© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 3 2017 Issue

H ousing Inventory Reaches Record Low,
But Brokers Expect Spring Bounce
Home buyers are in a spring mood, but sellers are still hibernating,suggested one broker while commenting about the latest statistics from
Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Figures for February and feedback
from brokers indicate record-low inventory is spurring multiple offers,
rising prices, fewer sales, and frustrated house-hunters.
During the past three months, brokers have added 17,572 new listings toinventory, down only 5.7 percent when compared to the same three-month
period of a year ago. During the latest December-to-February timeframe,
MLS members reported 22,393 pending sales, far outpacing the number ofnew listings.
"Our robust market has created extreme conditions, and we're seeing
frenzy hot activity on each new listing coming on the market," reported
J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott. "We're also
experiencing some of the lowest inventory levels on record," he noted.
In fact, a check of Northwest MLS records dating to 2004 shows no othermonth when the number of active listings dipped below the 10,000 mark until last month.
At the end of February, there were 9,091 active listings in the Northwest
MLS system, which encompasses 23 counties. That represents a drop ofnearly 25 percent from the year-ago total of 12,107.
Scott expects inventory to start rising in March, but he also anticipates thenumber of buyers will increase too. "It will continue to be a competitivemarket in the more affordable and mid-price ranges," he predicts.
Both King and Snohomish County had less than one month of supply.
Area-wide there was about 1.7 months of supply. (In general, four-to-six
months of supply is considered balanced.)Year-over-year prices are up nearly 8.9 percent area-wide, with 13
counties reporting double-digit gains. The median price for last month's
5,374 closed sales of single family homes and condos (combined) was$335,000. Closed sales volumes rose nearly 6.9 percent from a year ago.

factored in, Seattle drops to the No. 3 spot, following Denver and Austin.
Hired uses its own data in the study, collected from its work helping
companies find job candidates and offering them positions.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
February 2017 (King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Average $Area (Area Code)Average $2017 VS
2016
17.12%

Feb. 2017

Feb. 2016

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$377,293$ 322,139

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)
West Seattle (140)$$423,779
573,212$ 379,507$ 557,413

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$542,844$ 535,776

E.lake-Madison-Capital Hill (390)$916,393$ 848,270

8.03%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$ 1,064,844$ 969,880

9.79%

11.67%
2.83%
1.32%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701) $793,252$ 762,950

3.97%

Ballard-Greenlake (705)766,954$ 689,539

11.23%$

North Seattle (710)$822,202$ 751,744

9.37%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$819,514$ 563,047

45.55%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$ 2,137,855$ 2,061,370

3.71%

Mercer Island (510)$ 2,222,971$ 2,101,571

5.78%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$946,852$ 842,368

12.40%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350) $585,494$ 489,143

19.70%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$948,354$ 837,851

13.19%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$ 1,131,365$ 1,111,458

1.79%

Redmond (550)$807,561$ 678,356

19.05%

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$852,502$ 756,060

12.76%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$698,970$ 596,566

17.17%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$610,690$ 509,168

19.94%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$532,876$ 498,813

6.83%$ 391,638

12.46%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740) $440,427*Condominium SOLD Average

For single family homes (excluding condos), the median selling price inKing County was $560,000. That's a gain of more than 8.7 percent from theyear-ago figure of $514,975.

U.S. Housing Wealth Reaches Record High

Snohomish County prices spiked more than 18.2 percent, rising from$327,500 to $387,250. For single family homes only, prices in that county
increased 14.9 percent, from $359,000 to $412,500.

According to new information from Zillow, the total value of the U.S.
housing stock grew to a record-high level of $29.6 trillion last year. In
2016 alone, $1.6 trillion was added to the worth of America’s homes– a 5.7 % increase from 2015.

Market Activity Summary for February 2017
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

Price

MedianPriceKing

2,389

1,731

2,673

1,793

$614,587$502,000

Snohomish

1,083

840

1,296

904

$413,062$387,250

Pierce

1,217

1,416

1,616

985

$299,095$274,950

Total

4,689

3,987

5,585

3,682

$442,248$388,067

S econd best-paid techies in the country
According to a report from San Francisco career site Hired, Seattle
techies are the second-best-paid in the country. The average software
engineer in Seattle makes $126,000 a year, falling just short of the$134,000 salary Bay Area engineers make. When cost of living is

Such positive numbers highlight the housing market’s ongoinggrowth. While this is welcome news for homeowners and sellers, it
presents a “call to action” for first time homebuyers who risk being
priced out of desirable neighborhoods.
Before home prices and rates escalate further, talk to your real estateagent to start sharing in the nation’s housing wealth.
Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

M arch 14, 2017

Mortgage Specialist /Mortgage Capital Associates

Regional Breakdown

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

Average Rates
Fees & P o ints
AP R

30-Yr
FNM A
4.25%

30-Yr
FHA
3.750%

15-Yr
FNM A
3.25%

5/1
A RM
3.125%*All loans are wit h a one point originat ion f ee.

4.382%

5.604%

3.250%

3.248%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
640 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA