© Mariko Mitsui Real Estate

Volume 2 2016 Issue

L ack of Inventory “A Game Changer”
For Home Buyers

Roosevelt came in at #10 in the study as Redfin cites the breathtaking
views as one of the main reasons Roosevelt made the list.

Depleted inventory is contributing to "overwhelming" traffic at open
houses, shifts in strategies for both buyers and sellers, and escalating prices,
according to officials with the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

B reakouts! – Residential SOLD Average

The latest figures show a drop of nearly 28 percent in the number ofactive listings in the MLS database compared to a year ago. Members added
6,670 new listings during the month across 23 counties in the MLS service
area. That's down nearly 4.6 percent from twelve months ago. At monthend, members reported 12,357 active listings, which compares to 17,082 at
the end of January 2015.
The inventory shortage took a toll on last month's sales. The number ofpending sales (mutually accepted offers) fell about 5.3 percent area-wide
during January, although half the counties in the report tallied increases
compared to a year ago. The 5.3 percent drop marked the first negativechange in year-over-year comparisons since April 2014.
"We're selling virtually all new listings, many with multiple offers in all
the market areas of King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties in theprice range where 90 percent of the sales activity is happening," said J.
Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott.

January 2016 (King/Snohomish/Piece County) SOLD Average
Average $Area (Area Code)Average $2015 VS
2014
9.54%

Jan. 2016

Jan. 2015

Auburn-Federal Way (110-310)$314,144$ 286,798

Kent-Maple Valley (320-340)
West Seattle (140)$$383,503
529,904$ 324,718$ 436,920

SODO-Beacon Hill (380-385)$554,011$ 457,696

21.28%
21.04%

E.lake-Madison-Capital Hill (390)$941,922$ 854,498

10.23%

Queen Anne-Magnolia (700)$872,076$ 849,876

2.61%

18.10%*Belltown-Downtown Seattle(701) $573,287$ 431,284

32.93%

Ballard-Greenlake (705)$677,560$ 599,918

12.94%

North Seattle (710)$690,374$ 572,645

20.56%

Shoreline/Richmond Beach (715)$506,408$ 452,325

11.96%

Bellevue Downtown (520)$ 1,989,750$ 2,068,602-3.81%"The Greater Seattle area housing market remains out of equilibrium,"stated OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate. He said sales willcontinue to suffer at the current pace of transactions without adding newinventory. "At the same time, prices will continue to appreciate and could
outperform our expectations if inventory levels and mortgage rates remain
at current levels."

Mercer Island (510)$ 1,798,500$ 1,219,357

47.50%

Bellevue South-Newcastle (500)$751,469$ 737,2231.93%

Renton Highlands-Downtown (350) $474,637$ 411,866

15.24%

Microsoft-Bellevue East (530)$687,400$ 766,986-10.38%

Kirkland Downtown (560)$ 1,031,955$ 803,334

28.46%$699,019$ 583,540

19.79%

Single family home prices (excluding condos) jumped 7.6 percent from ayear ago for the area overall. For the four-county Puget Sound region, themedian price for a single family home rose 12 percent, from $325,000 ayear ago to last month's figure of $363,975. Snohomish County reported thelargest increase at 16.6 percent. A comparison of prices by county shows
King County tops the chart with a median sales price of $490,970, up 11.2
percent from a year ago.

Redmond (550)Issaquah-Sammamish (540)$788,455$ 677,335

16.41%

Juanita-Bothell-Woodinville (600)$596,567$ 534,884

11.53%

Bothell North-Mill Creek (610)$509,168$ 501,017

0.00%

Edmonds-Lynnwood (730)$498,814$ 416,934

19.64%

Everett-Mukilteo-Snohomish (740) $391,638$ 338,468

15.71%The increasingly competitive market is prompting hesitation among somewould-be sellers, reported Bobbie Chipman, principal managing broker atJohn L. Scott in Puyallup. She said potential sellers are expressing
reluctance to list their existing home prior to finding a home to move into
due to limited inventory.
"A strong strategy is for sellers to list their home, sell and close, andmove into temporary housing," suggested Chipman, one of the MLS
directors. "This approach allows offers to be written that are not conditioned
upon their sale closing, and it strengthens their position as a buyer," sheexplained.
Market Activity Summary for January 2016
Listings
Single Family

NewHomes & Condos Listings

Closing Sales

Total

Pending

Active# ofAverage

Closings

PriceMedianPrice

King

2,407

2,427

2,385

1,720

$533,488$431,500

Snohomish

1,067

1,267

1,249

811

$384,035$351,500

Pierce

1,124

2,040

1,360

904

$269,739$240,000

Total

4,598

629

4,994

3,435

$395,754$341,000

N ation’s Hottest Neighborhood of 2016
According to a recent study by Redfin, Seattle's Roosevelt
neighborhood is one of the nation's 10 Hottest Neighborhoods of 2016.

*Condominium SOLD Average

C ash sales cotinue to decline
The percentage of total home sales transactions that are completed incash continues to decline. CoreLogic said on Thursday that 33.9
percent of home sales in October were all cash, a 2.6 percent
decrease from a year earlier. The cash share did increase by 1.4
percentage points from September to October but CoreLogic said thatis normal for an uptick in such sales in October due to the seasonalityof the market.
Cash sales are especially significant in sales of owned real estate(REO) and accounted for 59.7 percent of those sales inOctober. However total REO sales constituted only 7.3 percent of themarket. When cash sales were at their peak in January 2011,accounting for 46.6 percent of home sales.

Gina Brown (NMLS#115337)

Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Mortgage Specialist /Mortgage Capital AssociatesFebruary 9, 2016425-766-5408
gina@gmgloan.com
www.loansbygina.com

A verage Rates

Regional Breakdown

Fees & P o ints
APR30-Yr
FNM A
3.490%

30-Yr
FHA
3.250%

15-Yr
FNM A
2.625%

5/1A RM
2.625%*All loans are with a one point origination fee.

3.617%

4.218%

2.873%

2.770%

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