By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The number of single family permits issued in 2018 in the Seattle metro area (King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties) fell 9 percent last year compared to 2017, while multifamily permits increased by 9 percent. These year-end numbers for the three-county region were driven by a decline in single family permits in Snohomish and Pierce counties, which saw 18 percent and 17 percent drops respectively. Likewise, Snohomish and Pierce counties’ multifamily permit numbers rose significantly in 2018 – by 71 percent in Snohomish County and 51 percent in Pierce County. Meanwhile, King County experienced a modest 2 percent increase in single family and a 2 percent drop in multifamily permits in 2018.

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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Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBKAS) has once again partnered with Gelotte Hommas Drivdahl Architecture (GHDA) to produce a project for Gingerbread Village—on display now through January 1, 2025 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle.

This year’s theme is Iconic Destinations. Our project is “Vive La Paris." The display showcases many recognizable Paris landmarks and offers a few special surprises you won’t want to miss.

Project lead Eric Drivdahl designed and constructed this year’s gingerbread project with help from his talented team at GHDA and a dedicated group of volunteers.

Special thanks to MBAKS’ Mike Pattison and Allison Butcher who contributed many hours to the project and Amber Snellgrove for crafting fondant characters for the display; Joe White of Corner 2 Corner Builders Llc for building the bases for our project; MBAKS 1^st Vice President Jennifer Tennyson for volunteering during the construction phase; and our Breakthrough T1D Elf Lina and her family for their help and support from developing the design to the reveal day ceremony.

Support Breakthrough T1D and Diabetes Research
While this event is free, a $5 donation is recommended, and all proceeds go to Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF). You can donate online by voting for your favorite project. Please vote for Paris, France/Elf Lina to help support this great cause.

Visiting Gingerbread Village
Add to your holiday fun list by visiting our project! Viewing hours are 9am to 9pm Sunday through Thursday, and 9am to 11pm Friday and Saturday between now and New Year’s Day.

The Building Industry Association of Washington has received a 2018 City Champion Award in the Partners for Progress category from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC).

The award was given to BIAW and other partners, including MBAKS and several of its members, for finding common ground to help pass Hirst and Foster “fix” legislation and for efforts to ensure city challenges were expressed throughout the process.

“This award recognizes the unique partnerships created to address the complex water resource issues that faced our state these past few years,” the AWC announced.

BIAW President Kevin Russell says of the award, “We are honored to be an AWC award recipient along with all of the other partners. BIAW is pleased that we were able to find common ground and a mutually agreed to fix for the Hirst and Foster decisions.” 

“The importance of the Hirst Fix cannot be overstated,” adds MBAKS Interim Director of Government Affairs Mike Pattison. “Without the hard work of so many dedicated partners, entire family savings and hopes would have been wiped out.”

Read the full press release