Contact: data@mbaks.com

November Mortgage Rates Fall to Lowest Level in Over a Year

Mortgage rates continued to trend lower in November, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 6.24% — the lowest level in over a year — while the 15-year averaged 5.51%. Rates remain down compared to a year ago, and the month also saw a slight uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield and ongoing market uncertainty reflected in the wider mortgage–Treasury spread.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The latest Builder’s Bulletin shows just over two months’ supply of homes for sale in King and Snohomish counties during November. While this is an increase from the less than one months’ supply a year ago, it is still below the four-to-six-month level that many industry analysts consider as an indicator of a healthy market. Median home prices fell month-over-month from $613,509 to $605,000 in King County and rose from $445,000 to $450,000 in Snohomish County.

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.

Download this month's report:

By Noah Haglund, The Everett Herald

Everett, Wash.—A united Snohomish County Council passed a budget Monday that staves off most public safety cuts with help from a modest property tax increase.

The spending plan for 2017 followed the contours that council Chairman Terry Ryan had recommended a week earlier. Ryan's budget, in turn, hewed closely to a $238 million plan that Executive Dave Somers unveiled in September, though the council softened cuts to key sheriff's office programs.