All-in cost first, always. Estimate only — not a loan quote or pre-approval.
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Tell us your income and savings instead, and we'll work out the max home price and a qualification signal for Washington.
How much house can I afford in Washington? →Washington State Housing Finance Commission's primary 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage program, available statewide to eligible homebuyers (first-time-buyer requirement waived in targeted areas and for some borrower categories); typically paired with Home Advantage down payment assistance (a 0%-interest deferred second mortgage of 3%-5% of the first-mortgage amount).
Fewer listings, fewer buyers, and sellers who have a reason to be on the market in December. Here is what a winter discount is actually worth on a $400,000 house — in monthly payment, in lifetime interest, and in the seller concessions a quiet market makes possible — and the three ways a winter purchase goes wrong.
Washington's real estate excise tax runs $6,798 on a median-priced home, but the seller customarily pays it. Here's what the buyer actually brings to closing.
The operational guide to buying property with a partner, friend, sibling, or parent — credit and DTI mechanics, title vesting, a clause-by-clause co-ownership agreement, and how the exit actually works.
A month-by-month plan for the year before you buy: what to do in each phase, what never to touch, how to document every dollar, and how to survive closing day.
Washington guide
The scariest number in a Washington transaction is the real estate excise tax. On the statewide median sale price of $617,990, the state's base 1.10% rate comes to $6,798, before your city or county adds its own portion.
Here's the part that changes how you budget: the excise tax is customarily paid by the seller. It appears on nearly every settlement statement in the state, it's genuinely large, and in a normal transaction it isn't yours.
That leaves buyers with a bill that's modest as a percentage — roughly 2% to 3% — attached to some of the highest home prices in the country. Two percent of $617,990 is $12,360; where the median is $250,000, a buyer paying twice that rate still writes a smaller check. The problem isn't the percentage, it's the multiplier.
The real work is knowing which side of the ledger each item lands on, and what the graduated tax does above the median. For how the fees work, start with our line-by-line breakdown of what's actually on a closing statement.
A note before you start: this is general education, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Every figure below is a statewide number from CalculatorByState's sourced dataset, and your county, city, lender, escrow company, and contract will all move the total. Local excise rates and escrow fees vary by jurisdiction, and excise brackets apply to the specific selling price on your contract. Your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are the authoritative documents. Use this to sanity-check them, not to replace them.
Against Washington's $617,990 median sale price, a 2% to 3% range gives you roughly $12,360 to $18,540, midpoint near $15,450. On a $350,000 purchase, common in eastern Washington, the same range is about $7,000 to $10,500.
Read the full Washington guide →9 min read · Updated 2026-08-24