By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

New data from the Employment Security Department show continued modest improvement in the jobs picture for our state and region. The unemployment rate for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett fell from 5.5 in February to 5.4 in March. Meanwhile, construction employment in Washington increased by 1,400 between February and March.

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.

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Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

Data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service show King and Snohomish counties had less than two weeks of supply of homes for sale in March, while home prices continued to escalate. Meanwhile, single-family permits for King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties combined stood at 1,259 through February, with 3,039 multifamily units permitted in the three counties during the same two-month period.

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Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of March 2022

	King County had 0.49 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.60 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.42 months' supply of inventory (up from 0.28 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

March 2022

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $838,753 in King County and $758,707 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 12.73%, from $824,997 a year ago to $930,000. The median price in Snohomish County rose 25.00%, from $640,000 to $800,000.
	In Seattle, the median price of single-family homes and condos was $865,000. The median price for single-family homes only was $970,000, a 17.58% increase from $825,000 in March 2021.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Building Permit Activity

Jobs

	The seasonally adjusted Washington unemployment rate for March 2022 is 4.2%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is 3.1%.
	Construction employment in Washington increased by 1,300 between February 2022 and March 2022. Total construction employment is 231,200 statewide and 106,900 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

Source: Employment Security Department: WA Employment Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted), March 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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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.

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