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Builder Confidence Dips as Industry Gauges Market Conditions

Builder confidence continues to falter, with the national Housing Market Index (HMI) falling to 32, a 29% drop year over year. Confidence in the Western U.S. remains especially low, with an HMI of just 22. The HMI, based on a monthly NAHB survey, reflects how builders view current and future conditions in the single-family housing market.

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The latest data for permit amounts in King, Snohomish, and Pierce County for the month of January has been released, and it reveals a significant decline in multifamily permit activity in King County. In January 2022, there were 1,544 multifamily permits taken out, whereas this January, only 293 were recorded, resulting in an 81% drop year-on-year. Pierce County is also trending downwards; however, Snohomish County has recorded similar numbers to the previous year.

Read the full March Builders Bulletin:

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

Data in the latest Builders Bulletin show a mixed bag for building permit activity in the first half of 2022. Multifamily permits in the Seattle Metro Area rose 20% in June, compared to the same period last year, led by King County where it was up 30%. Multifamily permit activity was relatively flat in Snohomish and Pierce counties.

Meanwhile, single family permits are down 17% across the Seattle Metro area as of June. Separately, the NAHB/Wells-Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures the confidence of single-family builders nationwide, has been falling amid higher interest rates and ongoing supply chain problems. Read NAHB’s latest press release on its builder confidence survey.

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