Washington has some of the most expensive house prices in the nation. Here’s how we rank
Washingtonians are no strangers to the Evergreen State’s high cost of living when it comes to driving and housing.
Washington state’s exorbitant gas prices were the most expensive in the country earlier this summer. Now home-seekers in Washington are stuck with comparatively higher down payments for properties, according to a new report from real estate website Agent Advice.
Experts with the website state that Washington ranks third for the most expensive median home prices in the U.S. California, Idaho and Oregon are also listed in the top 10 priciest states.
“The U.S. housing market is estimated to be worth $43.4 trillion in 2023,” Agent Advice co-founder Chris Heller stated in a news release. “To take advantage of this, both consumers and agents alike must understand the ever-changing nature of the real estate market.”
Where does Washington rank nationwide?
Agent Advice analyzed home price data from every U.S. state between March 2021 and March 2023. It claims that these states are the 10 most expensive for home buyers:
Hawaii – $834,583
California – $728,134
Washington – $562,936
Massachusetts – $558,313
Colorado – 539,640
Utah – $506,072
Oregon – $485,475
New Jersey – $451,559
Idaho – $435,374
New Hampshire – $429,421
Washington’s average of just under $563k is 66% more than the national average, according to Agent Advice. The state also saw an increase of $72,533 in the average house price between March 2021 and 2023, the ninth-highest increase in the country during that period.
The study from Agent Advice estimates that the national average for a house in March 2023 was $338,649.
With such expensive housing prices, it’s no surprise that the personal finance website Moneywise also ranked the Evergreen State as the third-worst state for first-time home buyers.
Using data from Zillow and housing prices from April 2023, Moneywise found that the average down payment on a house in Washington was $77,445. Hawaii and California are the only states where a new homeowner would likely put a larger down payment.
Which WA houses are most expensive by ZIP code?
While Agent Advice’s data analyzes across the Evergreen State, housing prices around Puget Sound play a big part in bumping up the average price.
The following graph uses housing data from Zillow to determine the average price of a house by ZIP code. You can zoom in to your area and find the average price for your ZIP code by hovering your mouse over the map.
ZIP code 98039, which encompasses the city of Medina in the Seattle metropolitan area, leads the state with an average house price of $4,322,734. Medina was ranked the sixth-most expensive ZIP code in the nation in a 2022 study conducted by real estate website PropertyShark. Other expensive Puget Sound ZIP codes include 98004 in Bellevue ($2,804,334) and 98040 on Mercer Island ($2,247,826).
Some other notably expensive areas around Puget Sound’s most populated areas include ZIP codes 98403 in Tacoma ($759,125), 98229 in Bellingham ($684,669) and 98501 in Olympia ($532,688).
Prices in eastern Washington aren’t as drastic, but you’ll still have to drop a pretty penny for a house in the Tri-Cities area.
The following graph provides Zillow housing data for ZIP codes in the Tri-Cities area — data for all ZIP codes may not be available. ZIP code 99323 in Kennewick is the most expensive market in the area, with an average price of $449,166.
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Washington has some of the most expensive house prices in the nation. Here’s how we rank."
