Why Washington State is so Expensive to Buy a Home in

From 1984 to 2024, Washington State home prices have increased by 828%, which is the largest home price gain in the country.

When people think of the most expensive state to buy in, California often comes to mind first.

Surprisingly, Washington State had the fifth most expensive average home value in the US for Q4 2024, according to The Motley Fool.

Here are the average home values for the 10 most expensive states:

If that Washington stat wasn’t surprising enough, here are more eye-opening figures from the National Association of Realtors (November 2024) on Washington State:

• The first-time homebuyer market share decreased to a historic low of 24% (down from 32% last year)
• Home buyers’ average ages hit all-time highs of 56 years overall (49 last year)
• Average age of a first-time buyers in Washington State is 38 years old (35 last year)
• Average age of a repeat home buyer in Washington State is 61 years old (58 last year)

These metrics are depressing to say the least... So how the heck did we even get here?

• Lack of Housing Supply: Not nearly enough homes to meet the demand of a growing population.
• Career Opportunities: Amazing companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Costco, Starbucks and Boeing are attracting top talent to Washington State.
• Construction Costs: Expensive building materials, labor shortage and permitting costs disincentives builders.
• Geographical Constraints Near Seattle: The Puget Sound, Lake Washington and Sammamish Lake restrict land availability.

Unfortunately, a lot of these problems need to be addressed and solved by local government. Washington really needs more homes built – that will provide the biggest relief.

In the meantime though, at Joy we make buying a home more affordable in Washington by paying you to buy your next home. We do this by rebating 70% of our commission back to home buyers that use us.

For example, let’s say you’re buying a $600,000 home in Seattle that has a 3% commission offered by the seller. At Joy, we would receive the 3% commission, which is equal to $18,000, and we would rebate 70% of that back to you, which is $12,600.

You can use this rebate to help with your closing costs, buy down your interest rate and in some cases you can apply it towards your downpayment or receive it as a check after you close on your home.

Our mission at Joy, is to make buying a home more affordable in Washington State. What are you waiting for, go checkout Joy right now!