‘Above Asking’ Sells Seattle’s Real Estate Price Boom Short

A boggling new Redfin report shows that “above” is the understatement of the year.

A new article in the Seattle Met says that buying a home “above asking” almost goes without saying these days in Seattle. Real estate prices in and around the city have experienced a one-year price hike steeper than any in history. But just how much “above” has changed drastically since early 2020, per a new Redfin report.

Through June 16, 2021, a whopping 4,658 homes in the Seattle metro area sold for at least $100,000 more than their list prices, up from 378 during the same span of 2020. And close your eyes, home shoppers: 580 went for $300,000 or more over the sticker price, compared to just 16 a year ago. Nearly 90 of those homes were in Bellevue, and bidding wars in Redmond (70, up from zero), Sammamish (54, up from one), Kirkland (46, up from two), and Issaquah (35, up from zero) were nearly as ghastly.