© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 1 2017 Issue

H ome buyer frustration continues due tolimited selection; price increases
Like many other months of 2016, December was frustrating for buyers
across Washington state as they encountered depleted inventory and rising
prices. Post-election hikes in interest rates - with more on the horizon -added to would-be homeowners' worries.
Northwest Multiple Listing Service statistics for December show yearover-year drops in new listings, but gains in pending sales, closed sales andprices. Pending sales (mutually accepted offers) in the four-county Puget
Sound region reached their highest level since 2005.

sector added 4,700 jobs, while the public sector saw a decrease of 1,100.
The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in November. The ratein the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area dropped from 3.8 percent in October
to 3.7 percent in November.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
December 2016 (King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Average $Average $2016 VS

Dec. 2016

Dec. 2015

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$351,940$ 332,391

2015
5.88%

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)
West Seattle (140)$$437,564
540,317$ 358,711$ 558,046

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$560,317$ 498,106-3.18%
12.49%

E.lake-Madison-Capital Hill (390)$832,091$ 866,317-3.95%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$973,757$ 930,316

4.67%"The housing market remains frenzy hot on a seasonal basis," exclaimed
J. Lennox Scott. Noting sales activity was substantially higher than thenumber of new listings, he said such conditions "continue to foster acompetitive market where homebuyers are just waiting for the next newlisting to come on the market."*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701) $738,669$ 723,645

2.08%

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$722,257$ 638,011

13.20%

North Seattle (710)$746,252$ 753,236-0.93%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$578,573$ 569,441

1.60%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$ 2,146,822$ 1,783,473

20.37%

Commenting on strong sales in the Central Puget Sound region, Scottnoted King County recorded the biggest year-over-year jump in pending
sales of single family homes, surging nearly 11.3 percent, well ahead of
Kitsap (up 4.5 percent), Pierce (up 4 percent) and Snohomish (up 3.2percent).

Mercer Island (510)$ 1,522,946$ 1,384,194

10.02%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$902,842$ 829,679

8.82%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350) $529,010$ 490,616

7.83%

Brokers added 4,217 new listings to the inventory during December tobring the supply up to 10,571 listings. The volume of new listings surpassed
the year-ago figure of 4,041, but supply still fell, dropping to only 1.4
months for the Northwest MLS market area covering 23 counties. BothKing and Snohomish counties reported less than a month of inventory.

Closed sales also finished on a strong note with brokers reporting 7,575
completed transactions during December. That's up more than 6.8 percent
from a year ago when members notched 7,091 closed sales.
Prices area-wide also continued trending upward, rising nearly 9.2 percent
from a year ago. The overall median price for single family homes andcondominiums that sold during December was $343,950; a year ago it was$315,000.
King County prices jumped 12.2 percent, from $450,000 in December
2015 to $505,000 for last month's sales. For single family homes (excludingcondominiums) the median price for December's sales was $550,000,
unchanged from October and November. Prices peaked this year in KingCounty in June, reaching $573,522.
Scott, the chairman and CEO of John L. Scott, expects a higher number of
new listings will start to show up in mid-February - "just in time for thespring housing market rush.“Area (Area Code)21.98%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$893,237$ 717,342

24.52%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$ 1,056,813$ 927,196

13.98%

Redmond (550)$883,913$ 705,847

25.23%

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$864,631$ 706,250

22.43%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$700,893$ 638,493

9.77%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$633,484$ 538,103

17.73%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$510,263$ 455,729

11.97%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740) $408,612$ 370,632

10.25%*Condominium SOLD Average

L ending update for January 20170Loan amounts have increased:
King/Pierce/Snohomish Conventional and FHA loan amounts areraised to $592,250.00 for a single unit.
For multiple units, the loan amount increases are as follows: Duplex$758,200.00 Tri-plex $916,450.00 Four-plex: $1,138,950.00
Conforming loan amount has been raised to $420,100.00

Market Activity Summary for December 2016
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Closings

Average

MedianPrice

Price

1,329

1,985

2,092

2,701

$600,324$505,000

Snohomish

658

1,020

1,104

1,147

$414,466$379,350

Pierce

807

1,763

1,201

1,326

$311,436$280,500Total

2,794

4,768

4,397

5,174

$442,075$388,283

KingActive# ofFHA News:FHA has DECREASED its monthly mortgage insurance premiumfrom .85 of the loan amount to .60 of the loan amount.
FHA still allows the down payment of 3.50% to be gift and the seller
or other 3rd party can pay the closing costs. Wonderful way topurchase your first home up to $613,730.00 with zero out of pocket
expense!
W eekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

January 11, 2017

W ashington state added 3,600 jobs

Mortgage Specialist /Mortgage Capital Associates

Regional Breakdown

Washington state's unemployment rate dipped to 5.3 percent inNovember and the state added 3,600 jobs. November's unemployment
rate was the lowest since June 2008. According to numbers released
mid-December by the Employment Security Department, the private

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

Average Rates
Fees & Points
APR

30-Yr
FNMA
4.00%

30-Yr
FHA
3.375%

15-Yr
FNMA

5/1
ARM

3.125%

3.125%*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

4.021%

4.867%

3.342%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
640 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA

3.249%