Tina Grimes: So yeah, so we're very excited. We're hoping as we did in 2019 where we built an entire Habitat house in their Rogue River Development, we really wanna have an entire Habitat house in the Ashland development.

Alice Lema: How exciting.

Tina Grimes: So we're working on that. Looking forward to that. It's probably gonna be 2025 that we actually do the house, because it'll take us a while to raise the funds. But that's our goal. So we're, we're excited about that.

Alice Lema: Yeah. Wow. That's such a big deal.

Tina Grimes: Yeah. Yeah. And of course we'll be, you know, doing our usual build days and other things in the meantime, we're not gonna just wait until 2025 to do anything for Habitat.

Alice Lema: Well, that's good. Yeah. Well, and we can also have you back on to talk about that when it gets closer.

Tina Grimes: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Alice Lema: So you mentioned during the break that you had a, a fundraiser earlier in the year, that was quite successful and it was a [00:35:00] dessert auction. Won't you tell us about that?

Tina Grimes: So that one we did over in Grant's Pass. So give a little bit of history here. So, and I'm forgive for those of you who may be listening that are Grant's Pass realtors, forgive me that I don't remember these dates, but probably 25, 30 years ago, I think The Grants Pass, all the realtors in Josephine County, mainly Grants Pass area, they got together and they, for, they, they basically raised all the funds. I think it was close to a million dollars to build the family house, the Asante family house. Which is similar to what we have here in Medford, the Cheney house.

It's a place where, People who are needing long-term care at the hospital can stay when they're not actually in a hospital room or their families can stay. Yeah. If they have a loved one in the hospital. And inexpensively. There's, I think there's seven bedrooms in the family house right now, plus RV sites, and they are [00:36:00] actually working on expanding it. But as we, over the last 10 years, as more and more of the realtors in Josephine County joined us we actually, we continued that fundraising for them.

We did. We wanted them to know that, hey, that was important to you guys. It's important to us too. So we do two fundraisers a year in Grants Pass, that all the proceeds go to the family house. And the dessert auction was the first one for this year, and I'm thrilled to say that from cakes, people were very generous and from a bunch of cakes we raised over $18,000.

Alice Lema: So Did you really? Oh wow.

Tina Grimes: Like people liked our cakes. Yeah. So it was very exciting and yeah, so we're excited about that. And then we're doing our second event for the year, for the family house Fundraising will be a chili Cookoff in October.

Alice Lema: So Uhhuh and where's that gonna be?

Tina Grimes: We hold 'em at the Josephine County Fairgrounds both events. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah, that is so before Covid, we actually used a room in the hospital, but [00:37:00] since Covid, that hasn't really been an option.

Alice Lema: So, Gotcha. Yeah, that's, you know, that's another show we should have is talking about where we are, post Covid it, you know? Yeah. We don't talk about it much anymore, but things are definitely different, especially in, in housing. It's. Yep. It really seems to have had a permanent impact.

Well can you mention the website for Rogue Valley Association of Realtors? We only have a few seconds left, but how can people log in and, and see the stats and find out more?

Yeah, so R V A R, so Rogue Valley Association of Realtors, the initials, and then just.realtor.

So not.com. not.org. It's dot realtor. So our RVAR.Realtor is our website and you can go there and you can see all the stats that we publish and see what's going on in the housing market currently. And, and also you can view a membership directory there too if you happen to be looking for a realtor.

Yeah, yeah. It's a great website. Well, thank you Tia Grimes, Rogue Valley Association Realtors. Broadcast will repeat tomorrow at 6:00 PM [00:38:00] Have a great weekend, everybody. Hug those you love. Bye now. Bye.