In 2023, NAIOP Washington State successfully defeated a bill during the legislative session that would have increased the real estate excise tax (REET). We anticipate similar legislation during the 2024 Washington State Legislative Session. During this session, REET may be rebranded as a “transfer tax.”  While we were previously successful in our efforts to stop a REET increase from moving forward, NAIOPWA’s Government Affairs team is actively engaged to defeat its passage once again.

Today, February 24, 2023, is the final day for consideration of bills in the fiscal committees (unless necessary to implement the budget). Starting Monday and until March 8, legislators will be focused on floor debate in each chamber. By March 8, bills from the original chamber need to be passed to the other chamber.

To view NAIOP's bill tracking report and the full legislative update, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile by clicking below. 

Read the full report

For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Friday, February 17 is policy committee cutoff, meaning all bills need to be out of their policy committee or they will not advance.  The fiscal committees will meet next week and have until February 24 to act on bills. Today’s report still shows bills that may be voted on in today’s hearings.

To view NAIOP's bill tracking report and the full legislative update, log in to your NAIOPWA member profile by clicking below. 

Read the full report

For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

The week of February 6 is week five.  The focus will be on policy committee activity on hundreds of bills.  We have two weeks to go prior to the February 17 cut off. You can find next week’s hearings in the upcoming events section by logging in to your NAIOPWA member profile below.   Also, the bill status section of the bill tracking overview will illustrate where the bill is at in the process as of Friday, February 3.

I will provide a more detailed update of which priority bills have moved out of committee after February 17. 

Click here to read the full report

For more information about joining NAIOP and gaining access to exclusive legislative reports, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Week three was focused on committee hearings with hundreds of bills being considered by the various policy committees.  Next week will be the same.  You can review the new bill introductions as well as next week’s hearings using your member profile. For more information about becoming a member, contact Danielle Duvall, [email protected].

Click here to read the full report

NAIOP Washington State 2023 Legislative Report - Week 1

Greg Hanon, Communico

The 2023 session of the Washington State Legislature convened on January 9 for a 105-day legislative session. This is the first since 2020 to completely return to Olympia for both committee hearings as well as floor action.  One addition to the legislative process is the complete integration of hybrid legislative hearings allowing for both in person testimony as well as remote testimony allowing individuals who cannot make the trip to Olympia to participate in hearings from around the state.

Per tradition, the first few days were dedicated to the organization of the legislature, the swearing in of public officials, as well as a state of the state address from Governor Inslee in which he presented his priorities for the legislative session.  Governor Inslee outlined several policies including significant increases in spending on housing, homelessness, behavioral health, and education.  He also advanced policies on gun control and abortion rights.

Congratulations 2022 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars Winners!

John Pietromonaco inducted into NAIOPWA Hall of Fame  

Presented on Friday night at the NAIOPWA 2022 Night of the Stars Gala, the awards honored an impressive slate of commercial real estate projects that serve the community with innovations in retail, office, industrial and multi-family development.

The projects, and the developers who engaged them, demonstrate the flexibility and ingenuity of the CRE community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, NAIOPWA’s 2022 Night of the Stars finalists highlight the growth in transit-oriented development (TOD), multi-family housing from high-rise urban to supportive housing, and various programs that encourage development in underutilized regions such as Opportunity Zone funding.

2022 NAIOPWA Night of the Stars Finalists & First Winners Announced

John Pietromonaco to be inducted to NAIOPWA Hall of Fame | Annual People’s Choice Award with Daily Voting Runs Sept 21 – Oct 5

SEATTLE – Announced at NAIOP Washington State’s September Breakfast, the slate of competitors for the association’s annual Night of the Stars Awards once again showcases the best commercial real estate development projects across the state completed in the past year. With the announcement, People's Choice voting begins online and runs through Weds., Oct. 5. Also announced was NAIOPWA's 2022 Hall of Fame inductee, John Pietromonaco, who joins the ranks of leaders honored for their essential contributions to the built environment of the Puget Sound region and to the CRE community through their involvement in NAIOPWA and beyond. 

Vote for People's Choice!

The projects, and the developers who engaged them, demonstrate the flexibility and ingenuity of the CRE community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, NAIOPWA’s 2022 Night of the Stars finalists highlight the growth in transit-oriented development (TOD), multi-family housing from high-rise urban to supportive housing, and various programs that encourage development in underutilized regions such as Opportunity Zone funding.

With just 17 days left in the session, the legislature faces another deadline: Thursday, Feb. 24, is the deadline for bills to be advanced out of opposite-house policy committees. We expect to see supplemental budgets announced this week as well.

Click here for this week's update (members-only content; login required) including information on bills related to CRE with updates on key issues for NAIOPWA members this session. 

After five weeks in session, all bills that passed out of policy committees by the Feb. 15 deadline move to fiscal committees. The fiscal committees now have until February 22 to consider the proposals before sending them to the Rules committee, where they can be considered for floor action. Budget-related bills are exempt from these cut off-dates and can be considered at any time. The week ended with a flurry of committee votes ... 

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Washington is the #9 state in the U.S. for contributions to state GDP created by office real estate development. Overall, construction and development of office, industrial, warehouse and retail created and supported 54,983 related jobs and contributing $8.9 billion to the state’s economy in 2020 (the most recent data available).

The data is from “Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2021 U.S. Edition,” published annually by the NAIOP Research Foundation. 

We're beginning the fifth week of the session, and bills must be passed out of policy committees in one week's time--Monday, Feb. 15, is the deadline.

The early action COVID relief package is expected to pass the Senate this week (HB 1368). Both chambers now have transportation packages in play and a capital gains bill has been introduced in the House. 

NAIOPWA's state lobbyist, Greg Hanon, sends weekly reports for NAIOPWA members during the legislative session. These include a brief overview of session activity and highlights of the most pertinent issues for our industry. Additionally, Greg includes a complete list of bills and hearings that inform how we do business in Washington State. You'll see a link to download that list at the end of each short weekly update.

After three complete weeks in session, two weeks of policy hearings are next. Bills need to be passed out of policy committee by February 15.

NAIOPWA is a member of the Partnership for Affordable Housing. We are committed to policies that increase housing creation, access, and affordability. Legislators are considering a rent control bill that would have grave consequences for housing creation and long-term access to affordable housing. SB 5139 would impose the strictest rent control in the nation.

NAIOPWA's state lobbyist, Greg Hanon, brings years of experience to his role supporting commercial real estate and the business environment in our region. While his work goes well beyond legislative session coverage and seasonal advocacy efforts, January through March (and sometimes longer) is a fast-moving period where experience and energy make a big impact. Each week, Greg sends reports for NAIOPWA members through our Government Affairs committee, which are posted in our app and online in this members-only blog space. The reports include a brief overview of session activity and highlights of the most pertinent issues for our industry. Additionally, Greg includes a complete list of bills and hearings that inform how we do business in Washington State. You'll see a link to download that list at the end of each short weekly update.

Click here to continue reading this post (login required).

Yesterday’s press conference with Governor Jay Inslee, medical professionals, and other leaders from our region brought a message none of us wanted to hear, and that we can’t afford to ignore: COVID cases are on an exponential increase curve. November 15 was the most dangerous public health day in over 100 years in our state, according to the governor, with no signs of today being any better. In Seattle, 20% of all COVID cases have occurred in the past 2 weeks, said Mayor Jenny Durkan. And the numbers aren’t better elsewhere in the state or across the country.

Honoring Excellence: NAIOPWA’s Night of the Stars 2020 

Honorees showcase the best regional commercial real estate development in 2020 with an emphasis on creative multifamily mixed-use, sustainability and last-mile delivery 

SEATTLE – At today’s first-ever virtual NAIOPWA Night of the Stars, the commercial real estate community honored the year’s most innovative, creative and inspiring CRE projects in Washington state. Completed between July 1, 2019, and August 1, 2020, these projects particularly demonstrate the flexibility and strength of the local CRE industry in the face of a global pandemic. 

The 2020 winners and finalists reflect major shifts in our region toward affordable, multifamily housing that creatively supports communities, as well as the rapid increase in industrial real estate supporting last-mile delivery. This year, as always, judges used a rubric to evaluate and score projects according to defined criteria and made category adjustments reflecting the unique nature of projects, such as dividing industrial projects into those built on spec and those built to suit. This year, too, the full immersion of sustainable practices in the region’s development projects lead to multiple honorees in different market categories. 

NAIOPWA's Night of the Stars identifies outstanding real estate developments and activities in a variety of market types and the individuals who made the projects happen. The awards aim to honor the teams who build our landscape in this annual celebration of the industry. Each finalist project was evaluated for impact on the community, market adaptability, ingenuity and local contributions. 

Update & Summary for August 3, 2020: 
The WA Dept. of Ecology's new Expedited VCP, launched on July 1, 2020, is a self-sustaining process with dedicated staff to respond quickly to the needs of developers working under compressed schedules. The time to get through the expedited VCP could be as short as 4 months compared to 18 months (or more) under the regular VCP. The new program also allows moving sites in the regular VCP to the Expedited VCP as long as certain requirements are met.

Poll Results: As Tenants Struggle, Property Owners Reach Out in Support 
"We will do what it takes for the tenants to survive. Their success is our success."

SEATTLE - On April 16 and 17, NAIOPWA circulated our first “flash poll” to the region’s commercial real estate community, including members and the community at large. Over two days, 54 professionals representing property owners and developers responded to the survey, providing 119 total responses across seven asset types: office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, mixed-use, and healthcare. 

Poll results represent a snapshot of the current state of the industry, which relies on a diverse business environment that abruptly narrowed in early March. As we might expect, rent/lease payments were down in April and are expected to drop further next month. But regional CRE owners and property managers are clearly united in creative and proactive solutions to keep tenants in their properties.