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.

BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 9, 2021—The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) announced the 2021 award winners at its annual year-end gala on Thursday, December 9.

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Though not quite a record low, housing supply is still far from healthy in the Puget Sound region. Year over year, months of supply dropped 42% to 0.57 and 27% to 0.36 in King and Snohomish counties, respectively. The East of Lake Sammamish MLS map area had the lowest months of inventory for King County, at 0.16; Belltown/Downtown had the highest, at 2.41. King County condo supply was higher, at 0.94 months of supply, than single-family housing supply, at 0.47. The Southwest Snohomish County MLS map area had the lowest months of inventory for Snohomish County, at 0.25, and Northeast Snohomish County had the highest, at 0.49. Snohomish County condo supply was lower, at 0.24 months of supply, than single-family housing supply, at 0.39.

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.