What is the hardest month to sell a house?
In Seattle it's the middle of winter. Over 2021 to 2025, homes that sold in January had spent a median of about 37 days on the market, the longest of any month in Redfin's data, and January also had the fewest sales. December came next, at about 31 days.
Because Redfin counts days on market for the homes that sold in a month, a slow January really tells you about houses that were listed in late fall and around the holidays. That's the stretch when fewer buyers are out looking. Those winter sales also closed a little under list price on average: about 99.6% of list in January and 99.4% in December, against about 103.9% in April. The same pattern shows up across the region. In King County as a whole, homes that sold in January had spent about 29 days on the market, compared with about 6 in April. In Tacoma and Everett the slowest month by that measure was December. None of this means a house can't sell in winter. It means a winter listing should expect a few more weeks on the market and less bidding, and should be priced for that from the first day.
| Median days on market | Average sale-to-list | Homes sold per month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37 days | 99.6% | 515 |
| February | 13 days | 102.3% | 707 |
| March | 9 days | 103.1% | 923 |
| April | 7 days | 103.9% | 976 |
| May | 8 days | 103.5% | 1,038 |
| June | 8 days | 102.4% | 1,038 |
| July | 11 days | 101.0% | 933 |
| August | 15 days | 100.5% | 877 |
| September | 17 days | 100.2% | 788 |
| October | 12 days | 100.5% | 834 |
| November | 19 days | 99.8% | 698 |
| December | 31 days | 99.4% | 621 |
Source: Redfin Data Center, city and county market tracker (all residential, monthly), checked 2026-09-30
Sale-to-list is the sale price divided by the last list price, so anything over 100% means homes sold above their asking price on average. Homes sold per month is the average count for that calendar month across the five years.
Which month is best to sell a house in Seattle?
The same data points to spring, and April in particular. Seattle homes that sold in April had spent a median of about 7 days on the market and sold for about 103.9% of list price on average. May and June had the most sales, about 1,038 a month each, by Redfin's figures.
For a seller who is listing, that points to having the house on the market by March or early April, so it's under contract while buyers are most active. Those are five-year averages, and a single year can look different, so the latest month on file is worth a look too.
In May 2026, the newest month in the file, Seattle homes that sold had spent a median of 11 days on the market, next to 10 a year earlier, and sold for 100.8% of list on average. There were 2.6 months of supply.
Are Seattle home prices dropping?
It depends on which measure you read. Zillow's typical home value for Seattle was down 1.6% over the 12 months to August 2026, while Redfin's median sale price for May 2026 was $901,000, up 0.7% on a year earlier. Both are small moves, and neither one is a forecast.
The two numbers measure different things, which is why they can disagree. Zillow's index estimates the value of a typical home across the whole city, smoothed and adjusted for the season. Redfin's median is the middle price of the homes that actually sold that month, so it moves with which houses happened to sell. Neither tells you what your house is worth. For that you need recent sales of houses like yours, close by.
I don't make price predictions, and a buyer who promises you prices are about to jump is guessing. The data can only show you the past. What it says about the last year is that Seattle prices have been roughly flat.
The wider county looks much the same. Across King County, Redfin's median sale price for May 2026 was $894,000, up 2.2% on a year earlier, and homes that sold that month had spent a median of 12 days on the market, against 8 a year before. Houses are taking a little longer to sell, even where prices are holding.
Is it a buyer's or seller's market in Tacoma and Everett right now?
On the latest month of Redfin data, May 2026, sellers still had a slight edge in both. Homes in Tacoma sold for 101.3% of list price on average and homes in Everett for 100.6%, with 2 and 1.8 months of supply. That's one month of data, so treat it as a snapshot.
Prices were a little softer than a year earlier. Tacoma's median sale price that month was $495,000, down 3.9%, and Everett's was $587,500, down 2.7%. Homes that sold had spent a median of 8 days on the market in Tacoma and 7 in Everett.
The seasons run the same way there. Over 2021 to 2025, Tacoma homes that sold in December had spent about 27 days on the market against about 6 in May, and Everett's range was about 24 days in December to 6 in May.
Does timing matter if you're selling as-is or for cash?
Much less. A cash buyer isn't waiting for spring shoppers or a lender's appraisal, so the closing date gets set around what you need instead of the calendar. Timing matters most when you list a house that shows well, because that's where a spring market can add to the price.
If the house needs a roof, a furnace or a full clean-out, the repair list decides the price far more than the month does. The page on selling a house as-is explains how that gets priced, and the comparison of a cash offer and a listing puts the costs of each route side by side.
If you're planning a spring listing, winter is a good time to get ready: sort out what's worth fixing, using the guide to what not to do before you sell, and gather the payoff and tax papers. The steps of a cash sale, for comparison, are on the how it works page, and the home page has the short version of both options.
