Juli Bacon is the founder and president of JB Consulting Systems. With more than two decades of human resource and business experience, she has developed both a strategic and practical approach to HR within the residential building industry. Bacon is also the immediate past National Professional Women in Building chair.

We appreciate Darylene Dennon and Juli Bacon for being such motivational leaders in our Professional Women in Building Council.

Learn more about PWB and get involved at mbaks.com/pwb or facebook.com/groups/MBAKSPWB

Homing in on Our Region's Housing Statistics

Housing inventory remains low and housing prices continue to rise, with a 19.73% and 21.74% increase in median single-family home prices in King County and Snohomish County, respectively. In more optimistic news, construction employment in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett metro area has hit a record high.

Please contact data@mbaks.com with questions or feedback. 

Months' Supply of Housing Inventory

As of July 2021

	King County had 0.66 months' supply of inventory (down from 1.13 months' of inventory a year ago).
	Snohomish County had 0.53 months' supply of inventory (down from .73 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

July 2021

	The median price of single-family homes and condos was $789,000 in King County and $675,000 in Snohomish County.
	For single-family homes only, the median price in King County rose 19.73%, from $727,500 a year ago to $871,000. The median price in Snohomish County rose 21.74%, from $575,000 to $700,000.
	In Seattle, the median single-family home price for July was $896,500, an 11.37% increase from July 2020.

Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Building Permit Activity

Jobs

	The Washington unemployment rate for July 2021 is 5.1%; for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, it is also 5.1%.
	Construction employment in Washington increased by 1,900 between June 2021 and July 2021. Total construction employment is 226,700 statewide and 110,800 for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett specifically.

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

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.