Wednesday Mickie and I attended Zillow's Economic Forecast for Snohomish County held at the Lynnwood's Lowe's Theater. The Economic Forecast was hosted my friends at First American Title and the folks from Wells Fargo and the focus was a few fold:

  1. Explain how Zillow Zestimates are generated.
  2. Look at the national housing trends.
  3. Drill down forecasts for the Snohomish County housing market.

Instead of diving into the abyss of Zestimates and how housing markets are local and not national; however, I will breeze onto Snohomish County's Economic Forecast.

Housing Values Return to 2005 Levels

In the chart we can see the real estate market bottomed in 2012 and then went on a climb that resembles the 2002 to 2007 bubble - this chart puts the peak at approximately 2008 where, locally, I put the peak at July 2007. Either way, the Snohomish County real estate market began surging in 2012 and it was commonplace to be in multiple offer situations with listing agents calling for "highest and best" offers and buyer's using escalation clauses.

Now do I think the housing market surging is a good thing? No. I've said it before that I believe a sustainable housing market is healthier for our area that a market that peaks then valleys. Will the Snohomish County real estate market continue to escalate? No. There are early signs of the market softening as prices rapidly became unaffordable and the recent bubble burst is still fresh.

Snohomish County Having a Strong Rebound

One of the primary employment drivers in Snohomish County is The Boeing Company. Employing and hiring thousands over the past years has aided to the local economy's recovery. With that said, The Boeing Company is looking to bring the 777-X manufacturing to Everett. I hope they do.

All Zips Codes Saw Annual Value Gains

I'm going to pick on this slide for a moment. Northeast Snohomish County saw a 18% gain, Fantastic! I wasn't aware anyone lived out there (I'm not picking on Darrington) as its the the mountains. So the Baker National Forest in Snohomish County increased in value by 18%?

All the other areas seen significant gains with the Snohomish area seeing the lowest of 11% gain and southwest Everett yielding the highest of 23.6%

Gains are Forecasted for Snohomish County

The Puget Sound region of the County is forecasted to see the highest gains which are approximately 10.7% as well Monroe, Sultan, Startup and Gold Bar areas - I haven't seen any indicators that would push those markets that high next year. Is now a good time to purchase? It probably is if Zillow's research is accurate.

A chart breaking down the gains by city.

One city I am very surprised about is Mill Creek. Mill Creek is a bustling hot bed but its very small. With the two hubs, Mill Creek Town Center and the Mill Creek Country club, I expected its forecasted gains to be at least higher than Woods Creek in Monroe.

What are your thoughts on Zillow's Economic Forecast of Snohomish County? Think it will hold true as 2014 progresses?