© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 2 2018 Issue

H ome buyers still competing for sparse
inventory in Western WA, Driving up prices- especially for sought after Condominiums"The Seattle area real estate market hasn't skipped a beat with pent-up
demand from buyers is stronger than ever," remarked broker John Deely inreacting to the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The
report on January activity shows a slight year-over-year gain in pending
sales, a double-digit increase in prices, and continued shortages ofinventory.
Member brokers added 6,805 new listings of single family homes andcondominiums to the system-wide database last month for a gain of about
4.6 percent from a year ago. In King County, the number of new listings
outgained pending sales for the first time since September:
For the MLS overall, last month's 7,820 pending sales marked a slightincrease compared to January 2017 when members reported 7,724 mutuallyaccepted offers, a gain in of 1.24 percent. In King County, where acuteinventory shortages exist in many neighborhoods, pending sales dropped
7.5 percent and closings dropped 18.5 percent.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
January 2018 (King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Average $Average $2017 VSJan. 2018

Jan. 2017

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$388,012$ 342,122

2016
13.41%

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)
West Seattle (140)$$473,476
728,864$ 434,734$ 537,284

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$721,276$ 557,396

35.66%
29.40%

E.lake-Madison-Capital Hill (390)$ 1,019,832$ 830,886

22.74%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$ 1,179,199$ 958,775

22.99%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701) $ 1,022,299$ 896,995

13.97%
11.13%

Area (Area Code)Ballard-Greenlake (705)$805,263$ 724,595

North Seattle (710)$ 1,028,073$ 809,242

27.04%
31.33%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$780,556$ 594,349

Bellevue Downtown (520)$ 2,809,191$ 1,649,200

70.34%-27.75%Mercer Island (510)$ 1,578,469$ 2,184,850

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$ 1,127,433$ 1,035,301

8.90%

564,297$ 491,10614.90%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$ 1,114,924$ 896,361

24.38%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$ 1,390,568$ 1,005,574

38.29%

895,849$ 768,925

16.51%

913,311$ 842,374

8.42%$ 761,910

11.04%"The decline in sales last month can't be blamed on the holidays, weather
or football. It's simply due to the ongoing shortage of housing that continues
to plague markets throughout Western Washington," said OB Jacobi, thepresident of Windermere Real Estate.

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350) $Redmond (550)$Condo inventory is especially tight in Snohomish County (0.8 months ofsupply) and King County (0.92 months). System-wide there is under amonth's supply (0.93 months).

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600) $845,990

Despite the sparse selection, brokers expect inventory to improve.
"The month of March can't come soon enough for home buyers," said J.
Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. "In March,
the number of new listings will bump up substantially from the low numberof new listings typical for winter months. Better selection will start inMarch as we enter the spring housing season," Scott predicts.
Prices for homes and condos combined shot up 20.3 percent in King
county, rising from $475,000 to $571,250. Pierce County reported a jump of
15 percent, followed by Snohomish County at about 12.2 percent andKitsap County at nearly 3.5 percent.
The depleted supply of condos meant premium prices. Area-wide themedian price for last month's completed transactions rose nearly 18.6
percent, from $269,900 to $320,000. Snohomish County's condo prices
surged nearly 25.5 percent, followed by King County at nearly 22.6 percent.
Market Activity Summary for January 2018
Listings
Single FamilyNew

Homes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active
1,509

2,282

# ofAverage

Closings

Price

Price

$586,775$571,250

1,635

MedianKing

2,326

Snohomish

1,024

667

1,194

836

$421,750$426,250

Pierce

1,233

1,360

1,570

998

$295,396$307,250

Total

4,583

3,536

5,046

3,469

$434,640$434,917

R ents are dropping across the Seattle area
Rents are dropping significantly across the Seattle area for the first time
this decade, as a flood of new construction has left apartments sitting
empty in Seattle's hottest neighborhoods. The average rent across Kingand Snohomish counties dipped 2.9 percent in December compared withthe prior quarter, according to a new quarterly landlord survey byApartment Insights/RealData. .

8.91%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$695,921$ 610,689

13.96%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$594,715$ 532,875

11.60%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740) $467,791$ 440,427

6.21%*Condominium SOLD AverageHome prices Up for fifth consective month
CoreLogic Reports December Home Prices Up More Than 6 Percent
Year-Over-Year for Fifth Consecutive Month.
Largest Price gains during 2017 were in California, Nevada, Utah,
Idaho and Washington
Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that homeprices will increase by 4.3 percent on a year-over-year basis fromDecember 2017 to December 2018, and on a month-over-month basis
home prices are expected to decrease by 0.4 percent from December
2017 to January 2018.
“The number of homes for sale has remained very low,” said Dr.
Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Job growth lowered
the unemployment rate to 4.1 percent by year’s end, the lowest levelin 17 years. Rising income and consumer confidence has increased
the number of prospective homebuyers. The net result of risingdemand and limited for-sale inventory is a continued appreciation inhome prices.”.
Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)
Mortgage Specialist /Mortgage Capital Associates

February 9, 2018425-766-5408
gina@gmgloan.com
www.loansbygina.com

A verage Rates

Regional Breakdown

Fees & Po ints
A PR30-Yr
FNM A
4.25%

30-Yr
FHA
3.875%

15-Yr
FNM A

5/1A RM

3.75%

3.75%

*All loans are wit h a one point originat ion f ee.

4.339%

5.295%

3.904%

3.836%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
640 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA