SEATTLE — Despite new highs across the housing market in Seattle, local real estate experts say there’s reason to be optimistic as a buyer compared to recent years.
According to the latest data from REMAX, as of June 2025, Seattle ranks third in median sales prices in the United States at $766,725, up from $750,000 in June 2024, which is a record high for the Emerald City.
Seattle sits behind only Urban Honolulu ($780,000) and San Francisco ($1,212,500). Meanwhile, local data shows that the median home sale price in June 2025 for King County as a whole was even higher — at $1,034,000, nearly $79,000 higher compared to June 2024.
REMAX also reports that Seattle has reached its highest volume of available houses on the market since 2015, topping just over 10,700 homes as of last month. It’s roughly 50% more homes compared to June 2024.
John Manning, a Managing Broker at REMAX Gateway in Seattle says its strange to see those two metrics trending at the same time, given that a high supply is usually indicates lower prices are on their way, but he adds that Seattle’s robust economy and strong industries are still providing high-paying jobs which are allowing home buyers to afford higher price tags.
At the same time, homes are also sitting on the market for 24 days on average as of last month, compared to 18 days in June 2024.
It’s for those reasons that Jeff Tucker, the Principal Economist at Windermere Real Estate on Lake Union, says that prospective home buyers could have some optimism this year.
“I think one more kind of wrinkle in there is that buyers, I think, are benefiting; they’re using that negotiating leverage to get some more concessions in the sale, maybe getting the seller to cover some closing costs, repair some things around the house that sellers were not bothering with four years ago,” Tucker explained.
In addition, he says that home buyers shouldn’t hold their breath when it comes to waiting for interest rates to fall, as it remains in a political tug-of-war.
“Even if the Fed started cutting that short-term interest rate, it’s not necessarily gonna deliver a lot of relief from mortgage borrowers on that long end, which mortgage rates tend to follow the 10-year Treasury yield,” said Tucker.
Instead, he says to consider what you can afford at today’s mortgage rates, and ask yourself if you’re going to be happy living at the property for several years, and adds that interest rates do come down within a year or two, to refinance.
Tucker says to take advantage of the fact that there are more options, as homes remain listed for longer, and the fact that you will run into fewer bidding wars with other buyers.
“Especially in a place like Seattle, every house in every neighborhood, every community can be very, very different, and when you’ve got 50% more options to choose from, you’ve got a lot better chance of finding that home,” said Tucker.