2021 was a great year for the Seattle area real estate market - home prices rose 11% in the past year, increasing from a median sales price of $674,975 in December 2020 to a median sales price of $750,000 in December 2021.
This past year was also fantastic for the team here at the JanusGroup, and we wanted to share a few of the more interesting stats - 21 of them, to be exact - that we discovered recently when looking at the past year’s sales activity in the Seattle area. Here is a look back at 2021 King County real estate by the numbers:
#1 - $30,750,000
The highest-priced home sale in King County in 2021: $30,750,000 for a stunning waterfront home on Lake Washington in Seattle's Madrona neighborhood. This is the second-highest-priced sale in King County in the MLS’s database, as far as we can tell (A Jim Olson (of Olson Kundig fame) designed home in Hunts Point sold in 2019 for $37 million.). The Madrona property is shrouded in a bit of mystery but enjoys over one acre of pristine Lake Washington waterfront in one of Seattle’s swankiest neighborhoods.
#2 - $68,000
The lowest-priced sale in King County in 2021: $68,000 for a 350 sqft cabin in the woods near Snoqualmie Pass. With this being well below the average sale price for a home in the Seattle area, this seems like a great deal for a winter retreat.
#3 - 29,857
The number of single-family homes sold in King County in 2021: 29,857. This is a 12% increase over the number of homes that were sold in 2020 in the Seattle area.
#4 - 8,721
The number of condos sold in King County in 2021: 8,721. This is a 25% increase over the number of condos that sold in 2020.
#5 - 3,853
The number of new construction homes sold in 2021 in King County: 3,853. This is nearly identical to the 3,807 new construction homes that sold in 2020.
#6 - 677
The number of new condos sold in King County in 2021: 677. This is down just slightly from the 730 new condos that sold in King County in 2020.
#7 - 1,944
The number of new construction townhomes sold in King County in 2021: 1,944. 83% of these sales were in the city of Seattle.
#8 - 51
The number of houseboats sold in King County in 2021: 51. The number of them marketing a Sleepless In Seattle-like experience? Zero. Womp womp.
#9 - 5,322
The number of townhomes sold in King County in 2021: 5,322. Townhome sales in King County represented 14% of all home and condo sales last year.
#10 - 1,136
The number of waterfront homes sold in 2021 in King County: 1,136. The median sales price for a waterfront home in King County: $1,160,250.
#11 - 3,392
The number of homes sold in the Ballard/Green Lake/Fremont/Phinney Ridge/Wallingford/Bitter Lake/Licton Springs area of Seattle (north of the cut, west of I-5) in 2021: 3,392. This was the most sales in any one area of Seattle in 2021 and represents 8% of all homes sold in King County.
#12 - 15.4%
The Beacon Hill/Georgetown/SODO area of Seattle saw a 15.4% increase in the median home sale price in 2021, ending the year at $750,000 for the median home sale. This was the area of Seattle with the biggest year-over-year median sale price increase. The adjacent South Seattle area of Mt Baker/Columbia City/Seward Park/Leschi area saw a 9.4% median sale price increase in 2021, the second-highest in the city.
#13 - 2,483
The number of homes with Puget Sound views that sold in King County in 2021: 2,483. This represents 6% of all homes and condos sold in 2021 in the Seattle area.
#14 - 628
The number of homes with swimming pools sold in King County in 2021: 628. This is just 2% of all of the homes and condos sold in 2021. All of these were residential listings, but we do not know if these are all privately-owned pools or not.
#15 - 777
The number of homes sold in King County in 2021 with an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) or DADU (Detached ADU).
#16 - 64
The number of bank-owned homes that sold in 2021 in King County: 64. This represents a needle-in-the-haystack 0.17% of the total 38,578 sales this past year.
#17 - 207
The number of homes sold in 2021 in King County with solar panels: 207. This represents just 1% of all home sales, and this number is basically flat from 2020 when there were 190 homes sold in King County with solar panels.
#18 - 11,534
The number of homes sold in 2021 in King County with either mini-splits (4,051 sales) or central air conditioning (7,483 sales): 11,534. This means that 30% of all homes and condos sold in 2021 have central cooling, up from 25% of all homes and condos sold in 2020 in the Seattle area.
#19 - 15,360
15,360 square feet - that is the size of the largest home sold in King County in 2021. The 15,360 sqft home in Bellevue includes a sauna and an indoor basketball court and sold for $3,750,000.
#20 - 172
172 sqft - the smallest home sold in King County in 2021. This rustic cabin on the shores of Puget Sound in Burien sold for $250,000.
#21 - 14%
14% - The percent of homes that were built between 2001 and 2010 and sold in 2021. This is the largest number of homes sold for any given decade. Here is a full breakdown for the homes sold in King County in 2021 by decade built:
Built before 1900 0% (there were 7 homes sold, but this represents a 0.018% share of the pie)
Built between 1901 and 1910 2%
Built between 1911 and 1920 2%
Built between 1921 and 1930 4%
Built between 1931 and 1940 2%
Built between 1941 and 1950 6%
Built between 1951 and 1960 7%
Built between 1961 and 1970 10%
Built between 1971 and 1980 11%
Built between 1981 and 1990 12%
Built between 1991 and 2000 11%
Built between 2001 and 2010 14%
Built between 2011 and 2020 12%
Built in 2021 (aka new construction) 7%
It is interesting to note that just 23% of the homes sold in 2021 in King County were built before 1960.
So, there you have it - 21 numbers looking back at the year of Seattle area real estate in 2021!
I have to put a caveat here that all of these numbers are taken from the NWMLS and are accurate as best I can tell at the time of publishing this article. Each home sale is a listing in the NWMLS that has been input by a human, and humans can make mistakes. Another factor to take into account: there are homes and condos that sell off-market and are not recorded in the MLS. These numbers are not to be taken as gospel but should be looked at as a solid reference point to understand the contours and trends of the Seattle area real estate market as we begin 2022.
If you are looking to buy, sell, or invest in Seattle area real estate this year, our team would be honored to assist you.
Happy New Year!
