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Alaska Real Estate Podcast

Alaska Real Estate Podcast

著者： Alaska Real Estate Podcast
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Discover the latest insights, trends, and stories shaping Alaska’s unique real estate market. Join hosts Connie & Lottie as they guide you through buying, selling, and investing across the Last Frontier.Copyright 2026 Alaska Real Estate Podcast マネジメント・リーダーシップ リーダーシップ 個人ファイナンス 経済学
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  • Wetlands, Red Tape, and the Truth About "Breeder Box" Homes | Connie, Mike James and Guest Speaker Daniel McKenna-Foster - 045

    Wetlands, Red Tape, and the Truth About "Breeder Box" Homes | Connie, Mike James and Guest Speaker Daniel McKenna-Foster - 045
    2026/08/19
    Joining the conversation is Mike James, a 25-year Senior Vice President of the Commercial Real Estate Division at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty, and a lifelong Alaskan.This episode is a deep dive, not a highlight reel, and it covers more ground than the title lets on. I sat down with Daniel Mckenna-Foster from the Municipality's Planning Department to talk through the update to the Anchorage Wetlands Management Plan. We explored why so much of Alaska development runs into red tape long before a shovel hits dirt. We also talked about why I still, to this day, call certain split-level homes "breeder boxes."Episode Breakdown:What Actually Counts as a Wetland in Anchorage?There are really two different definitions in play. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers defines a wetland as "waters of the United States" under federal jurisdiction. Separately, the Anchorage Wetlands Management Plan has its own definition and its own regulatory map, more like a zoning layer than a federal designation.The two usually overlap, but they can diverge. A site can fail the federal test and still be fully protected locally, or vice versa.Until a few years ago, the Municipality actually held a general permit that let it make some federal wetlands determinations directly. The Army Corps declined to renew that permit around 2021, so Anchorage lost that authority for lower-class wetlands.The A, B, and C Wetland Classifications, ExplainedAnchorage still uses a local A, B, and C classification system for wetlands, separate from federal jurisdiction. Class A is the most sensitive and is rarely developable at all, something like an actual lake is extremely difficult to fill.Class B wetlands can be developed, but a project above a certain size has to go through the Watershed and Natural Resources Commission for review and mitigation.Class C wetlands are the most flexible: a developer can typically get a straightforward permit and move forward with mitigation, without the added commission review.Anchorage's official wetlands map is more than 10 years old, and wetlands boundaries genuinely shift over time, sometimes because of climate change, sometimes because of something as random as a broken water pipe creating a low point that later got mapped as a wetland.What Is a Wetlands Bank, and How Does the $75,000 Fee Actually Work?A wetlands bank is essentially a trade-off system. If you're developing in an area where a wetland already isn't very functional, paying into the bank funds the protection of a healthier wetland elsewhere, in perpetuity. Instead of trying to preserve a small, degraded pocket in the middle of a developed area.Great Land Trust is the main wetlands bank both the Municipality and private developers use in the Anchorage area, though Heritage Land Bank, a municipal entity, is also involved in assembling and holding some wetlands-related parcels.I shared my own experience developing Huffman Timbers, where I had to pay $75,000 into a wetlands bank to develop a portion of the property classified as wetlands.Daniel was candid that there isn't a precise, published formula for that number today. The Municipality has generally followed the Army Corps of Engineers' methodology, which weighs how much water a wetland holds, how functional it is, and how it fits into the larger drainage system.Giving developers real clarity and certainty on cost before they commit to a project is one of the top priorities of this update.Daniel pointed out that some of Anchorage's most unrecognizable former wetlands prove how much has changed: Blueberry Lake, near Benson and Northern Lights in Midtown, was a real lake decades ago and is completely gone from the landscape today. On the flip side, the Target-anchored redevelopment at Sea Street and 100th shows wetlands can be incorporated well: that project kept some wetland area as part of the site's landscaping instead of paving over it entirely.Federal vs. Local: The Two Different Wetlands Rules You're Actually Dealing WithThe Army Corps of Engineers regulates "waters of the United States" under federal jurisdiction. The Anchorage Wetlands Management Plan protects wetlands based on local drainage and community value, which is a related but separate interest.A site can be a wetland under one definition and not the other. Daniel used Blueberry Lake as an example: it likely wouldn't qualify as a federally jurisdictional water today, but it would absolutely still be protected under the local plan because of the drainage function it performs.Getting an official federal jurisdictional determination from the Army Corps currently takes 18 months or longer, which is part of why this update aims to give developers a clearer sense upfront of which path they're on.The Due Diligence Steps Every Developer Should Take Before Buying LandStart with the Municipality's GIS wetlands layer to see if a parcel is mapped as a wetland, whether it's a single-family lot or a 20-acre commercial site.If the map ...
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    49 分
  • She Almost Became a Poet Instead of a Realtor — Here's Why She Didn't | Connie Yoshimura & Lottie Michael - 044

    She Almost Became a Poet Instead of a Realtor — Here's Why She Didn't | Connie Yoshimura & Lottie Michael - 044
    2026/08/12
    A few weeks ago, Lottie let me ask the questions about her story. This time, she turned it around on me. This episode is mine, in my own words.We covered where I come from, how a trained poet ended up building homes in Alaska, and why, at 81, I'm still not ready to stop.Episode Breakdown:Growing Up as an Outsider Shaped How I Built My CareerI'm 81 years old, born in 1945, and I come from a Japanese American family. My father was born in the United States, which makes him Nisei and makes me Sansei, third generation.I was raised by my Caucasian grandparents in Iowa, the only minority child in my grade school and high school. I'm also an only child, so I never had the built-in network that team sports or a big family can give you.I still carry those feelings of being an outsider today, but I've come to see it as part of what pushed me to work harder.From an Award-Winning Poet to a Career in Real EstateI trained as a poet at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and was one of ten young writers nationally to win a scholarship through the College English Association and the Book of the Month Club.I wrote under a pseudonym at the time. In the early 1960s, female poets and writers faced real prejudice, and I didn't want to be poor or, frankly, miserable chasing a career where most writers never make a living.Real estate found me by accident after that. I loved residential real estate right away, because people come to you at the most important moments of their lives: marriage, birth, death, divorce, and job changes. I feel honored to hear those stories.Why I Cried the Whole Way to AlaskaI moved to Alaska with my boyfriend at the time, driving up the Alcan Highway. I cried the entire way and knew absolutely no one when we arrived.Since I didn't have a network, I started doing open houses just to meet people. That's how I built my start in this business.Why I Fell in Love with New ConstructionMy family's history had a real impact on this. During World War II, my family, like thousands of other Japanese American families, lost nearly everything they owned except what could fit in a single suitcase.I think that history is part of why building new homes, creating something rather than just holding onto what's left, has always meant so much to me.Why I Moved From Working With Builders to Land DevelopmentI worked with a variety of builders early on, but the relationship is one-sided. You help them, guide them, and build their name, and once they're successful, they often feel like they don't need you anymore.So I moved into residential land development instead. If I control the lots, builders have to come to me.I still don't do vertical construction. A single building has about 6,000 parts to it, and I'd rather deal with land and trees than tenants calling in the middle of the night.What Keeps Me Comfortable in AlaskaThere are 156 different languages spoken in the Anchorage school system. Growing up as the only minority child in a small Iowa town, that diversity is part of why Alaska feels like home to me.I've also seen firsthand that women haven't fully caught up in commercial lending, even with more female CEOs than ever. I credit a lot of my own opportunities to a longtime relationship with a female lender.Why I'm Still Working at 81Between Palmer and the Municipality of Anchorage, I currently have more than 100 acres of residential development. I still have home sites to fill.I take my health seriously to keep up with it: physical therapy, tracking my steps daily, and regular weekend walks with Lottie and a longtime friend.My Advice for Anyone Starting or Changing Careers in Real EstateOnly join a group or take on an activity if you truly love it. Showing up to a chamber lunch you don't care about won't build your business, but serving on a committee for something you're passionate about will.Knowledge is your most valuable asset. CPAs tend to do well in commercial real estate because of their financial background. Engineers are often the hardest professionals to train into this business.Not everyone will share your exact goals, and that's fine. What matters most is honesty and knowledge, starting with being honest with yourself."You have to be honest with yourself first before you can be honest in regards to your career." — Connie YoshimuraResourcesIowa Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa: writersworkshop.uiowa.eduBerkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty: bhhsalaska.comIf you have questions or just want to chat, feel free to email us at podcast@bhhsalaska.comConnie Yoshimura number: 907-229-2703Lottie Michael number: 907-242-7603Credits©2025 Alaska Real Estate. All rights reserved.
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    22 分
  • Lottie's Story | Connie Yoshimura & Lottie Michael - 043

    Lottie's Story | Connie Yoshimura & Lottie Michael - 043
    2026/08/05
    Listeners have been asking to know more about who we are and how we got here, so this episode is Lottie's story, in her own words.We covered how a Lebanese immigrant family shaped her path into real estate. The deal that accidentally turned her into a commercial broker. Her decades-long habit of buying Berkshire Hathaway stock before we ever became a Berkshire Hathaway office. Then we talked about the tradition she's most proud of outside of work.Episode Breakdown:How a Lebanese Immigrant Family Shaped Lottie's Path Into Real EstateLottie was raised in Anchorage after her family immigrated from Lebanon when she was an infant.She says selling is in her genes. As a child, she saved money every summer from selling Christmas cards door to door, and by 18 she had saved enough to buy her first house. Which she owned until about five or six years ago.She took her real estate licensing exam about six months before she was legally old enough to hold a license, making her the youngest licensed Realtor in the state at the time.The Deal That Accidentally Turned Lottie Into a Commercial BrokerLottie started in residential, selling duplexes and small apartment buildings, which is a common path into commercial real estate.In the early 1970s, a residential client wanted a duplex. She couldn't find one. So she called a local developer who had a 32-unit apartment complex for sale instead, four buildings, eight units each, three bedrooms and two baths per unit. Her client bought it.After the deal closed, she got nervous that she hadn't served her client as well as she could have. So she pursued commercial real estate education through the National Association of Realtors and earned her CCIM designation in 1983. That's when she decided to focus on commercials exclusively.Why Lottie Buys Berkshire Hathaway Stock, Not Just Sells Real EstateAround 1999 or 2000, Lottie started watching financial news every morning and kept catching Warren Buffett interviews.She did a little research on him and decided to buy her first share of Berkshire Hathaway stock. She's attended Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings for about 15 years since.How Berkshire Hathaway Came to Alaska Real EstateLottie and I met decades ago when I was a guest speaker at an Anchorage Board of Realtors meeting during her term as board and MLS president.Years later, I called her about exploring a move to a national franchise. We researched a couple of options together in Seattle and passed on both.A few years after that, I found Berkshire Hathaway. Lottie couldn't take on an ownership stake at the time. But she wanted in, so we split it: I lead the residential side, and she leads the commercial division.Lottie's Annual Lebanese FeastEvery year, Lottie takes a couple of days off to cook a full Lebanese feast for family and friendsThis year's feast drew about 150 people, smaller than last year's 220 to 225 because the fish were running. But she called it one of the most fun yet.What's the Biggest Mistake Investors Make When Buying Commercial Property?Lottie says watching for a "for sale" sign to pop up on a building is not a real investment strategy.Her advice: find a broker who understands your needs and let them go to work for you, the same way you wouldn't look for a brain surgeon by driving around looking for a good sign.Lottie's Advice for Anyone Starting a Real Estate CareerTreat it like a career from day one, with the same respect any career deserves, and you'll be compensated accordingly.If working on commission feels intimidating at first, consider starting as an assistant to an established broker to get a feel for the business with a steadier paycheck."As soon as you start treating this career as a career, with the respect that a career deserves, you'll be paid and compensated accordingly." — Lottie MichaelResourcesLottie Michael, CCIM, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty: bhhsalaska.com/anchorage/lottie-michael-ccimCCIM Institute: ccim.comIf you have questions or just want to chat, feel free to email us at podcast@bhhsalaska.comConnie Yoshimura number: 907-229-2703Lottie Michael number: 907-242-7603Credits©2025 Alaska Real Estate. All rights reserved.
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    25 分
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