By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The number of multifamily permits pulled in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties rose 53 percent during the first quarter of 2017, compared to the same period last year. Single-family permits declined 8 percent. Meanwhile, King and Snohomish counties continue to see less than a months’ supply of housing inventory for sale during April. The low supply coupled with strong demand has continued to drive home prices up.

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, U.S. Census Bureau, Office of Financial Management and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

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Contact: data@mbaks.com

January 2026 Builders Bulletin: Building Permits Weakened in October

U.S. Census Bureau data released recently show continued decline in building permits for the Seattle metro area in the first 10 months of 2025. The latest Builders Bulletin reports 5,208 single-family permits were issued year to date in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties as of October 2025, down 8% compared to the same period in 2024. Multifamily permits saw an even steeper drop with 7,225 permits issued, representing a 17% decrease compared to 2024. Release of this data by the Census Bureau was delayed due to last year’s federal government shutdown.

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The winners of the 2017 NAHB Association Excellence Awards were recently unveiled and the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties is proud to announce we have been honored with two awards. 

The country’s largest and oldest local homebuilders association won Best HBA Partnership/Coalition in the HBA Operations category, as well as Best Publication (print or electronic) in the Communications category, the latter for Master Builder magazine. 

The Building Industry Association of Washington, our state-level partner association, also won an AEA for Best Regional Government Affairs Effort for their "Fix Hirst" campaign.

The annual AEA Awards recognize HBAs across the country for their outstanding accomplishments at the state and local levels, as well as HBA executive officers in the field of association management. 

Congratulations to all who helped MBAKS win these distinguished awards! View the full list of 2017 AEA winners.

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