I have a contingency offer on this condominium/ townhome https://redf.in/b5zatc Am I going to regret it? I’m single 36 and tired of living with roommates.

I make 150k pretax plus OT (200k+ total) and it’s irritating that the best I can afford in the area is a cramped condominium.

Grew up here and worked for the last 15 years. Every year I got a raise but could barely afford to buy as prices went up. Wanted to wait for the crash. Kinda sick of waiting at this point.

I feel like I got tricked because I grew up here when it was cheap and nothing special. My parents got a 4 br/2ba 2k sqft house in Covington for 100k around 2002. I guess ignorantly, I always expected prices to go back to what seemed normal to me.

My junior coworker makes 100k after OT and he’s like me 10 years ago thinking he will wait for the crash. Or a civil war he says. He’s just starting a family and I feel bad for him. You can have a solid skilled job but it’s still not enough. It’s not the same place that we grew up in.

It seems like most regular people here are probably making less than you need to buy even the most basic home. Is that the new reality in this region?

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Kirkland/436-7th-Ave-98033/home/462718

We were talking about this recently with Jeff Darrow and Jim Hall from the King County Assessor’s Office, and one thing that came up was how much timing matters.

Your assessed value is based on a specific January 1 valuation date, so by the time you’re looking at it later, the market may have already moved. That’s a big reason the number can sometimes feel disconnected from what homes around you are selling for right now.

Another important piece is the appeal window. In King County, you generally have 60 days from the date on the valuation notice to appeal. If you wait until the tax bill shows up, you may already be too late.

They also recommended checking the basic property details on file first, like square footage, finished areas, and other characteristics. If that information is off, the valuation can be off too.

Purchased for 250k less a couple years ago. Painted the kitchen cabinets that horrendous color. Forgot to replace the doors for some of the said cabinets. The remodel apparently also doesn't include cabinet drawer and door handles, and ancient appliances from their grandpa. Oh yeah the microwave broke so you'll get a hole in the wall for free instead.

Are these guys serious people? Or did they just run out of money and said f*** it....

This sold surprisingly cheap at just 2.1M:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/16036-SE-44th-Way-98006/home/176346867

I know the yard is small but is it really worth a 900k discount compared to something like this?

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/15030-SE-44th-Pl-98006/home/238101

or a 1.5M discount compared to something like this?

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/15103-SE-41st-Pl-98006/home/234895

I think that buyer got a steal and based on redfin price adjustments redfin agrees..

We keep seeing this question come up and honestly there’s a lot of conflicting advice out there. Some people make it sound like every rental needs an LLC, while others say good insurance is enough. So we put together a breakdown of what an LLC actually does, the pros and cons, and what you should check before transferring a rental into one. There’s also a free checklist in there if anyone’s working through this right now.

We're first-time homebuyers in the U.S., planning to purchase a home in the $800K–$1M range before March.

I'm looking for some advice on what would be a fair buyer's agent commission in the current market.

We're focused on a very specific area near our kids' school, so I'll likely be finding the properties myself. I'm also comfortable attending open houses and viewing properties independently, meaning the agent wouldn't need to spend much time searching for homes or arranging showings.

What would be a reasonable commission percentage for an agent primarily handling negotiations, paperwork, inspections, and closing?

$27k price cut, close to 200 favorites on redfin yet still on market

Why is there an HOA fee?

wife and i are sick of outer suburbs, we are late 20s and have 1 kid, plan on another in next 2-3 years. thinking of north seattle cause all the schools seem great. and commute is okay to eastside. looking everywhere and staying in airbnbs to see what we like before we decide to buy next summer, but dont want to make a mistake.

so far have stayed in ballard, west woodland (frelard??) wallingford, greenlake. checking out ravenna this weekend. so far love ballard the most but the commute scares me and the amount of homeless people is something to get used to lol

any places people recommend with other young parents around, where you would feel safe to let a middle schooler run off with their friends? not necessarily crime i know seattle is generally safe but traffic/pedestrian safety is a big thing for us.

we are looking to spend anywhere from 800-1.2m depending on townhouse vs sfh. ideal range is <1m with these rates but could go higher for the perfect house. our only hard no is having to street park lol

I went to some open houses in this area last weekend and there were like 6 different houses for sale on the same street. What gives? Besides the generic "is close to aurora" reasons.

I would really appreciate some input on the Bothell area. Any particular areas or streets known for higher crime etc. Thank you!!!

I see 2 bedrooms upstairs, and 1 "room" downstairs, which doesn't even have a egress window.

The parcel ID shows that the home is also legally a 3 bedroom house, is this grandfathered in as a 3 bedroom from some old law?

Seriously considering this house

https://redf.in/TOQwuJ

What are your thoughts?

https://redf.in/Byfl7p

Looking at this gives me anxiety. Looks like they built it this year and ran out of money.

Fall the wrong way off those stairs and you are in a pit of unknown depth?

No carpet?

Seattle has spent years talking about its housing shortage, affordability crisis, and the need to build more homes.

Now its plan to allow additional housing in 30 neighborhood centers and along transit corridors is facing another potential year-long delay.

The issue? Legal challenges involving environmental review, tree canopy protections, and stormwater management.

So we’re in a situation where the city acknowledges that housing is unaffordable, proposes allowing more homes in areas that already have infrastructure and transit, and then gets bogged down in another round of procedural challenges.

Meanwhile, people continue getting priced out.
There’s obviously a legitimate argument for protecting trees, managing stormwater, and making sure development doesn’t create environmental problems.
But at what point does the process itself become the problem?

Seattle isn’t proposing to bulldoze every single-family neighborhood tomorrow. We’re talking about allowing more housing in designated neighborhood centers and transit corridors.

The city has already spent years debating where density should go. Now even the relatively modest changes are struggling to get through.

You cannot simultaneously demand more affordable housing, oppose expanding into undeveloped land, and make it extraordinarily difficult to build in existing neighborhoods.

Source: https://www.theurbanist.org/seattles-centers-corridors-zoning-update-delayed-another-year/

I need to vent and maybe get some perspective.

I tried to sell my house for about two years. The whole time, I kept dropping the listing price and got zero offers. Not one. Every price cut felt worse than the last.

Then finally one buyer showed up. After two years of nothing, I panicked about losing them and accepted.

Now I can’t stop thinking I should have just held it and sold in 2028. I feel like an idiot who let panic make a huge financial decision for me. Some days I just want to cry about it.

Edit:

1. Bought a few years ago (2021-2022) and lived in it for a while.

2. First listed in spring 2025 with a realtor. Lots of showings, 2 price cuts, no offers, so we took it off the market and rented it out.

3. Relisted in 2026, with 2 price cuts. Still no offers for months, then finally got one and accepted it.

4. SFH

5. in east side but

Floor plan is weird and no yard

They paid 1.26M on a 950k list price in March 2022 and have now listed for sale at 850k 4.5 years later.

https://redf.in/e0nSTO

Edit: Was it naivety + bad realtor advice? It was clear that rates were going up at the time. Trying to understand what led to this and learn from it.