Chris Dobbs

Broker / Team Leader
The Dobbs Team with Keller Williams Realty
360-816-9623
TheDobbsTeam.com

How long have you worked in Real Estate?
This is my 10th year. Midge joined the team in 2013.

What is your specialty?
Selling, buying, building and investing in residential real estate and land development.

What is one tip you have for someone looking to buy or sell a home?
Contact us! Seriously, the first thing a buyer or seller should do is contact a professional Realtor® who has a proven track record of getting the job done. That way they start off doing it the right way from the beginning.

What is the most unique property you’ve listed or sold?
A contemporary 5,000 sq. ft. 2-bedroom house, with a barn and a lake on 40 acres in Yacolt. That was a fun house to figure out a value on since it was literally one of a kind.

What is the most unusual thing you’ve encountered while working in real estate?
An associate broker referred me an out of state seller who had a manufactured home on a couple acres in La Center. The unusual part was that by choice he was homeless. He had no email, no internet or phone. I had to fax documents to a UPS store so he could sign and fax back. After I sold his place he was seen walking down the street in a 3 piece suit, and still homeless.

What is the most challenging/gratifying aspect of what you do?
The most challenging is being the problem solver and handling all the issues that come up during a transaction. There are so many variables that there’s always something that threatens to make a transaction fall apart. It’s definitely an art, not a science. At the same time, it’s incredibly gratifying when you solve the problems/issues, and close the deal for your clients that otherwise would have fallen apart.

What do you see in the future for real estate sales/prices?
Our market has made its comeback from the recession. Based on what I’ve seen I believe that sales will continue to be strong throughout 2017, and prices will begin to level off at maybe appreciating around 5% per year in 2018. We’ve had double digit appreciation over the last few years, a now that we’re essentially back to where our prices would have been had the market not crashed I feel we need to be in the single digit appreciation percentages to maintain a healthy market.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? Hobbies, volunteering, family, fun?
Golfing, skiing, and anything on the water. Midge and I developed a relationship with an organization in SE India that has two orphanages. In 2011 Midge and I started taking a team of between 7-10 people over there to do mission work. Since then we’ve built two sports courts, a playground, and a second story addition to one of the orphanages. We’re looking at building a third orphanage in the next couple years.

What do you like about living in this area?
I was reminded the other day driving up to Skamania Lodge that we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We’re within a couple hours from the coast and the mountains. We have rural areas, suburbs, and urban living all within close proximity.

Anything else you would like our readers to know about you and your company?
We’re a team of five real estate agents who are passionate about helping our clients get the results they want. Our amazing team members are:

• Ashley Huntington – Executive Assistant
• Brandy Tito – Showing Specialist Extraordinaire
• Gretchen Gettles – Buyers Agent
• Midge Dobbs – Head of The Buyer Division, Marketing Guru, Vice President / Co-Owner
• Chris Dobbs – Head of The Listing Division, Team Leader, President / Co-Owner