By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

Housing data contained in the latest Builders Bulletin show single-family and multifamily permits are down in the three-county Puget Sound region through February 2019, compared to the first two months of 2018. Single-family permits fell 25% and multifamily permits were down 7%. The notable exceptions are multifamily permit activity in Snohomish and Pierce counties, which rose 79% and 25%, respectively. Multifamily permits fell 24% in King County, causing the regionwide total to go negative. Meanwhile, the month’s supply of housing inventory is below two months in both King and Snohomish counties as of March.

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:

By Rachel Fausnaught, PrimePay

Revisions to the list of acceptable documents

The Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) has been added to List C. If you’re filling out the Form I-9 online, you will be able to select this form from the dropdown menus. Using e-verify? You can also select Form FS-240 when creating a case for an employee who presents this document for Form I-9.

All the certifications of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545, Form DS-1350, and Form FS-240) have been combined into selection C #2 in List C. 

All List C documents except the Social Security card have been renumbered. Example: The employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security on List C has changed from List C #8 to List C #7.

What to do

Employers can continue using the older version through Sept. 17. On Sept. 18, you must use the revised version. You’ll notice the revision date of 07/17/17 N at the bottom of the form. Storage and retention rules for any previously completed Forms I-9 remain the same. Find more details on that here.

Penalties for noncompliance

Just last year, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nearly doubled fines for violations with Forms I-9.

There is a $216–$2,126 fine per Form I-9 paperwork violation. That’s an increase from $110–$1,100.

For unlawful employment of unauthorized workers, the fine for the first offense increased to $539–$4,313 per worker from $375–$3,200.

For unfair immigration-related practices, specifically document abuse, the fine per individual increased to $110-$1,110. Learn more about the fines and penalties.

Where to find the latest form

It's in PrimePay's resources section. Access the resources and choose the payroll forms tab.

PrimePay is a member of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. PrimePay empowers small businesses to thrive by offering integrated payroll, HR, and benefits administration with superior support to back it. Learn more at primepay.com.

The original article was published by PrimePay.

Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

Though not quite a record low, housing supply is still far from healthy in the Puget Sound region. Year over year, months of supply dropped 42% to 0.57 and 27% to 0.36 in King and Snohomish counties, respectively.

The East of Lake Sammamish MLS map area had the lowest months of inventory for King County, at 0.16; Belltown/Downtown had the highest, at 2.41. King County condo supply was higher, at 0.94 months of supply, than single-family housing supply, at 0.47.

The Southwest Snohomish County MLS map area had the lowest months of inventory for Snohomish County, at 0.25, and Northeast Snohomish County had the highest, at 0.49. Snohomish County condo supply was lower, at 0.24 months of supply, than single-family housing supply, at 0.39. 

Please contact data@mbaks.com with questions or feedback. We want to know what data would be useful to you!

Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of October 2021

	King County had 0.57 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.99 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.36 months' supply of inventory (down from 0.49 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

October 2021

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $750,000 in King County and $664,950 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 10.64%, from $745,000 a year ago to $824,270. The median price in Snohomish County rose 19.83%, from $579,972 to $695,000.
	In Seattle, the median price of single-family homes and condos was $790,000. The median price for single-family homes only was $850,000, a 6.25% increase from $800,000 in October 2020.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Building Permit Activity

Jobs

	The seasonally adjusted Washington unemployment rate for October 2021 is 5.0%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is 4.9%.
	Construction employment in Washington decreased by 800 between September 2021 and October 2021. Total construction employment is 228,100 statewide and 109,600 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

Source: Employment Security Department: WA Employment Estimates (Seasonally Adjusted), October 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

Icons made by Freepik from flaticon.com