Last month the story was a widening gap, with Southeast Seattle up 11% while the city as a whole slipped. In July the two readings traded places. Citywide, the median house sold for $999,500, down just 1% from a year ago. In Southeast Seattle, the median came in at $818,000, down 8%. Before either number does any work, look at what sits underneath both: 1,520 houses on the market citywide, more than in any July in at least ten years, and 2.9 months of supply, the most balanced July in a decade. This is a market normalizing, not correcting.
Southeast Seattle: An 8% Dip That Is Mostly Townhomes
Southeast Seattle (Mt. Baker, Columbia City, Beacon Hill, Seward Park, Hillman City and Rainier Beach) posted a July median of $818,000 for houses, down 8% from $885,000 last July and down from June’s $989,500. Two things are worth knowing before that figure gets read as a trend.
First, about 40 houses close here in a typical month, so a single month’s median moves on whatever happened to sell. Year to date the median is $837,621, down 3%, on 6% more closings than the same stretch of 2025. That is the steadier read, and $818,000 is still higher than every July here except the last three.
Second, most of the drop is townhomes and smaller homes rather than detached single-family houses. Closings above $1M fell from 17 last July to 9 this July, while closings under $1M rose from 26 to 30. When fewer expensive houses change hands, the middle sale falls without anything happening to what a given house is worth.
The pace data underneath is still firm. Of the 40 sales, 25 (62.5%) found a buyer in under 15 days at 100% of the original asking price. The 20% that sold above asking averaged 7 days on market and 7% over list. By contrast, the third of sales that needed a price change first averaged 68 days, and the one house that passed 90 days settled at 86% of where it started.
Supply loosened but stayed tight by regional standards: 140 listings at the end of July, up 8%, and 2.7 months of inventory, up from 2.0 a year ago. For scale, 8 of 36 King and Snohomish county areas now sit above four months, which is buyer’s-market territory. Southeast Seattle is not one of them.
For buyers, waiting a year paid off here, which reverses last month’s math. The payment on the median Southeast Seattle house is now $5,192, about $531 a month less than last July, or $6,400 a year, because prices eased at the same time rates fell to 6.54% from 6.72%. One caution to price in: 17% of local sales that reached contract over the past year failed to close, so clean financing and terms still carry real weight.
Seattle Citywide: Flat Prices, Ten-Year-High Selection
Across all Seattle neighborhoods the median house closed at $999,500, down 1% from $1,010,000, which still makes this the second strongest July of the past ten. What actually changed is selection, not price. There were 1,520 houses on the market at the end of July, up 16% year over year and the highest July count in at least a decade, and months of supply reached 2.9, up 40%.
Volume is where the softening shows. Closed sales fell 14% and the number of homes going under contract fell 17%. The pullback concentrated in the lower reaches of the luxury market: closings between $1M and $1.25M dropped 31% from last July, the steepest decline of any price band.
Even so, well-prepared homes still move quickly. In July, 64% of sales found a buyer inside 15 days at 100% of the original asking price, and 31% sold above list, at a median of 4% over asking and just 5 days on market. The other side of the ledger is the cost of starting high: 28% of sales needed a price change first and averaged 68 days, while homes that sat 61 to 90 days closed at 92% of their original price. In practice, mispricing runs about 8% plus three months of carrying costs. Roughly 1 in 7 accepted offers citywide also fails to close, so managing a deal to the finish line matters as much as getting one signed.
The affordability picture improved slightly. The payment on a median Seattle house is $6,344, about $187 a month less than last July, or $2,240 a year. That said, payments remain close to a cycle peak measured against King County median household income, and historically those peaks resolve through softer prices, lower rates, or both. Both showed up in July, mildly. One seasonal note: July normally sits near the annual price peak, with medians easing from here through fall.
Condos: The Clearest Buyer’s Market in the Region
Seattle condos now carry 6.2 months of supply, up from 4.4 a year ago, and anything much past four months favors buyers outright. There were 1,180 units on the market at the end of July, up 12% and another ten-year July high. The median slipped 5% to $525,000 and closings fell 9%.
Pricing power has essentially gone. Only 4% of July condo sales closed above list. Nearly half (48%) needed a price change before selling, averaging 103 days on market, and about 1 in 4 sales took more than 60 days. For buyers, that is leverage: the payment on a median Seattle condo is now $3,332, roughly $224 a month less than last July, and credits, contingencies and price are all fair asks. If you are weighing formats, my condo, townhouse and house comparison covers what each one actually costs to own.
Southeast Seattle condos are a much smaller pool and should be read with care. Only five closed in July, so the 25% drop in the median to $535,000 is sample size, not a market signal; year to date the local condo median is $637,496, up 5% across 34 sales. The real signal is supply: 25 active listings against 19 a year ago, up 32%, at 4.2 months of inventory. Sellers here need sharp pricing and patience.
King County: The Deepest Selection Anywhere
Zoom out to the whole county and July's theme, more homes and steady prices, gets even clearer. The countywide house median came in at $995,000, down 1% from last July's $1,000,000 and essentially unchanged over two years. What did change is choice: 5,342 houses on the market at the end of July, up 25% year over year and, like the city, the highest July count in at least a decade. Supply reached 3.1 months, past the city's 2.9 and further from Southeast Seattle's 2.7.
Buyers responded by getting selective rather than leaving. Closed sales slipped 10%, and 35% of July's sales needed a price change before closing, averaging 75 days on market. The homes that got it right still moved: 56% sold within 15 days at full asking, and the 24% that went above list did so at a median of 3% over in 6 days. About 15% of accepted county offers failed to close over the past year, in line with the city.
County condos are the loosest corner of the whole market: 5.6 months of supply, up from 3.7, with 2,494 units for sale, up 21% and another decade high. The median eased 2% to $519,975 while closings fell 19%, and nearly half of sales (47%) took a price cut first, averaging 97 days. The payment on the median county condo is now about $3,300 a month, $127 less than last July.
Put the three geographies side by side and the supply gradient from June is still there, just gentler: Southeast Seattle at 2.7 months, the city at 2.9, the county at 3.1, with condos everywhere looser than houses. What changed in July is prices: instead of close-in gains against county declines, all three landed within a point or two of last year.
July 2026 at a Glance
| Median (houses) | YoY | Median (condos) | YoY | Months of supply (houses) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Seattle | $818,000 | -8% | $535,000* | -25%* | 2.7 |
| Seattle (all areas) | $999,500 | -1% | $525,000 | -5% | 2.9 |
| King County | $995,000 | -1% | $519,975 | -2% | 3.1 |
What This Means for You
- 01If you’re selling a house in Southeast Seattle: the area is still tighter than most of the region, but the buffer is thinner than it was in June. Price to the market on day one and you are in the 62% that sells inside two weeks at full asking; miss, and the data says 68 days and a price cut.
- 02If you’re buying a house: this is the deepest July selection in ten years, with county inventory up 25% and 2.9 months of supply citywide. Leverage depends entirely on the listing, though. A well-priced new listing is still gone in about 5 days, while anything sitting past 30 is a genuine negotiation.
- 03If you’re condo shopping: you are in the strongest position of any buyer in this market. With 6.2 months of supply and half of sales taking a price cut, ask for terms as well as price.
- 04If you’re a first-time buyer: prices eased and rates fell at the same time, so the median payment is down year over year in every segment here. My first-time buyer guide covers Washington’s down payment programs and how to use a market like this one.
The Bottom Line
July did not break the pattern so much as flatten it. Citywide and county house prices held within 1% of last year, Southeast Seattle gave back June’s spike on a thinner high end rather than on broad weakness, and condos moved further into buyers’ hands everywhere. What ties it all together is inventory: the most homes on the market in any July in a decade, in the city and the county alike, and the most balanced conditions in as long. For last month’s picture, see the June update.
Wondering what this market means for your home’s value? I’ll run a free, no-obligation valuation using live neighborhood data, not a Zestimate. Or, if you’re buying, reach out and I’ll set up alerts for the neighborhoods and price bands where the data favors you.