Seattle property prices dropped by an average of $100,000 in just one month, falling to $891,500 on average according to broker Matt Goyer's analysis. This decline is attributed to progressive policies like the upcoming millionaires' tax set to begin in 2028 and high crime rates, leading many wealthy residents and companies to consider relocating. The luxury real estate market saw a significant increase in listings following the announcement of the new tax.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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Seattle property prices plunged by a staggering $100,000 in just a month amid a reckoning with the city's progressive policies.
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prices → see → policies
The value of a typical home in the Washington metropolis dropped by nine percent to an average of $891,500 in the year to July, according to analysis by broker Matt Goyer.
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value → drop → Goyer
It comes as many billion-dollar companies and wealthy residents are fleeing the city ahead of the controversial millionaires' tax.
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companies → come → tax
The tax was introduced earlier this year by Seattle's majority Democrat Senate and will commence in January 2028.
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tax → introduce → January
Seattle's democratic socialist mayor Katie Wilson has previously dismissed concerns the policy will drive out wealth as 'overblown.'
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policy → dismiss → wealth
The proposed 9.9 percent levy will apply to households earning over $1 million per year.
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levy → propose → year
The revenue collected will be used to fund K-12 education, healthcare, and other essential government services.
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revenue → collect → education
The day after it was announced, the number of luxury listings in Seattle jumped by 65 percent and dozens of homes priced above $2 million hit the market, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data.
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dozens → announce → data
The exodus coincides with huge layoffs in the tech sector, Seattle's main industry, whose workforce props up a significant portion of the property market.
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workforce → coincide → market
Tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft are among the companies who have recently reduced their presence in Seattle.
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who → reduce → Seattle
Seattle's home prices are dropping amid an exodus from the city which experts have linked to several progressive policies
A four-bedroom townhouse in Fremont was cut down in price by $40,000 in a single month after the owners failed to find interested buyers
CEOs and analysts have pointed to everything from the city's high tax burdens to Seattle's high crime rate as driving the decision to relocate.
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CEOs → drop → decision
CEO Keith McCall, who runs Seattle-based satellite intelligence company Omniris Group, said he has considered relocating his company due to what he describes as anti-business conditions.
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he → run → conditions
'Candidly, I’ve even found myself thinking about moving back to Canada,' he said.
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he → find → Canada
'The reasons vary.
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reasons → vary → ?
Seattle is one of the most crime-ridden cities the US, a statistic often blamed on its approach to drug-related crimes and petty theft.
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Seattle → ride → crimes
This combined with house prices 111 percent higher than the national average is driving some residents out.
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This → combine → residents
'With inventory sitting near 15-year highs, buyers have significantly more leverage than in recent years,' Goyer said in his Urban Living newsletter.
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Goyer → sit → newsletter
Pending home sales are also falling fastest in Seattle compared to other cities in the country, according to a recent report by Redfin.
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sales → pende → Redfin
'Seattle is a tech-driven market, and right now a lot of buyers are feeling cautious about layoffs, AI and job security,' said Chase Costello, a Redfin Premier agent based in the area.
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Costello → drive → area
Mayor Katie Wilson previously dismissed concerns about the impact of the millionaires' tax
A $2.5 million house in Madrona, Seattle went down by $250,000 in price in the three months it's been on the market
Tech talent has flocked to Seattle over the past two decades, turning it into the second-largest tech hub in the country second to San Francisco
'
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talent → dismiss → Francisco
Tech workers aren’t moving between companies—or moving into the area—as much as they used to, and that means fewer people are trading up into new homes,' the report stated.
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report → move → homes
Among the properties languishing on the market is a two-bedroom three-bathroom home in Madrona, which went down in price by $250,000 since it came on the market in early July.
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it → languish → July
Another example is a townhouse in Fremont, the owners of which had to cut $40,000 off as they struggle to find a buyer.
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they → have → buyer
'We’ve only had a handful of people even view it,' the owner told The Seattle Times.
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owner → have → Times
'I find it really frustrating now because when we were shopping for a house, it felt like houses would only be on the market for a short amount of time.
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houses → find → time
Seattle's tech industry is also suffering from recent changes to work visas for foreigners such as the H-1B, a visa category often held by tech talent from overseas, Geekwire reported.
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Geekwire → suffer → talent
Pending home sales are falling faster in Seattle than anywhere else in the country.
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sales → fall → country
Real estate experts believe the recent tech-layoffs have created fear in prospective buyers
Many giant tech companies such as Amazon and Microsoft have their headquarters in Seattle Washington - a lot of the city's wealth is driven by the tech sector
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lot → believe → sector
The city's tech scene also heavily relies on H-1B workers, with Amazon having the highest number of H-1B approvals in 2025 with 13,625 beneficiaries, followed by Microsoft at 6,258, according to a report done by Boundless Immigration, a Seattle-based US legal technology company.
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Amazon → rely → Immigration
The median reported salary for an H1-B worker in Seattle is 150,600, according to data provided by H-1BTrends.
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salary → report → H-1BTrends
As H-1B restrictions become stricter, many foreign tech workers chose to leave the country and go back home to avoid the uncertainties, a dozen H-1B workers shared with The Seattle Times.
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workers → become → Times
The Aporia
