© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 5 2019 Issue

to make the Top 100 list. Kirkland came in No. 2, while Pasco,
Shoreline and Richland rounded out the top 5. Kennewick completed
the Tri-Cities' impressive showing, coming in at No. 7.

N orthwest MLS housing report for April
signals good news for home buyers
Housing activity during April signaled good news for buyers in Western
Washington as inventory continued to grow, the rate of price increases wasslowing in many areas (and even decreasing in a few counties), and mortgage
rates remained low.
Northwest Multiple Listing Service statistics for last month show a 28.5
percent overall increase in active listings compared to the same month a year
ago, a 5.8 percent gain in pending sales, and a 2.4 percent rise in median
prices for sales of single family homes and condos that closed during April.
The volume of closings dipped slightly (down 1.9 percent).
"Listings were popping up like April flowers and the bloom has produced avibrant and healthy market," exclaimed MLS director John Deely, principal
managing broker at Coldwell Banker Bain. "With an increased supply oflisting inventory, low interest rates, and a positive economic climate, buyers
are confident that this is a good time to buy," he reported, while noting alarger number of buyers are opting out of competing with other buyers.
"This year's buyers and sellers are approaching the market with morecaution and a focus on an analytical, versus emotional approach that has
ruled the last several years," Deely said.
Northwest MLS members added 11,697 new listings to inventory during
April for a year-over-year gain of nearly 3.8 percent. During the same period,
brokers reported 11,188 pending sales (509 fewer than the number of newlistings), resulting in net gains in the number of active listings in many
counties, but changes in inventory were wide ranging across the 23 counties
the MLS serves.
Seven counties had double-digit growth in inventory from a year ago, led
by King County (up 78.5 percent) and Snohomish County (up nearly 57percent). Northwest MLS figures show both King County and its 23-county
system have around 1.7 months of supply.
"We just experienced a strong spring market and are now heading into thepre-summer phase of the housing cycle where more inventory but also morebuyer competition is commonplace," stated J. Lennox Scott, chairman andCEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. He expects momentum will continue "inline with positive job growth, lower interest rates and a strong U.S.
economy," but believes price appreciation will start to level out heading intosummer. "All eyes will be on each new listing this summer, a welcome sightfor home buyers encountering multiple-offer situations in the more
affordable and mid-price ranges," Scott added.
Market Activity Summary for April 2019
Listings
Single Family

New

Homes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

PriceMedianPriceKing

4,365

4,624

3,988

2,739

$753,845$625,000

Snohomish

1,746

1,554

1,714

1,201

$512,566$479,000

Pierce

1,711

1,502

1,847

1,286

$386,988$355,000

Total

7,822

7,680

7,549

5,226

$551,133$486,333

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
April 2019 (King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Apr. 2019

Average $2019 VS

APr. 2018

2018

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$

431,040$407,053

5.89%

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)$510,801$

509,8310.19%

West Seattle (140)$729,797$

719,2741.46%$

725,057-5.58%$ 1,270,565-9.80%

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$

684,607

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

1,146,072

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$

1,230,592*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701)$689,974$

792,177$$ 1,150,016

7.01%-12.90%Ballard-Greenlake (705)$856,725

North Seattle (710)$

1,030,633

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$806,269

Bellevue Downtown (520)$

3,078,582$ 2,983,424

3.19%

Mercer Island (510)$

1,788,183$ 2,175,031-17.79%Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$

1,091,274$ 1,124,528-2.96%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350)$

646,993$649,726-0.42%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$1,116,189$ 1,090,433

2.36%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$

1,530,097$ 1,395,958

9.61%

Redmond (550)$978,132$937,060

4.38%

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$

987,404$989,425-0.20%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$

843,032$

890,718-5.35%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$

713,129$

738,154-3.39%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$604,079$

653,290-7.53%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740)$523,046$

527,409-0.83%

938,212-8.69%$ 1,055,824-2.39%$

13.29%

711,662*Condominium SOLD Average

C ondo mortgage business - Poised for aBreakout
Condominium loans represent only about 8 % of total mortgages, ashare that has remain fairly stable for several years. However,
CoreLogic says they are poised to play a much larger role. Jacqueline
Doty, writing in the company's Insights blog, says the loans, which
are overwhelmingly (80 %) conventional, have enjoyed recent gains.
The changes have been especially notable in the jumbo sector where
there has been a steady increase of condo sales in the over $1 million
price range since 2009.
Add to this the looming entry into the housing market of youngAmericans, those aged 25 to 27 and it appears that the demand for
condos will only increase.

S ammamish, the safest city in Washington
Sammamish was named the safest city in Washington, based on a study
by SafeHome.org. and reported by KOMO News. The agency usedcrime data from the FBI and thousands of police agencies who covertowns of at least 46,000 people. Categories included property crimes,
violent crime trend, violent crimes, citizen to officer ratio and property
crime trend, researchers wrote. Sammamish was named No. 1 inWashington and even made their national list at No. 78 - - the only city

Average $Area (Area Code)Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)
Senior Loan Officer
425-766-5408
gina@gmgloan.com
www.loansbygina.com

May 10, 2019
Regional Breakdown

Average Rates
Fees & Points
APR30-Yr
FNMA
3.875%

30-Yr
FHA
3.50%

15-Yr
FNMA
3.375%

5/1
ARM
3.875%*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

4.010%

4.534%

3.613%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
620 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA

4.009%