By Maggie Sun, Managing Broker · Data: NWMLS closed sales, three-month rolling window through June 2026 unless a line states otherwise
Draft — publish only if Search Console shows a distinct keyword opportunity separate from the existing Should I Move to Seattle guide, and only with a budget table or calculator attached.
By Maggie Sun, Managing Broker · Data: NWMLS closed sales, three-month rolling window through June 2026 unless a line states otherwise
Scope: this page covers the cost of owning a home, not general cost of living. Groceries, transport and childcare belong on the relocation guide and are deliberately excluded here.
Contents
- Scope note before you publish
- What this page calculates
- The seven cost lines
- A worked monthly example
- What our team sees clients underestimate
- FAQ
- Sources and definitions
Scope note before you publish
- If the goal is full cost of living, update Should I Move to Seattle? 2026 Complete Guide instead and do not publish this page.
- Publish this narrower page only if GSC shows separate demand for ownership-cost queries.
- Do not publish without the downloadable budget table or an interactive calculator; a prose-only version adds nothing over the existing guide.
What this page calculates
One number: the realistic total monthly cost of owning a specific Seattle home, plus the one-time cash needed at closing. Everything below is a line you can fill in for your own address.
The seven cost lines
- Principal and interest — from your actual rate lock, not a national average.
- Property tax — King County, by parcel and levy code. Use the parcel figure, never a city average.
- Homeowners insurance — quoted for the specific home; add earthquake coverage separately if you want it.
- HOA dues — condos and some single-family communities. Read the reserve study; underfunded reserves are a future assessment.
- Maintenance — budget as a percentage of value annually, higher for pre-1970 homes with original roof, systems or sewer.
- Utilities — Seattle City Light, Seattle Public Utilities (water, sewer, drainage), gas and waste. Seattle drainage charges surprise buyers from other states.
- Closing costs — one-time: lender fees, title, escrow, recording, prepaids. REET is paid by the seller, not the buyer.
A worked monthly example
Fill each line for the home you are considering, total the first six for the monthly figure, and keep line seven as a separate one-time cash requirement. The point of the exercise is that two homes with the same list price can differ by hundreds of dollars a month once tax parcel, HOA and age-driven maintenance are included.
What our team sees clients underestimate
- Maintenance on older Seattle homes — roof, side sewer and drainage are the three lines that turn into five-figure events.
- Reserves after closing. Buyers plan the down payment and forget the first year of the house.
- Condo special assessments. We ask for two years of HOA financials and minutes on every condo before writing.
- Drainage and utility charges, which are structured differently in Seattle than in most markets clients relocate from.
FAQ
- Is this the same as cost of living? No. This is ownership cost only.
- Does the buyer pay REET? No, REET is a seller cost in Washington.
- How much should I budget for maintenance? Set it as an annual percentage of value and raise it for older homes with original systems.
Sources and definitions
King County Assessor parcel data; Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities published rates; Washington State DOR for REET. General information only; not tax or lending advice.