NW REPORTER

NW REporter

Northwest REporter is a joint publication brought to you by Northwest Multiple Listing Service and the Seattle King County REALTORS.

Market offers hope for homebuyers, but Northwest MLS brokers say it may be temporary

KIRKLAND, Washington (July 7, 2021) – Homebuyers may find some good news in the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The number of active listings at the end of June, 6,358, reached the highest level since November when buyers could choose from 6,505 properties. The volume of new [..]

Amazon to invest $300 million from its Housing Equity Fund for 3,000 new affordable housing units in three metro areas

Amazon will invest $300 million to build 3,000 new affordable housing units in the Puget Sound, Arlington/Metro D.C., and Nashville regions. The ecommerce giant will work with “traditional and non-traditional partners,” to acquire land near public transit in hopes of creating move-in ready homes by as early as 2025. The [..]

Bellevue celebrated as one of 10 All-America Cities

Bellevue was among 10 cities nationwide to be honored with this year’s prestigious All-America City Award. Cities, counties, tribes, neighborhoods, villages, towns, and regions that engage residents in innovative, inclusive and effective efforts to tackle critical local challenges are eligible for consideration. Doug Linkhart, the National Civic League’s president, said [..]

More Americans are living in common-interest communities, and larger percentage express satisfaction with their experiences

More than 73 million Americans live within community associations, which continue to be a preferred housing option in today’s overheated housing market. That number translates to about 25% of the U.S. housing stock. Projections by the Foundation for Community Association Research indicate the number of new condominiums and homeowner associations [..]

Lured by on-water living?

Calling them Seattle’s quirkiest type of home, journalist Sarah Anne Lloyd wrote an “explainer” report on “aquatic residences” for Seattle Metropolitan magazine. Northwest Multiple Listing Service brokers know them as “style code 24 – floating home/on-water residences.” Currently the NWMLS database features only 14 such listings, with current inventory ranging [..]

Large gap exists between what homebuyers expect to pay and actual prices

Newly-built homes are out of reach for buyers in the lower one-fourth of the market, according to an analysis of recent Census data and surveys by the National Association of Home Builder (NAHB). With inventory of homes at historically low levels (about 2.5 months of supply nationally), and prices for [..]

Issues & Impacts: July 2021

Issues & Impacts is a quarterly publication produced by the SEATTLE KingCounty REALTORS® to inform members about current issues and successes within your Governmental Affairs Department. SEATTLE KingCounty REALTORS® (SKCR) is ensuring that public policies support homeownership and your business’s bottom line. View the full publication

News In Brief

With coastal states like Florida, North Carolina and Maine among the most popular places people relocated to last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best Beach Towns to Live in, as well as accompanying videos. To determine the most livable beachside communities, WalletHub compared 191 [..]

SKCR Events Calendar: July 2021

Sales of newly-built homes shrink, prices still climb due to market disruptions

Sales of newly-constructed single family homes declined 5.9% during May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 769,000 – the lowest in a year, according to estimates from the Census Bureau. Analysts say builders slowed sales due to higher material costs and declining availability of labor, material and lots. Despite [..]

Pandemic prompted remote workers to snatch up vacation homes

Vacation home purchases skyrocketed during 2020, with the trend continuing this year, according to a report from the National Association Realtors®. Workers with the ability to log on from anywhere are credited with spurring the surge. “Vacation homes are a hot commodity at the moment,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief [..]