Seattle-area homes see smallest price cuts in U.S.
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About half of homes sold in the Seattle area last year went for less than their original asking price — although not by much.
The big picture: Nationwide, people who can afford to buy homes are scoring some of the best deals in years, Axios' Sami Sparber writes. In Seattle, though, the savings have been more modest.
By the numbers: Among Seattle-area homeowners who snagged a home for under list price last year, the typical discount was 5.7% — the smallest savings among the top 50 metros, according to Redfin.
- 49.6% of Seattle-area homes sold below their original list price in 2025, compared to about 62% of homes nationally.
- The Seattle area's median starting list price — $848,000 — also ranked seventh-highest nationally, trailing only San Jose, San Francisco and four other California metros.
What they're saying: Today's market is giving buyers more room to negotiate, Redfin senior economist Asad Khan wrote this month.
- "Homebuyers in 2026 shouldn't write off homes that are slightly above their budget because there's a good chance they'll get some sort of concession from the seller, be it a price cut, money toward closing costs or funds for repairs," Khan said.
- "This marks a reversal from the pandemic homebuying frenzy, when house hunters were advised to search for homes below their budget because fierce bidding wars were causing properties to sell far above the asking price."
The bottom line: Buying in Seattle is still expensive — but at least the era of runaway bidding wars is starting to cool.