We took a break from our Painting a Better Tomorrow® volunteer day at YouthCare to talk to their director of community engagement. YouthCare works to help homeless youth become self-sufficient. This year's Painting a Better Tomorrow was sponsored by Capital Benefit Services.

Learn more about our community stewardship

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

King and Snohomish counties ended 2020 with higher year-over-year median home prices amid continued tight supply of housing inventory for sale. The December 2020 median home price for single-family homes and condos was $676,000 in King County and $535,000 in Snohomish County, an increase of 9.92% and 8.08% respectively, compared to December 2019.

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.

Download this month's report:

Thirty Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counites (MBAKS) members and government affairs staff traveled to the State Capitol on Wednesday, January 24 to advocate for housing on our annual Hill Day.

This was MBAKS’ first in-person Hill Day in Olympia since 2020, having gone virtual the past three years. MBAKS met with 31 legislators whose districts include parts of King and Snohomish counties.

“Hill Day is an excellent opportunity engage in direct dialogue with state lawmakers on our issues and build meaningful connections,” said Dylan Sluder, MBAKS’ state government affairs manager.

Members highlighted our association’s support for several pro-housing bills under consideration in the Washington State Legislature, including lot-splitting, parking flexibility, the Washington Housing Accountability Act, co-living housing, rural accessory dwelling units, Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) reform, and more.

Read MBAKS’ Core Issues to learn more about the bills members highlighted in conversations with legislators.

MBAKS also expressed our strong concerns with a bill that would ban natural gas. The bill, HB 1589, passed the House earlier in the week in a 52-44-2 vote and is now pending before the Senate.

Sluder added, “Thanks to everyone who participated and helped make the day a success! Having legislators hear from our members about why these issues matter really does make a difference.”