© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 10 2018 Issue

B alance “finally returning” to housing
market as buyers welcome more choices
A new report from Northwest MLS shows double-digit increases ininventory in several of the 23 counties it serves, led by a 78 percent yearover-year gain in King County.
System-wide, the month ended with 2.56 months of supply of single
family homes and condos, well below the 4-to-6 months analysts use as anindicator of a balanced market between sellers and buyers. The current levelis the highest since February 2015 when member-brokers reported 3.56
months of inventory. In King County, supply exceeded two months for the
first time since January 2015.
Brokers added 10,458 new listings of single family homes and condos tothe MLS database during September, slightly more than the year-ago figureof 10,120. At month end, buyers could choose from 19,526 listings, a 22.9
percent improvement from twelve months ago when selection totaled
15,888 listings.
Commenting on the wider selection, Mike Grady said buyers "are at longlast now seeing properties that stay on the market longer." Listings that are
priced appropriately, "and not based on the feverish market we saw just afew months ago are still selling quickly, and home prices are still showing 8
percent appreciation year-over-year - more than double the rate ofinflation," added Grady, the president and COO of Coldwell Banker Bain.
J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate,encouraged would-be buyers to "put extra focus on October," which hedescribed as the last great month for new listings until March 2019. "Overthe winter, new monthly resale listings will lower by approximately 50
percent compared to summer months." He also noted interest rates,
currently in the upper 4 percent, are projected to rise in the coming months.
Pending sales (mutually accepted offers) were down nearly 14 percent
area-wide, with about half the counties in the MLS report showing doubledigit declines. Members notched 8,913 pending sales last month, a slippageof 1,435 sales when compared to the same month a year ago.
Closed sales also reflected slower activity. Members reported 7,630
completed transactions during September, down 18.6 percent from the yearago volume of 9,371. Through nine months, this year's closings are down
4.4 percent compared to 2017.
Prices across the 23 counties in the Northwest MLS report are up about 5
percent from a year ago, with ten counties reporting double-digit gains. The
median price for last month's completed sales of single family homes andcondos system-wide was $400,000, up from the year-ago median price of$381,000. Last month's price was down $15,000 (-3.6 percent) from August
and $25,000 (-5.9 percent) from the year's peak (so far), which occurred inJune when the median price was $425,000.
Market Activity Summary for September 2018
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

Price

MedianPrice

King

4,247

6,587

2,869

2,331

$729,083$610,000

Snohomish

1,607

2,568

1,307

1,180

$498,670$458,197

Pierce

1,557

2,742

1,612

1,367

$391,704$345,000

Total

7,411

11,897

5,788

4,878

$539,819$471,066

I mportance of schools to homebuyers
Schools are sacrosanct for most house-hunters, according to a survey byrealtor.com. Seventy-eight percent of buyers who currently live in theirpreferred school district had to compromise to get there. An even larger
number of buyers with children - 91 percent - said that schoolboundaries were important or very important. Realtor.com surveyed

1,000 people in July who closed on a home earlier this year. "Whilebuyers understand that they're going to have to make somecompromises to find a home in today's market, schools remain nonnegotiable on their home wish list."

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
September 2018 (King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Average $Average $2018 VS

Sept. 2018

Sept.20172017

Area (Area Code)
Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$

417,040 $414,093

0.71%

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)$

516,957 $453,165

14.08%

West Seattle (140)$678,974 $

636,971

6.59%

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$

628,438 $691,996-9.18%

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

1,104,660$

978,899

12.85%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$1,359,570$ 1,001,153

35.80%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701)$853,666 $

829,041

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$868,036 $

798,781

8.67%

North Seattle (710)$$866,687

23.66%

637,044 $694,807-8.31%$ 2,919,999

17.77%

1,071,733

2.97%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$Bellevue Downtown (520)$

3,438,950

Mercer Island (510)$

1,766,287$ 1,678,688

5.22%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$

1,082,068$ 1,103,625-1.95%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350)$587,930 $

571,347

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$975,893 $

971,576

0.44%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$$ 1,228,928

12.44%

Redmond (550)$902,565 $

860,974

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$

966,505 $948,954

1.85%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$840,393 $

722,334

16.34%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$

719,764 $

650,41210.66%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$594,360 $

581,402

2.23%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740)$495,548 $472,786

4.81%

1,381,817

2.90%

4.83%

*Condominium SOLD Average

M ortgage rates jump past 5%, signaling
more home price cuts ahead•The average rate on the 30-year fixed sat just below 4 percent a yearago, after dropping below 3.5 percent in 2016. It just crossed the 5
percent mark, according to Mortgage News Daily.
•While more people think now is a good time to buy a home,according to a monthly sentiment survey from Fannie Mae, morepeople also think mortgage rates will go up.
•Higher rates could throw cold water on those high home prices, assellers see demand fall off and their houses sit on the market longer.

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Senior Loan Officer

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

Regional Breakdown

Average Rates
Fees & Points
APR30-Yr
FNMA
4.75%

30-Yr
FHA
4.25%

15-Yr
FNMA
4.125%

5/1
ARM
4.25%

*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

4.895%

5.221%

4.372%

4.390%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
620 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA