© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 6 2020 Issue

H ousing activity in Western Washington shows
resiliency as buyers, sellers and brokers adjust
to COVID-19 restrictions
Despite the economic downturn and disruptions stemming from thecoronavirus pandemic, Northwest MLS member-brokers reported impressive
improvement from April to May on some key indicators. The volume of newlistings, including single family homes and condominiums, rose 29.2% andpending sales jumped more than 44% systemwide.
“The resiliency of the market is amazing,” remarked Dean Rebhuhn, ownerof Village Homes and Properties in Woodinville. “I didn’t think I would missopen houses until they could not happen,” he said, referring to limitations on
in-person interactions. “The pandemic may be causing buyers to move farther
out, wanting to get some space and a useable yard.” Amenities such as parks
and trails are also important in current homebuying decisions, he added.
Brokers and homebuyers alike seem to be adjusting to restrictions imposedon the real estate industry because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The local real estate market is hot, but it looks different than it traditionallydoes,” remarked J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real
Estate. “The constraint on available inventory makes it feel like we’re runningout of homes to sell.”
Brokers added 9,871 new listings to the MLS database during May, which
compares to 14,689 for the same period a year ago. At month-end theselection included 10,357 active listings; that volume was 5,766 fewer than
the year ago total of 16,133.
Scott said buyers are “eagerly waiting for each home to come on the market
with increased focus on homes in the more affordable and mid-price ranges.”“Anything under $1 million is selling quickly, and most new listings coming
to market are going pending in just a few days,” stated Mike Grady, president
and COO at Coldwell Banker Bain. Multiple offers seem to be in play on
homes in median price ranges. “We don’t think we’ll see a balancing of themarket in the short term until more sellers decide to list their homes and until
new construction accelerates to meet demand.”The NWMLS report shows 10,389 pending sales during May, improving on
April’s total of 7,207 (up 44%), but down about 13.5% from the year-ago totalof 12,006.
NWMLS members completed 5,957 transactions during May, a slight
improvement from April’s total of 5,866. When compared to a year ago,
however, the number of closed sales, at 9,153, marked a decline of about35%.
The median price on last month’s closed sales was $449,950 across theNWMLS coverage area. That compares to the year-ago figure of $440,000 anincrease of about 2.3%.
Market Activity Summary for May 2020Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

Price

MedianPrice

King

3,585

3,467

3,358

1,988

$739,269$627,000

Snohomish

1,494

1,243

1,669

920

$532,860$493,000

Pierce

1,508

1,266

1,771

1,049

$431,805$391,125

Total

6,587

5,976

6,798

3,957

$567,978$503,708

population of 753,700. That pencils out to a 1.5% growth rate, a far cry
from the peak year of 2016 when we grew by 3.2%, and added morethan 22,000 residents. While Seattle's growth is cooling off, Redmond'sis not. Last year, Microsoft's hometown grew by a whopping 6.7%.
That ranks Redmond as the 10th fastest-growing city in the country for
2019, among those with a population of 50,000 or higher.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
May 2020 (King/Snohomish County) SOLD Average
Area (Area Code)Average $Average $2020 VSMay 2020

May 2019

2019

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$

488,088$471,946

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)$550,999$

512,384

7.54%

West Seattle (140)$678,369$

754,478-10.09%$714,527

4.28%$ 1,199,808

0.50%

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$745,074

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

1,205,782

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$

1,256,320$ 1,192,579

5.34%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701)$

812,333$

734,508

10.60%

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$

801,902$892,594-10.16%

North Seattle (710)$

980,429$

991,996-1.17%$

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$

832,458

727,184

14.48%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$2,449,444$ 3,332,638-26.50%Mercer Island (510)$1,687,500$ 2,063,641-18.23%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$

1,079,318$ 1,076,828

0.23%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350)$

653,003$671,500-2.75%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$1,092,519$ 1,031,764

5.89%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$

1,317,711$ 1,540,006-14.43%

Redmond (550)$976,047$ 1,019,634-4.27%

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$982,291$

929,425

5.69%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$895,763$878,057

2.02%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$731,920$731,1340.11%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$645,952$631,677

2.26%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740)$553,367$526,754

5.05%*Condominium SOLD Median

T ight supply continues
Throughout metropolitan areas nationwide, the tight supply of for-sale
homes – already constrained pre-coronavirus – is continuing.
Although the increase in purchase mortgage applications signals arebound of home-buyer interest and record-low mortgage rates could
spur that further, “steeper declines in inventory could be on the horizon
if more sellers don’t list homes to meet rising demand,” Realtor.com
said in its weekly inventory report released Thursday.
For the week ending Saturday, May 23, total inventory for sale dropped
22% year-over-year, the Realtor.com report said. That’s a larger dropthan prior weeks.

Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)
June 10, 2020

P opulation growth in 2019
Population data for 2019 released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau
shows the city of Seattle recorded its slowest growth rate of the decadelast year as reported by the Seattle Times. From July 1, 2018, to July 1,2019, Seattle had a net gain of about 11,400 people, reaching a total

3.42%

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

Regional Breakdown

Senior Loan Officer

Average Rates

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

Fees & Points
APR

30-Yr
FNMA

30-Yr
FHA

15-Yr
FNMA

5/1
ARM

2.875%

2.75%

2.500%-*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

3.006%

3.016%

2.737%-**** 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