Windermere 253 Magazine May 2021 Issue

253

THE POWER OF WINDERMERE

The Personalized Service Of Windermere Chambers Bay

Shop Local, Support Local THE

HISTORY

OF

May Day

The Elusive Listing:

Seller Tips!

MAY 2021

WHAT'S IN The History of May Day What's this sometimes elusive holiday all about?

Shop Local: Support Local Celebrate and support small, local businesses all around the 253!

The Elusive Listing

Why we have low inventory and what that means for today's sellers.

Local Real Estate Market Statistics

this issue?

Nothing is Lost Until your Mom can't find it

THE

HISTORY

OF

May Day

May Day is a public holiday celebrated throughout many different cultures around the world on May 1st. May Day is one of four ancient Celtic cross-quarter days, making it an astronomical holiday because it falls between the spring equinox in March, and the summer solstice in June. Most early holidays center around agriculture, and May Day is the same. Its origins date back to ancient festivals, but today we celebrate it as a day of unity and rebirth. So why do we celebrate May Day and how has it changed over the years?

The earliest recorded May celebration is the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, which took place from April 27th to May 3rd during the Roman republic era. The festival was celebrated with theatrical performances, hares and goats were released, crowds threw beans, vetches, and lupins at one another, ears of wheat were carried to shrines, and competitive events were held. In Gaelic culture, as early as 900 AD was the celebration of Beltane, held on the evening of April 30th.

Beltane roughly translates to “lucky fire,” and the celebration focused on the symbolic use of fire to bless cattle and other livestock as they were moved to the summer grazing pastures. This custom continued to the early 19th century, when cattle were forced to jump over fires to protect their milk from being stolen by fairies.

May Day is also celebrated by many Roman Catholics since the 18th century, with many devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In these celebrations, Mary is honored with a crown of flowers being placed upon her head.

May Day is celebrated differently all over Europe. In France, it is custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, or dog rose flowers, a symbol of springtime. In the Czech Republic, May Day is considered a holiday of love. On May 1st, couples will exchange a kiss under a blooming cherry, apple, or birch tree. In Greece, families prepare a wildflower wreath and place it on the outside of the family home where it remains until Midsummer Night in celebration of Persephone.

Most of the typical celebrations come from English customs. In England, May Day rites and celebrations include crowning a May Queen, erecting and dancing around a Maypole, bringing in the May by gathering baskets of wildflowers, decorating houses and livestock with yellow ribbons or paint, erecting huge bonfires, and singing and dancing.

The earliest records of Maypole celebrations date back to the 14th century. There are records of all villages having Maypoles during the Middle Ages, and towns would compete to see who has the best or tallest Maypole. Over time, the Old English festival incorporated the crowning of the “May Queen” to preside over the day's festivities.

Originally, Maypoles were living trees brought in from the woods. The ancient Celtic people danced around the tree in prayer for fertility and a good crop season. Additionally, younger people would meet around the Maypole to get to know each other and begin a courtship, so they could be married six weeks later on June’s Midsummer Day. The holiday is still widely celebrated across Europe, but never gained popularity or created new traditions in America. This is because Puritan colonists who traveled to America considered the celebration to be

inappropriate, perverse, and ungodly as it had roots in astrology and Greek and Roman religion. The Puritans forbade any celebrations or observance of the holiday. Some European settlers still did celebrate May Day in secret by making small May baskets usually filled with flowers, or treats which were left on someone's doorstep Today, May Day may be celebrated in Elementary School classrooms with worksheets, or a ribbon dance around a Maypole, but any cultural significance has not translated into American society. However, we still do have a holiday on May 1st.

In 1889, May Day was chosen as the date for the International Workers Day, which is a celebration of laborers and the working class promoted by the international labor movement, and the working-class demands for an eight hour work day. This brought a bit of popularity back to the holiday in the Americas. However, instead of centering around agriculture and harvest rituals, it focused on unity for all people.

Shop Local, Support Local Celebrate and support small, local businesses around the 253!

WOODEN CITY TACOMA Wooden City Tacoma has burgers and sandwiches, wood-fired pizzas, a great list of small plates, and a kid’s menu. They are open every day between 4 PM and 10 PM for carry-out and indoor and outdoor dining. Their mission is to bring joy to people’s lives and do their part to make communities a better place to live!

JOHNSON CANDY COMPANY Johnson Candy Company has been family-owned and operated in Tacoma since 1925! They have handmade candy including tasty fudge, caramels, and vegan, gluten free, and sugar free chocolate options, and more!

TINKERTOPIA LLC. Tinkertopia was founded by two Tacoma artists and promotes conservation by working with local businesses to capture safe, reusable materials from the waste stream. They reimagine these items unusual arts and craft supplies for kids, teachers, makers and tinkerers!

STOCKLIST GOODS & GIFTS Stocklist Goods & Gifts was opened by Liz Van Dyke. Liz, a retail veteran of almost 15 years, decided it was time to open up her own store and there has been no turning back. Stocklist has a wide variety of goods including books, jewelry, greeting cards, kids stuff, decor, paper goods and more!

ART STUDIO 27 LLC Art Studio 27 is an art studio located in University Place! They offer adult paint and sip classes, art classes for kids, and private art parties. They are slowly reopening and offering public and private classes with added guidelines for safety.

# A L L I N F O R L O C A L

PAPER LUXE STATIONERY & GIFT Paper Luxe is run by a mother-daughter team and they specialize in unique gifts, greeting cards, stationery and more! Additionally, they provide custom printing options for weddings, baby showers, businesses and any other custom printing needs.

BLISS SMALL BATCH CREAMERY After pursuing other careers, sisters Theresa and Stacie decided to follow their dream to own and operate their own local ice cream company together, and Bliss Small Batch Creamery was born. They are committed to using the best natural ingredients free from artificial dyes, flavors, and preservatives. They also offer a wide variety of dairy free, egg free, gluten free, and nut free ice cream options!

THIRSTY HOUND DRINKERY The Thirsty Hound Drinkery is a casual family friendly place known for their beer cheese and Thai chicken. The dream of owning the Thirsty Hound was realized when owner Malaty Lim, a 30 year restaurant and bar industry worker was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer and her husband asked her what her dream was. She realized she wanted to open her own place. After surgeries and treatments, they decided not to give up on the dream and opened the Thirsty Hound!

HARBOR GREENS Harbor Greens is a local family owned market with locations in University Place and Gig Harbor.

Each store has a wide variety of fresh foods, seasonal products, local produce, an award winning deli, gifts, plants, and beer, wine, and spirits. Additionally, they offer boxed lunches, tons of sandwiches, and takeout pizza!

LEFTY'S BURGER SHACK Lefty’s Burger Shack is a University Place favorite!

Located in a funky octagon shaped building with a surf shack theme, they serve up amazing burgers, hot dogs, milk shakes, and tons of sides.

What's creating this wild scenario in our current real estate market?

Why do we have low inventory?

The lack of a need to move now.

Experts agree that the last ten-plus years of slow new construction in housing, a large segment of sellers not really needing to sell right now, and the number of sellers who need to buy to sell help to create this picture. The fear of selling and not having a home to go to is a big concern for a majority of sellers.

Why do I need a real estate broker?

You can just put a sign in the yard—and that's exactly all some brokers are going to do.

They are not created equal and neither is their service. It is in a seller's best interest to be represented and have a buyer that is represented by another broker. That way the seller can be sure they are protected as far as contract liability.

There is such a thing as the right buyer.

A buyer is easy to come by. The right buyer, on the other hand, is not always easy to find. The idea is to find a buyer that wants to work with you in a win-win situation. One who understands the importance of a strong offer and has the ability to close the transaction.

Is the highest offer, The best offer?

Not Always. Well crafted offers are thoughtful in how they are written. The sale price has to be justified with an appraisal and that does not always come in at the price offered.

Getting an offer that may have a lower down payment with a willingness to bring in additional down payment dollars to account for a low appraisal is one of the most important pieces to an offer in this market. What that buyer is saying is, "I am willing to bring in x.xxx amount of additional funds over the appraised value to ensure the seller receives the most amount of money possible in this given scenario."

What should I look for in a real estate broker in this market?

A marketing package: that's included in the listing cost.

Individual property website: so buyers can look with or without a flyer Mobile technology: ease of use for the buyer Understanding of current forms: including major changes in March/April 2021 Like. Know. Trust. — Go with someone you Like, Know and Trust

MUCH LIKE PEOPLE, EVERY MARKET IS UNIQUE. SOME MARKETS HAVE VIEWS, SOME LARGE YARDS. FROM HOMES BUILT AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY TO NEW CONSTRUCTION, EACH AREA HAS ITS OWN FEATURES AND TYPES OF HOMES.

Real Estate is Local

The Power Of Windermere.

The Personalized Service Of Windermere Chambers Bay.

Pierce County is a collage of hyperlocal real estate markets. Windermere Chambers Bay brokers navigate those markets with personal, firsthand knowledge of not just your city, but your neighborhood. Your street.

Your home. No app or online algorithm can do that. There’s no need to rely on faceless data. Rely on us to serve as your human algorithm.

2700 Bridgeport Way W Suite F University Place, WA 98466 (253) 565-1121 Follow Us Online: @windermerechambersbay @windermere253

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The Power Of Windermere.

The Personalized Service Of Windermere Chambers Bay.