By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The January jobs report was just released on March 16 and showed improvement from the prior month. Washington’s unemployment rate fell from 7.1% in December 2020 to 6.0% in January 2021. The January unemployment rate in the Seattle metropolitan area was 5.8%. The March Builders Bulletin also includes year-end permit totals for 2020, which were relatively flat for single-family. In contrast, multifamily permits fell 17% in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties in 2020 compared to 2019.

The Builder's Bulletin is intended to provide a convenient way to track housing in our market and includes information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, State of the Cities Data Systems, Office of Financial Management, and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Download this month's report:

Number of the Day: 12.4

As in, Seattle metro area median home prices are up 12.4 percent from last year, topping Zillow's list of fastest appreciating U.S. markets.

In the everlasting battle between West Coast cities boasting the most eye-popping home prices, Seattle seems to have landed a surprise left uppercut to its sister (cousin?) to the south, the n-o-t-o-r-i-o-u-s San Francisco.

San Fran (they hate being called that) still holds the edge in median home values, with the average Bay Area home running just over $865,000, compared to $455,000 in the Seattle metro area, which includes Everett, Bellevue, and Tacoma.

Despite the still rather large gap in median prices, our region's $455,000 is up 12.4 percent from last year, which is good enough to top Zillow's list of fastest-appreciating markets. U.S. home values rose 6.9 percent during the same period, while San Francisco has thus far seen a 6 percent increase, or half of what Seattle is experiencing.

Still, don't expect the median price gap to close anytime soon. San Francisco had hit our current median home value way back in July 2002 and they haven't looked back since.

Is this a sign of where we're headed? MBAKS and friends recently addressed this issue at our annual Housing Summit, held October 17. At the Summit, the association announced our 2018 legislative agenda, including a 10-Point Plan for Housing Attainability.

Curious about the rental market? Seattle tops that list too, with a 5.5 percent increase year over year, which comes out to a median monthly rent of $2,189. U.S. rents are up 2.1 percent (at $1,430 a month), and San Francisco again limbos under the trend at a scant 0.4 percent increase, though don't start putting flowers in your hair just yet—their median rent is still a bloated $3,376 per month.

I guess that's one thing to be thankful for this Northwest Thanksgiving—at least we're not San Francisco… yet.

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

At the end of the first quarter of 2018, King County is leading the way in building permit activity in the region, with single family permits up 19 percent and multifamily permits up 25 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, single-family permits have dropped 19 percent in Snohomish County and multifamily permits are down 58 percent year-over-year.  For the three-county region as a whole (King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties), permits are up 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

The Builders' Bulletin is intended to provide a convenient way to track housing in our market and includes information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, State of the Cities Data Systems, Office of Financial Management and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Download this month's report: