© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 1 2020 Issue

E ager Home Buyers Were Plentiful in
December But Choices Were Meager"The buyers are out there and are showing up at open houses and making
multiple offers on new listings," was how one industry leader summarized
December's housing activity involving members of the Northwest Multiple
Listing Service.
Newly-released figures from Northwest MLS show inventory at the end of
December was down 31% from the same month a year ago, with only 8,469
active listings compared to the year-ago total of 12,275. The figures includesingle family homes and condominiums across the 23 counties in the MLS
service area.
Last month marked the sixth straight month of declining inventory, noted
James Young, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research.
MLS figures show inventory peaked in June when the database had 16,680
active listings about twice as many as December.
The inventory of single family homes (excluding condos) is especially tightin several counties, notably Thurston (-54%), King (-41.4%), Pierce (-40%),
Snohomish (-36.1%), and Kitsap (-34.3%).
December's volume of active listings included 3,777 new listings added
during the month, but during the same timeframe, 5,943 sellers accepted
offers on their properties.
Brokers said December is typically a slow month for home sales withholidays and historically cold, wet weather, but J. Lennox Scott, chairman
and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate commented on last month's surge inactivity:"Historically low interest rates and strong job growth continue to drive thePuget Sound housing market, which is already sizzling as we begin the newdecade. In the more affordable and mid-price ranges, many areas are seeing
frenzied sales activity with multiple offers on most properties.“Northwest MLS member-brokers recorded 7,093 completed transactions
during December, a gain of more than 11% from the 6,374 closed sales of thesame month a year ago. Prices on last month's closed sales of single family
homes and condos rose 8.75% from a year ago. For the MLS market overall
the price was $435,000 versus the year-ago figure of $400,000.
In King County, which had the highest volume of sales and the highest
prices, the median sales price for last month's closed sales was $615,000.
That was an increase of about 3% from a year ago. Prices in King County
peaked in May at $645,000.
Scott said some relief should be on the way as the weather warms up andsellers choose to put their home on the market, but he also cautioned it'spossible the trend of fewer resale listings than usual will continue on theEastside. He described the Eastside housing market as "particularly hot,"adding, "It shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon with recent job
growth announcements and an extreme shortage of unsold inventory priced
up to $1 million."
Market Activity Summary for December 2019
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

ActiveAverage

Closings

PricePrice$756,342$615,000

2,416Median

1,107

2,260

Snohomish

611

1,006

987

1,152

$532,738$495,000

Pierce

720

1,056

1,020

1,217

$414,046$369,000

Total

2,438

4,322

3,905

4,785

$567,709$493,000

King

1,898

# ofS eattle ranked seventh making green progress
Seattle ranked seventh on a list of the cities across the country making
the most progress toward sustainability, according to a new study andreported in the Seattle PI. The study, from by CommercialCafe, ranked

the top 50 U.S. cities making green progress based on a series ofmetrics including energy-related CO2 emissions reduction, thepercentage of commuters walking or biking, air quality improvements
and the share of environmentally focused jobs in the city. Seattle'sranking in the top 10 came in part due to the increase in the number ofcommuters in the city who walk or bike to work.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
December2019(King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Area (Area Code)Average $Average $2019 VS

Dec. 2019

Dec. 2018

2018

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$472,926$419,494

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)$

528,320$

507,472

12.74%
4.11%

West Seattle (140)$694,482$

706,477-1.70%$

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$

709,149625,398

13.39%

E.lake-Madison-Capital Hill (390)$

1,253,218$ 1,234,469

1.52%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$

1,159,718$ 1,127,151*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701)$816,750$

916,000-10.84%Ballard-Greenlake (705)$807,775$

786,921

2.65%

North Seattle (710)$

887,949$855,036

3.85%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$859,221$695,650

23.51%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$

2,731,379$ 3,253,062-16.04%Mercer Island (510)$

1,770,319$ 2,994,470-40.88%Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$

1,132,486$ 1,127,982

0.40%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350)$

648,261

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$1,262,784

Kirkland Downtown (560)$

1,359,427

Redmond (550)$986,002

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$1,015,364

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)

$

2.89%

629,166

3.03%$ 1,269,263-0.51%$ 1,375,846-1.19%$

985,447

0.06%$

953,775

6.46%

942,938$

929,9021.40%$

699,132$

763,640-8.45%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$

601,283$

598,138

0.53%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740)$537,065$489,390

9.74%*Condominium SOLD Average

I nventory Declines 12% in December
The month of December saw the largest year over year decline ofhousing inventory in almost three years, with inventory declining
12%, according to realtor.com.
That decline left the lowest number of homes for sale in the U.S sinceJanuary 2018, according to the December 2019 Housing Trends
Report from realtor.com.
The inventory decline increased among all levels of the housing
market, including luxury. “The market is struggling with a large
housing undersupply just as 4.8 million millennials are reaching 30years of age in 2020, a prime age for many to purchase their firsthome,” according to realtor.com Senior Economist, George Ratiu.
Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

January 14, 2020

Senior Loan Officer

Regional Breakdown

425-766-5408
gina@gmgloan.com
www.loansbygina.com

Average Rates
Fees & Points
APR30-Yr
FNMA
3.375%

30-Yr
FHA
2.875%

15-Yr
FNMA
3.00%

5/1
ARM
3.75%

*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

3.511%

3.583%

3.247%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
620 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA

3.891%