© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 3 2021 Issue

H ousing market stays hot despite some “lousy”
February weather
Housing activity during February remained hot around much of Washington
state despite significant accumulation of lowland snow over the Valentine’s
Day weekend, according to the latest statistical report from the Northwest
Multiple Listing Service.
Northwest MLS figures show brokers added a similar number of newlistings of single family homes and condos last month (7,418) as a year ago(7,786), for a difference of 368 properties (down 4.7%).
Total active listings of single family homes declined nearly 44% from a year
ago. The selection of single family homes fell more than 51% while condo
inventory rose 7.9%.
“We are virtually sold out of unsold inventory everywhere in the Central
Puget Sound area except the Seattle city core,” stated J. Lennox Scott,chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.
There are only about three weeks of supply (0.74 months) of inventory inthe MLS database, which covers 26 counties. For residential only (excludingcondos), the shortage is more pronounced at only 0.67 months’ supply.
Condominium shoppers will find somewhat more selection, with inventory
up 7.93% from a year ago, and more than a month of supply (1.12 months).
Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner said it was particularlyinteresting to see the jump in pending sales in the Puget Sound region fromJanuary and February. For the tri-county area encompassing King, Pierce andSnohomish counties, the MLS report shows there were 4,896 pending sales inJanuary and 5,232 sales in February for a month-to-month gain of 6.9%.
“This tells me that neither the snowstorm that hit the region nor the jump in
mortgage rates deterred buyers who were still out in force last month,” saidGardner.
Freddie Mac reported an average rate of 3.02% for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage for the week ending March 4. That’s up five basis points from theprevious week, and the first time since July 2020 that the benchmark
mortgage rate climbed above 3%.
Northwest MLS member-brokers reported 5,812 closed sales during
February for a 10.4% increase over the year-ago total of 5,265 closings. The
median price on last month’s completed sales jumped more than 15% from ayear ago, increasing from $445,000 to $512,000. Twenty of the 26 counties in
the report showed double-digit YOY price gains.
Scott noted March historically marks the beginning of an eight-monthprimetime real estate market. “After an intense winter in the local real estatemarket, more new resale listings are on the horizon,” he remarked, adding,“The intensity we’re seeing should come down slightly as more available
homes enter the market, but we have to play catch-up with pent-up buyerdemand first.”
Market Activity Summary for February 2021
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

Price

MedianPrice

King

2,893

1,828

2,865

2,146

$820,541$679,075

Snohomish

1,045

347

1,117

835

$633,547$576,050

Pierce

1,239

520

1,250

961

$496,160$455,000

Total

5,177

2,695

5,232

3,942

$650,083$570,042

S econd-healthiest city in the nation: Seattle
A new study ranks Seattle as the second-healthiest city in the nation. Thestudy, by personal finance website WalletHub, compared more than 180of the largest U.S. cities across 44 key metrics, from the cost of medical
visits to fruit and vegetable consumption to fitness clubs per capita. SanFrancisco ranked as the nation's healthiest city, with Seattle as a close

second. Portland, Ore., was ranked as third-healthiest. Seattle posted
some impressive scores in individual areas as well - ranking first in thenation for its share of physically active adults and fourth for mostrunning and walking trails per capita. The nation's least healthy city,
according to the study, is Brownsville, Texas. Other cities ranking in
the bottom five: Laredo, Texas; Gulfport, Miss.; Shreveport, La.; andMemphis, Tenn.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD AverageFebruary 2021 (King/Snohomish County) SOLD Average
Area (Area Code)Average $Average $2021 VS

Feb. 2021

Feb. 2020

2020

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$542,025$475,755

13.93%

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)$649,805$546,647

18.87%

West Seattle (140)$748,913$717,029

4.45%

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$736,145$623,121

18.14%

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

1,036,190$ 1,110,068-6.66%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$1,296,785$ 1,085,140

19.50%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701)$710,796$

799,311-11.07%

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$

870,050$

843,650

3.13%

North Seattle (710)$

966,908$

822,086

17.62%$

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$735,110795,156-7.55%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$

3,321,005$ 3,342,565-0.65%

Mercer Island (510)$2,012,464$ 2,230,356-9.77%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$1,401,593$ 1,233,229

13.65%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350)$791,712

690,458

14.66%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$1,262,810$ 1,113,292

13.43%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$

1,833,865$ 1,685,099

8.83%

Redmond (550)$

1,202,955$

919,683

30.80%

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$1,187,183$ 1,013,601

17.13%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$

1,145,455$924,80223.86%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$

914,238$775,278

17.92%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$859,048$

676,11027.06%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740)$649,546$

519,768

24.97%$*Condominium SOLD Average

Housing markets in Vacation destination
Housing markets in vacation destinations have heated up more thanany other area over the last year, a time period that starts with the onsetof the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. Places like Lake Tahoe, Cape
Cod, and suburbs of Chicago and New York City are gaining
popularity as homebuyers take advantage of remote-work policies toprioritize affordability and personal preferences like proximity tonature and recreation over living near the office.
This is according to a Redfin analysis of the 10 U.S. housing markets
that have heated up most over the past year, and the 10 that havecooled down most.

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

Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)March 12, 2021
Regional Breakdown

Average Rates
Fees & Points
APR

30-Yr
FNMA
3.00%

30-Yr
FHA
2.50%

15-Yr
FNMA
2.25%

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

2.510%

3.303%

2.501%-**** 5/1 ARM’s are not pricing right now due to liquidity issues
with the Forbearance due to COVID 19** Owner Occupied / Single Family Residence
740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional