© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 3 2016 Issue

B uyer Frustration Builds as Inventory
Shrinks, Prices Rise
Home prices in King County hit new highs in February as buyers tried tooutbid each other for the sparse inventory in much of Western Washington.
"We're in for another crazy spring real estate market," predicts J. Lennox
Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott, Inc.
With the number of single family homes for sale in King County downnearly 30 percent from a year ago, prices on last month's sales surged 19.8
percent, jumping from $429,900 to $514,975.
Member-brokers added 7,931 listings area-wide to inventory last monthfor a slight improvement from a year ago when they added 7,852 homes andcondominiums to their database. At month end, they reported 12,107 active
listings, a sharp drop from a year ago when there were 16,946 properties
offered for sale.

enough to qualify for a mortgage or they can't afford a downpayment,
according to a report by mynorthwest.com. Many non-homeowners areunder the assumption that they need a higher downpayment to purchase ahouse than is actually needed. About 20 % of respondents said they needbetween 11 % to 20 % for a downpayment. Many non-homeowners seemto lack awareness that they can get an FHA loan with just a 3.5 %downpayment or a conventional loan with a 3 % downpayment.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average
February 2016 (King/Snohomish/Piece County) SOLD Average
Area (Area Code)Average $Average $2016 VS2015
14.28%

Feb. 2016

Feb. 2015

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$322,140$ 281,889

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)
West Seattle (140)$$379,507
557,413$ 330,422$ 482,495

Despite the frustration for buyers and brokers, pending sales improved on
year-ago figures. Northwest MLS members reported 9,052 pending sales,
up 5.3 percent from a year ago when they tallied 8,599 mutually accepted
offers.

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$535,776$ 461,899

15.53%
15.99%

E.lake-Madison-Capital Hill (390)$848,271$ 705,808

20.18%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$969,881$ 770,179

25.93%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701) $762,950$ 790,923-3.54%

Scott described current activity as a "Pac-Man" market - "Houses arebeing gobbled up as soon as they come on the market," he stated.

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$689,539$ 612,160

12.64%

North Seattle (710)$751,745$ 548,530

37.05%"The big story this month is the nearly 20 percent jump in King County
prices which has brought the median home price to an all-time high,"
observed OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate. "Affordability ison the decline in King County which is part of the reason why sales ofsingle family homes are down," he noted, adding, "So where are thosepriced-out buyers going? The answer for some is condos. With the rentversus-buy ratio at about two years, many buyers are seeing the wisdom ininvesting in a condo as a means to take advantage of low interest rates andget into homeownership."

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$563,048$ 462,797

21.66%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$ 2,061,370$ 1,588,571

29.76%

Mercer Island (510)$ 2,101,571$ 1,859,090

13.04%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$842,369$ 766,889

9.84%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350) $489,143$ 411,241

18.94%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$837,851$ 651,143

28.67%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$ 1,111,458$ 909,079

22.26%

Redmond (550)$678,356$ 700,652-3.18%

Pending sales of condos increased about 4.8 percent area-wide, despite
shrinking inventory. Condo prices in King county jumped 26 percent from ayear ago, rising from $257,000 to $323,975.

Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$756,060$ 665,204

13.66%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$651,989$ 565,643

15.27%Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$532,684$ 475,298

12.07%For others, a longer commute is the ticket to homeownership. "Typicallypeople who have a Seattle area job look north or east, but with lack ofinventory in those areas and prices that have gone through the roof, they are
now considering a ferry commute and shopping for homes in Kitsap."Frank Wilson, the branch managing broker at John L. Scott's Poulsbo officesaid they're even seeing an increase of activity west of the Hood Canal
Bridge with more people looking to Port Ludlow and beyond.

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$452,047$ 414,720

9.00%$ 333,975

15.82%Starting this month, Scott said "We'll start to see an explosion in theamount of sales activity for the next eight months. That's the good news.
The bad news? Market conditions still require buyers to make an instantresponse because there are so many other hungry buyers out there."
Market Activity Summary for February 2016
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

TotalPending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

PriceMedianPrice

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

D oes Homeownership Counseling Make
A Difference?
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have long advocated for homebuyer
education but as Freddie Mac points out in this month's editionof Insight and Outlook, it has been surprisingly difficult to determine
how much it actually helps potential homebuyers. "Thereis widespread agreement in the industry that homebuyer counselingcan help prevent some of the mistakes made during the housing
boom. However, early studies of the impact of counseling produced
sometimes conflicting or inconclusive results and raised questions
about the effectiveness of borrower education and counseling."

King

2,791

2,431

3,038

1,824

$550,968$439,950

Snohomish

1,272

1,244

1,475

848

$359,472$327,500

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

Pierce

1,313

1,861

1,707

866

$277,299$249,250

M arch 16, 2016

Total

5,376

629

6,220

3,538

$395,913$338,900

Mortgage Specialist /Mortgage Capital Associates
425-766-5408
gina@gmgloan.com
www.loansbygina.com

A verage Rates

H ow much Downpayment is needed?
Almost half of renters surveyed by Bankrate.com say they haven'tpurchased a home yet because they believe their credit isn't good

386,798

14.86%

Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)
Regional Breakdown

Fees & P o ints
APR30-Yr
FNM A
3.625%

30-Yr
FHA
3.250%

15-Yr
FNM A
2.750%

5/1
A RM
2.750%*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

3.753%

4.218%

2.973%

2.871%

740 credit score and 20% down payment for conventional
640 credit score and 3.50% down payment for FHA