Contact: data@mbaks.com

In July 2024, Washington’s unemployment rate stood at 4.9%, with the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area slightly lower at 4.4%. The construction sector faced a significant downturn, losing 14,100 jobs over the past year, bringing total statewide construction employment to 227,400. This decline highlights ongoing challenges in the industry despite overall employment stability.

Read the full August Builders Bulletin:

Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

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. 

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Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of September 2021

	King County had 0.68 months' supply of inventory (down from 1.12 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.48 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.56 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

September 2021

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $745,000 in King County and $650,000 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 9.55%, from $753,600 a year ago to $825,600. The median price in Snohomish County rose 18.42%, from $569,997 to $675,000.
	In Seattle, the median price of single-family homes and condos was $765,000. The median price for single-family homes only was $850,000, a 3.66% increase from $820,000 in September 2020.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

 

Building Permit Activity

 

Jobs

	The seasonally adjusted Washington unemployment rate for September 2021 is 4.9%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is 4.8%.
	Construction employment in Washington increased by 3,600 between August 2021 and September 2021. Total construction employment is 229,500 statewide and 110,000 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

Source: Employment Security Department: WA Employment Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted), September 2021 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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Each election cycle, our Affordable Housing Council (AHC) interviews candidates at the city, county, and state levels to determine their degree of support for housing.

The following candidates have received an AHC endorsement for the 2023 election cycle.

Ballots are due Tuesday, November 7. Your vote in support of AHC-endorsed candidates will go a long way toward affecting the outcome of these critical races.

2023 Affordable Housing Council Endorsements
Jurisdiction	Position	Candidate
King County	Assessor	John Wilson
King County	County Council District 2	Girmay Zahilay
King County	County Council District 6	Claudia Balducci
King County	County Council District 8	Teresa Mosqueda
City of Auburn	Council Position 3	Tracy Taylor Turner
City of Bellevue	Council Position 1	John Stokes
City of Bellevue	Council Position 3	Mo Malakoutian
City of Bellevue	Council Position 5	Janice Zahn
City of Bothell	Council Position 2	Mason Thompson
City of Bothell	Council Position 4	Carston Curd
City of Bothell	Council Position 6	Amanda Dodd
City of Burien	Council Position 2	Linda Akey
City of Burien	Council Position 4	Kevin Schilling
City of Des Moines	Council Position 4	Jeremy Nutting
City of Federal Way	Council Position 1	Lydia Assefa-Dawson
City of Federal Way	Council Position 3	Susan Honda
City of Federal Way	Council Position 5	Jack Walsh
City of Federal Way	Council Position 7	Linda Kochmar
City of Kenmore	Council Position 1	Melanie O'Cain
City of Kenmore	Council Position 7	Corina Pfeil
City of Kent	Council Position 1	Marli Larimer
City of Kent	Council Position 5	Bill Boyce
City of Kent	Council Position 7	Zandria Michaud
City of Kirkland	Council Position 2	Kelli Curtis
City of Kirkland	Council Position 4	Toby Nixon
City of Kirkland	Council Position 6	Amy Falcone
City of Mercer Island	Council Position 3	Wendy Weiker
City of North Bend	Mayor	Rob McFarland
City of Redmond	Mayor	Angela Birney
City of Redmond	Council Position 1	Osman Salahuddin
City of Redmond	Council Position 7	David M. Carson
City of Renton	Mayor	Armondo Pavone
City of Renton	Council Position 4	Ryan McIrvin
City of Renton	Council Position 5	Ed Prince
City of Renton	Council Position 7	Randy Corman
City of SeaTac	Council Position 3	Peter Kwon
City of Seattle	Council Position 1	Rob Saka
City of Seattle	Council Position 2	Tanya Woo
City of Seattle	Council Position 3	Joy Hollingsworth
City of Seattle	Council Position 4	Maritza Rivera
City of Seattle	Council Position 6	Dan Strauss
City of Seattle	Council Position 7	Andrew Lewis
Snohomish County	County Executive	Dave Somers (D)
Snohomish County	County Treasurer	Brian Sullivan
Snohomish County	County Council District 2	Megan Dunn (D)
Snohomish County	County Council District 3	Strom Peterson (D)
City of Arlington	Mayor	Don Vanney
City of Everett	Council Position 6	Scott Bader
City of Everett	Council Position 7	Judy Tuohy
City of Lake Stevens	Council Position 4	Kymm Shipman
City of Lynnwood	Council Position 5	Julieta Altamirano Crosby
City of Lynnwood	Council Position 6	George Hurst
City of Marysville	Mayor	Jon Nehring
City of Marysville	Council Position 1	Peter Condyles
City of Mountlake Terrace	Council Position 5	Bryan Wahl
Alderwood Water District	Commissioner Position 4	Pat Peck
Port of Everett	Commissioner District 2	Tom Stiger

For dropbox locations, ballot questions, and more, visit King County Elections or Snohomish County Elections.

Endorsements as of October 19, 2023.

 

Paid for by the Affordable Housing Council of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, 335 116th Avenue SE, Bellevue, WA 98004. Top Five Contributors: Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties; Shelter Holdings LLC; Blackwood Builders Group LLC; Schneider Family Homes; Martin Robinett