Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

Snohomish County’s median home price for single family homes and condos combined reached a new high of $800,000 in April. Meanwhile, the median price of a single family home in Seattle surpassed $1 million, with King County not far behind. According to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, King County’s median single family home price rose to $995,000 in April, a 20% increase from a year ago.

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Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of April 2022

	King County had 0.69 months' supply of inventory (up from 0.65 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.64 months' supply of inventory (up from 0.49 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

April 2022

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $880,000 in King County and $800,000 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 19.88%, from $830,000 a year ago to $995,000. The median price in Snohomish County rose 24.34%, from $675,000 to $839,298.
	In Seattle, the median price of single-family homes and condos was $888,000. The median price for single-family homes only was $1,019,950, a 16.57% increase from $875,000 in April 2021.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Building Permit Activity

Jobs

	The seasonally adjusted Washington unemployment rate for April 2022 is 4.1%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is 2.9%.
	Construction employment in Washington increased by 200 between March 2022 and April 2022. Total construction employment is 231,000 statewide and 108,100 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

Source: Employment Security Department: WA Employment Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted), April 2022 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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Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

Despite headlines about a housing market cooldown and home prices dipping slightly compared to last month, median housing prices continue to rise year over year, with an 8.03% rise and a 22.29% rise in King and Snohomish counties, respectively, for combined single family and condo sales. Likewise, for-sale housing supply continues to drop, with both King and Snohomish counties—and much of the state—more accurately described as having weeks of supply, not months. Year over year, months of supply dropped 59% in King County and 37% in Snohomish County. There is at least some relief on the horizon, however, as year to date residential building permit activity is up 30% in our two-county region.

Please contact data@mbaks.com with questions or feedback. We want to know what data would be useful to you!

Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of November 2021

	King County had 0.38 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.93 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.24 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.38 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

November 2021

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $740,000 in King County and $658,505 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 12.25%, from $730,500 a year ago to $820,000. The median price in Snohomish County rose 22.79%, from $566,000 to $695,000.
	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 November 2020.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Building Permit Activity

Jobs

	The seasonally adjusted Washington unemployment rate for November 2021 is 4.7%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is 4.4%.
	Construction employment in Washington increased by 1,800 between October 2021 and November 2021. Total construction employment is 229,400 statewide and 110,200 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

Source: Employment Security Department: WA Employment Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted), November 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 MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

December 2019 permit numbers show the Seattle metro area ended the year with a modest 3% decline in single-family permits and a 5% drop in multifamily permits compared to 2018. The overall decline for the metro area was driven by King County, which ended the year with 14% fewer single-family permits. However, Snohomish County saw an 11% uptick in single-family permits, and Pierce County was up 3%. For multifamily permits, the year-end decline for the metro area was driven by Pierce County, which saw permits drop 43%. Meanwhile, multifamily permits rose 13% in Snohomish County and remained flat in King County.

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.

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