Appraisals for property inside the Seattle city limits
This page is for homeowners, heirs and attorneys' offices with a house, condominium or floating home in the City of Seattle. It names the Seattle conditions an appraisal has to account for, and the King County and City of Seattle offices that keep the records an appraisal relies on.
Near the end of the page, a block shows public-record sales for the whole city in September 2026. One month of public-record sales for one city is not an appraisal of any home.
Seattle conditions an appraisal has to account for
Seattle's maps, codes and registers mark property that is subject to extra rules. Each note below names the City or county record to check.
Landslide-prone and steep ground
Seattle's code lists landslide-prone areas, liquefaction-prone areas and steep slope erosion hazard areas among its environmentally critical areas. Liquefaction-prone sites have loose, saturated soil that can lose strength in an earthquake. The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) shows mapped critical areas for an address on its online map. It calls most of these maps advisory and confirms a critical area with a survey or report. An appraisal of a mapped lot notes the mapping and compares sales of lots with similar ground.
Real estate appraisals in Seattle
Land within 200 feet of the shoreline
Seattle's Shoreline District takes in all land within 200 feet of the shoreline, wetlands connected to the water, and all submerged land. The Shoreline Master Program limits uses and development there, both on land and over the water. SDCI's online map shows whether an address is inside the district. For a Seattle home in the district, an appraisal looks at what the shoreline rules allow on that parcel and compares sales of homes with similar water access.
Floating homes
Besides liveaboard boats, Seattle recognizes four kinds of floating residences: floating homes, floating on-water residences, house barges and vessels containing dwelling units. Since the 2015 Shoreline Master Program update, owners of existing floating residences must complete a one-time City verification or registration to stay on the water. Each verified residence is given a three-digit number. When the owner or the location changes, the City's record must be updated within 60 days. An appraisal of a floating home also covers the moorage that comes with it.
What a home appraisal costs in Seattle
Older brick buildings
SDCI describes a typical unreinforced masonry building as a brick building, generally built before 1945, that lacks the steel reinforcement and connections needed to withstand earthquake shaking. It puts the number of these buildings in Seattle at more than 1,100, keeps a database of them by address, and wrote to the owners it identified in March 2016. SDCI describes a future ordinance that would make retrofits mandatory. For a condominium or apartment building on the list, an appraisal notes the listing and whether a retrofit has been recognized.
How a market analysis differs from an appraisal
City landmarks and historic districts
Since 1973, Seattle has designated more than 400 sites, buildings, vehicles, vessels and street clocks as city landmarks. Since 1970, it has set up eight historic districts. A Certificate of Approval must be issued before certain changes to a designated landmark or to a property inside one of those districts. The Landmarks Preservation Board or a district's citizens board reviews them. An appraisal of such a property weighs what the controls allow and compares sales of property under similar rules.
Permit records back to the 1890s
SDCI keeps Seattle's building permit records. Permits from 2005 on are in the Seattle Services Portal. Permits from about 1894 to 1970, and microfiche permits from 1970 to 2004, have been scanned into SDCI's online Permit and Property Records library, apart from roll film. An appraisal uses these records to check when a house was built or changed, and whether an added unit, deck or finished basement had a permit.
What a real estate appraiser does
The county's assessed value
The King County Assessor's office counts more than 700,000 properties in King County. Its staff must physically inspect each property at least once every six years, to confirm that the county's records match it, and may view the outside of a property without the owner's permission. The result is a value for property tax. An appraisal for an estate, a trust or a divorce looks at the Seattle home itself, as of the date the matter requires.
Where Seattle property records are kept
King County offices hold the parcel, deed and court records for a Seattle property. The City of Seattle holds its building permits.
King County Assessor
Keeps parcel records and sets assessed values for property tax across King County, Seattle included. In person: King Street Center Customer Service Center, 201 South Jackson Street, 2nd floor, Seattle, WA 98104.
King County Recorder's Office
Records deeds, mortgages, plats and surveys, keeps copies of recorded documents and collects real estate excise tax. It is part of King County's Records and Licensing Services. 201 S. Jackson St., Suite 204, Seattle, WA 98104.
King County Superior Court
Hears probate cases for estates and family law cases, which include divorce. Its Ex Parte and Probate department hears probate and trust matters. An adult who lives in Seattle or north of I-90 will probably have a case heard at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.
Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI)
Issues land use, construction and trade permits, conducts construction and housing inspections, and keeps Seattle's permit records and the critical-area and shoreline maps named above. 700 5th Ave, Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98104.
Seattle · September 2026 public-record sales
What did homes in the City of Seattle sell for in September 2026?
These are the figures Realtors Property Resource (RPR) reports for public-record sales inside the Seattle city limits in September 2026. Single-family homes are combined with condominiums, townhouses and apartments, so the numbers describe the city as a whole. They do not describe any one neighborhood or any one house.
Median sold price, September 2026
$775,000
Down 6.1% from the prior month
Properties sold, September 2026
261
Down 62.2% from the prior month
- Median price per square foot, September 2026
- $580
The median sold price was down 6.1% from the month before, and the number of sales was down 62.2%. Those changes describe which properties sold in each month. They do not show that any one Seattle home changed in value by the same percentage, because the mix of homes that sell differs from month to month.
What an appraisal adds to these figures
- Comparable sales chosen for your property's neighborhood, age, size and condition.
- The value on the date your matter requires, which may be months or years in the past.
- A written report that your attorney, accountant or the other party can read and check.
Source and limits of these figures
Source: Realtors Property Resource (RPR), Sold Public Records; September 2026; Single Family + Condo/Townhouse/Apt.; area: Seattle, Washington; accessed October 7, 2026.
These figures come from sales recorded in public records (RPR's Sold Public Records panel), not from listings. They cover one month inside the Seattle city boundary, not the wider region, with RPR's reported change from the month before. One month of public-record sales for one city is not an appraisal of any home. The figures are shown as RPR displayed them on October 7, 2026, one week after the month ended; sales recorded after that are not counted. Median days on market and the sold-to-list price ratio are not available for public-record sales, so neither is shown, and no zero or estimate takes their place. No year-over-year or longer trend figure was saved, so none is stated or estimated. No neighborhood breakdown is shown.
City-wide figures are background. A property-specific appraisal relies on property records and comparable sales relevant to the required valuation date.
Need a Property Appraisal?
Contact North Sound Valuation for expert appraisal services in Seattle.
Call 206-350-7003