© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 11 2019 Issue

S parse supply spurring more competition Sammamish scored 5th best in the nation for Economic Health and alsoscored above average in Safety and Education & Health. Overall,among motivated home buyers in Western WA Sammamish ranked No. 3 in the nation according to the study. Other"People are moving here, home prices will continue to increase, inventory
shortages will occur. That's our future," remarked Dick Beeson, principal
managing broker at RE/MAX Northwest in Gig Harbor, upon viewing theOctober statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Beeson, a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors, and other
MLS leaders also commented on inventory shortages, which some refer to as
the "new normal." The sustained, lower levels of supply "drive some buyers
crazy as they keep expecting to gain the upper hand," Beeson reported,
adding, "It's not going to happen any time soon.
MLS figures for its 23-county service area show 1.73 months of supply
overall. Ten counties, mostly in the Puget Sound area, have less than twomonths of supply of single family homes and condominiums. Northwest
MLS records show the last time the supply of homes and condos exceeded
three months was February 2015, when there was just over 3.5 months ofsupply.
Despite the slim selection, demand was strong as the volume of pending
sales (9,517) outgained the number of new listings added during October(8,394). Nine counties reported double-digit jumps in pending sales
compared to 12 months ago.
"The most recent data certainly appears to bolster the idea of a 'newnormal,' as we see the same trends continuing," stated Mike Grady, president
and COO of Coldwell Banker Bain. "Inventory is staying between 1.7 and2.3 months and median sales prices are stabilizing" in many areas, he noted,adding, "Couple this with continuing positive economic news locally -including a positive forecast for job creation, interest rates at all-time lows,
and several new condo projects in the pipeline (instead of apartments) given
the legislature's change this year in the construction defects laws - all thesepoint to a new definition of a 'balanced market' of only two months ofinventory instead of 4-to-6 months.“Northwest MLS figures show sales prices continue to be wide ranging, notonly when comparing counties in the report, but also within many counties.
In King County, for example, the median price on last month's 2,757
completed transactions was $605,000, down about 1.4% from a year ago.
Within King County, where Northwest MLS tracks 30 sub-areas, mediansales prices ranged from $371,000 (in Des Moines/Redondo Beach) to$1,892,500 (in Bellevue west of I-405).
Year-over-year price changes ranged from a drop of nearly 20% (inVashon) to a jump of more than 21% (in Bellevue west of I-405).

Listings
NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

TotalPending

ActiveB reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
October 2019 (King/Snohomish/Pierce County) SOLD Average
Average $Area (Area Code)Oct. 2019

Average $2019 VS

Oct. 2018

2018

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$

440,789$

426,531

3.34%

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)$

518,579$

507,626

2.16%

West Seattle (140)$695,921$647,623

7.46%

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$

709,607$656,735

8.05%

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

1,231,859$ 1,218,115

1.13%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$

1,360,246$ 1,182,921

14.99%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701)$

988,235$

795,335

24.25%

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$

832,493$860,032-3.20%

North Seattle (710)$

1,000,663$

944,188

5.98%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$664,910$

676,601-1.73%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$

3,032,063$ 2,847,501

6.48%

Mercer Island (510)$

1,834,254$ 2,142,738-14.40%Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$

1,038,906$ 1,160,971-10.51%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350)$

594,789

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$1,098,097$

583,354

1.96%$ 1,113,215-1.36%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$

1,389,706$ 1,331,578

4.37%

Redmond (550)$957,114$959,028-0.20%

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$

961,458$

926,023

3.83%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$

838,142$873,517-4.05%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$

712,419$

731,957-2.67%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$

640,114$588,087

8.85%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740)$534,594$496,278

7.72%*Condominium SOLD Average

Down payment help from family and friends
Home prices are rising with no signs of slowing, and affordability isgetting worse each month, causing potential homebuyers to turn to family
or even friends to come up with a down payment.

Market Activity Summary for October 2019
Single Family

Puget Sound area suburbs scored well too, including Bothell andKirkland, who were in a virtual tie for 27th, with Redmond andIssaquah also finishing in the top 10th percentile.

# ofAverageMedianClosingsPricePrice

King

3,013

4,808

3,211

2,757

$741,621$605,000

Snohomish

1,316

1,912

1,508

1,268

$524,503$475,000

Pierce

1,300

1,764

1,579

1,366

$400,360$360,000

Total

5,629

8,484

6,298

5,391

$555,495$480,000

Best small cities in America
Sammamish has been named among the best small cities in America,
according to a recent study. WalletHub compared more than 1,200 U.S.
cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 across 42 key
indicators of livability for the study, ranging from housing costs toschool-system quality to restaurants per capita. The indicators werethen grouped into 5 major categories: Affordability, Economic Health,
Education & Health, Quality of Life and Safety.

The 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report from the National
Association of Realtors revealed that more than 30% of first-time
homebuyers used down payment help from family and friends.
This is despite seeing lower down payments. In 2019, the median down
payment was 12% for all buyers, 6% for first-time buyers and 16% forrepeat buyers.
Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

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

November 8, 2019
Regional Breakdown

Average Rates
Fees & Points
APR30-Yr
FNMA
3.625%

30-Yr
FHA
3.00%

15-Yr
FNMA
3.125%

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

3.765%

4.587%

3.372%** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
620 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA

3.938%