Housing Affordability Statistics for King County, Washington
More Affordable Housing in King County, Washington
Houses are more affordable than their historic averages in King County and the Seattle area in Washington. However, they are still out of reach for the average wage earner.
There are 64 cities in King County, which has a population of just over 2 million and encompasses the cities of Seattle, Vashon, Bellevue, and Kent. Beaux Arts is the most expensive city with a median listing price of around $1.8 million. Federal Way is the most affordable city, with a median listing price of around $500, 000.
Latest Housing Affordability Highlights for King County, Washington
ATTOM’s affordability index provides quarterly updates on home affordability trends for counties nationwide. The data shows where home price appreciation is outpacing wage growth, including the annual income typically needed to buy a home.
Here are the latest data highlights from ATTOM’s Housing Affordability Index for King County, Washington.
Affordability
Homes in King County and the Seattle area are still less affordable than their historic averages.
Wages
The annual income required to buy a home with a 20 percent down payment is at least $188,000 in 2024.
Homeownership
The median annualized wage in King County is not enough to cover the costs of homeownership.
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Housing Affordability Index Summary for King County, Washington
The latest housing affordability index for homes in the Seattle area and King County, Washington, shows the average home to be less affordable than recent averages. The current index is 86 in 2024, and indexes of more than 100 are considered more affordable compared to historical averages.
King County has a population of just over 2 million and just over 900 thousand units of housing inventory. In 2005, the median sales price for a home in King County was around $297,000. In 2012, the median sales price dropped to $276,000. The current median sales price is around $770,000, an increase of over 250 percent.
Annualized wages in 2005 in King County were around $50,000 and are now around $118,000 in 2024. The median wage required to buy an average home with 20 percent down is over $188,000.
ATTOM’s housing affordability index for King County, Washington, analyzes median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by ATTOM and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.