Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

Multifamily permits jumped again in King County—a 113% increase over the average for the last 12 months. King County was joined this month by a spike in Pierce County multifamily permits (247% over average) and modest growth in Snohomish County multifamily permits (8% over average). 51% of housing permitted for the month in the three-county region was in buildings in King County with five or more units. Two-unit building permits are also up 87% over average in King County, possibly due to local ADU policy reforms. Single-family permits remain fairly stable, with slight month-over-month increases in Snohomish and Pierce that are nonetheless at or below the 12-month average for those counties. 

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Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of September 2021

	King County had 0.68 months' supply of inventory (down from 1.12 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.48 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.56 a year ago).

Many industry analysts consider a four-to-six-month level as an indicator of a healthy market.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Median Home Price

September 2021

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $745,000 in King County and $650,000 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 9.55%, from $753,600 a year ago to $825,600. The median price in Snohomish County rose 18.42%, from $569,997 to $675,000.
	In Seattle, the median price of single-family homes and condos was $765,000. The median price for single-family homes only was $850,000, a 3.66% increase from $820,000 in September 2020.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Building Permit Activity

Jobs

	The seasonally adjusted Washington unemployment rate for September 2021 is 4.9%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is 4.8%.
	Construction employment in Washington increased by 3,600 between August 2021 and September 2021. Total construction employment is 229,500 statewide and 110,000 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

Source: Employment Security Department: WA Employment Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted), September 2021 and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Population

The Puget Sound region's population as of April 1, 2021 was 4,330,400. Over the past year, the region added 66,200 people, as follows:

Source: Office of Financial Management

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By Erich Armbruster, Ashworth Homes, The Lens News

One of the biggest challenges facing our region is a lack of attainable housing, especially near job centers. Continued growth is driving the demand for more housing and the strong demand is outpacing supply, causing home prices and rents to soar. This is making housing increasingly out of reach for families and workers and threatening our area’s quality of life.

Read article

By Allison Butcher, Master Builders Association, The Lens News

Over the past 18 months, five King County cities have adopted a building moratorium, temporarily putting the brakes on new home construction.

While a moratorium is legal, it does not mean it is good policy. At a time when demand for housing is far outpacing housing supply, which drives up both home prices and rents and makes housing less attainable, building moratoria certainly are not good for housing. They also are not good for our economy or the families and workers looking for a home closer to job centers. Furthermore, they potentially could run counter to our region's transportation investments that contemplate the need for more transit-oriented development in certain areas.