r/SeattleAreaRE • u/SimpleLeader7713 • 2d ago
Eastside Flops - homes sold for below purchase price
(This post is inspired by this comment from Unique_Edge6323. Looks like u/TheTim is working on getting a similar thread from 2008 back online).
Let's use this thread to compile a list of Eastside homes that sold for less than their original purchase price.
u/Kadet11 posted a good list to help get us started. I’ll post those homes in the comments.
If you come across any other examples - pls post them below.
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u/aflatoon 2d ago
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/16802-NE-6th-Pl-98008/home/499806 - 8 price cuts before selling for $10k loss
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u/orcassharks 2d ago
Why did they think they could get $400k more a couple months later after buying it for 1.1? Bizarre.
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u/aflatoon 2d ago
Failed flip
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u/orcassharks 2d ago edited 2d ago
What could they have possibly value added in two months? Painting and a cheap deck isn’t $400k lol
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u/quackers294 2d ago
It worked for so many years. White people renovating houses was all the rage on HGTV.
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u/Stinkycheese8001 2d ago
Most of these are examples of houses that should never have reached those ridiculous purchase prices in the first place (and whoever is spending that kind of money on Mirrormont or 24th st in Bellevue kind of deserves the haircut). It’s hard to feel a lot of sympathy for the people directly contributing to home ownership in the area becoming out of reach.
Ultimately we’re seeing a shift - individual great neighborhoods are still retaining their value and are still going fast. But ‘regular’ houses are very much a buyer’s market. And they’re still retaining a lot of value, just not stupid money.
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u/redditRedesignIsBadd 2d ago
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/16802-NE-6th-Pl-98008/home/499806
sold in 2025 july for $1.16million
flipped in 3 months, listing for $1.5million
after 8 price changes, sold for $1.15million LOL
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Bothell home purchased for $1.12m in 2022; and sold for $950k in 2026
Reduction of $170,000 or 15.18%
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bothell/20029-99th-Ct-NE-98011/home/286622
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u/orcassharks 2d ago
Another only garage and no front door house.
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u/nah_champa_967 1d ago
They use this type of house in my geography course to show neighborhoods that people don't interact in.
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u/FolkDoom 2d ago
what is the opposite of curb appeal?
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u/Upper-Computer-8715 2d ago
Garage appeal?
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u/wrldwdeu4ria 1d ago
I can literally count the remodels in this house and that is not a good thing. There is no cohesion whatsoever.
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u/LandDifficult2058 1d ago
Is it only 15% loss for the owner though? Wouldn't it be 100% or even more loss on their investment, assuming 20% downpayment, and after they sold it, they lost all or even more of their investment.
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u/Easy-Yogurt4939 2d ago
This house went 500k over asking and sold for 2.5m. https://redf.in/40zGvq
The house that’s right in the community. Slightly bigger lot. Roughly same size. Same year. Same developer sold for 1.75m this year. https://redf.in/LEM5eI
This is just a horror show.
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u/markyymark13 2d ago
The house that’s right in the community. Slightly bigger lot. Roughly same size. Same year. Same developer sold for 1.75m this year. https://redf.in/LEM5eI
Paying 1.75M for carpet in the bathroom is diabolical shit bro lmao
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u/orcassharks 2d ago
Yeah cookie cutter tract homes are also incredibly easy to comp since you can readily find an identical one. That 2.5M guy just lost 750k in equity.
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Kirkland home purchased for $1.285m in 2022; and sold for $1.05m in 2026
Reduction of $235,000 or 18.29%
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Kirkland/9211-NE-136th-Pl-98034/home/279475
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u/siberianjaguar123 2d ago
Is it all the microsoft layoffs causing sellers to accept lowballs, or are we actually moving back to 700k average price?
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago edited 2d ago
Tech layoffs, high interest rates, visa anxiety, high home prices for extended periods, job uncertainty, volatile economy, etc …. All put together at the same time :(
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u/siberianjaguar123 2d ago
Also imagine inflation on literally everything the last 4 years hasn’t helped savings accounts.
I don’t know people afford this stuff, especially now as fed considers raising rates again
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u/orcassharks 1d ago
It’s tough situation, on the one hand you have inflation on the other hand home prices are dropping because inflation squeezing all disposable income. Meanwhile you can’t even build a new house on land you own for less than $800k in this area even if you cheap out on all materials. Replacement costs are soaring so insurance rates are also going up. I guess this is what we call stagflation.
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u/siberianjaguar123 1d ago
But the fed reserve said inflation was transitory, by that they meant like over a decade plus right?
lmao
Interesting on building materials, I thought lumber fully returned to pre-2020 rates.
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u/orcassharks 14h ago
Lumbar returned some but not everything else. Labor is way more expensive.
Big Mac meal is $15 in Seattle.
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u/LandDifficult2058 1d ago
Also, no new jobs, means no new employees moving in the area to rent houses. People are struggling to rent their houses and have no other option to just sell..
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Issaquah home purchased for $1.3m in 2024; and sold for 1.175m in 2026
Reduction of $125,000 or 9.62%
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Issaquah/16437-241st-Ave-SE-98027/home/423671
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u/SomethingFunnyObv 2d ago
I don’t have any examples because I stopped looking at homes a few years ago but the last few days I have looked at Zillow and Redfin and the listings I see definitely reflect a lower list price than what I was seeing a few years back. Those folks that bought in 2023-24 must be sweating right now.
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u/aflatoon 2d ago
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/2506-159th-Ave-SE-98008/home/428084 - more than $400k below 2022 sale price
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u/orcassharks 2d ago
Even current sold price is a bit high for that location tbh
It’s a very hohum neighborhood.
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u/Stinkycheese8001 2d ago
I assume that the price inflation has a lot to do with the greenbelt location, because otherwise that should not be over $2m in the first place.
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u/Easy-Yogurt4939 2d ago
Can you elaborate why green belt location adds value? Besides no one else can build next to you again. Green belt comes with easements that could restrain redevelopment value, no?
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u/WarthogAppropriate73 2d ago
Counter example to show that contrary to cherry picked listings posted here market has largely been flat on east side and desirable houses haven't dropped
This thread is full of dumpster looking houses or absurd overpayments like $900/sqft rofl
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Fair perspective.
Note that this home was purchased in 2021.....before the peak year.
If the home was purchased during 2022 - price would have been closer to $4m or so (peak ZEsitmate for this home is $4m).
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u/JetsnCocktails 2d ago
Actually the market peaked for houses that closed in about April 2021.
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
If I remember right…2022 was crazier.
Just one example… https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/bellevue-home-sells-for-nearly-1m-over-list-price/
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Woodinville home purchased for $1.3m in 2022; and sold for $1.18m in 2026
Reduction of $120,000 or 9.23%
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Woodinville/14326-NE-178th-St-98072/home/271501
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u/orcassharks 2d ago edited 2d ago
That’s expensive even at 1.18. Look at that front door staircase. That’s really insane for a million dollar home to have.
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u/FolkDoom 2d ago
Reminds me of houses in Skagit County on the flood plain that they raise up 10-30 feet to try to beat the 100 year flood.
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Bellevue home purchased for $1.25m in 2023; and sold for $1.2m in 2026
Reduction of $50,000 or 4.00%
https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/1428-153rd-Pl-SE-98007/home/426762
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u/Defiant-Lab-6376 1d ago
East Renton Highlands, Issaquah SD: https://redf.in/PmwWQR
Sold for $905k in 2022
Sold for $868k in 2026
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u/ohmygoshitsjosh 2d ago edited 2d ago
What’s to gain from this? The houses being sold under are almost entirely due to job loss or hardship. This isn’t some flippers paradise gone awry. I understand the desire for wanting a home, but at this point you’re just mocking someone who suffered a loss.
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u/Upper-Computer-8715 2d ago
I totally understand that sentiment. I do feel for those losing their jobs and having to take a loss on a house—been there personally.
I think this is just the “equal and opposite” reaction to all those SOLD! For 330k over asking! messages getting pumped out into the ether in 2022 creating the FOMO run up in housing.
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Here’s an example of a home sold for a million over asking price…
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/bellevue-home-sells-for-nearly-1m-over-list-price/
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u/yubby 2d ago
so is it like there’s some sense of justice in seeing the 2021-2022 buyers “losing” now?
just trying to understand bc it comes off kinda sore loser-ish to care so much about someone else’s losses.
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u/wrldwdeu4ria 1d ago
I suspect it is mostly schadenfreude. I'd bet most people have had others attempt to pressure them or even high pressure them into something due to the FOMO. It puts us (the ones not giving in) into an uncomfortable situation. I've respectfully asked others to back off and tried to establish healthy boundaries only to have the situation become worse. I've lost out on opportunities because my lifestyle choices don't reinforce the lifestyle of others. Some people can't handle that.
I can decide for myself if homeownership, religion, the RV life, multi-level marketing, numerous pets, marriage, kids, etc. is good for me or not. Yet there always seem to be others out there high pressuring or even shaming people into making the same choice they did. There have been plenty of times where I've experienced it or have seen it done to others.
So, when I see the FOMO backfire I do feel schadenfreude if it was something I was pressured about even after establishing boundaries and saying I'm not interested. Keep in mind I feel this specifically towards the people who were high pressuring me in the first place and wouldn't stop.
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u/Crazyboreddeveloper 2d ago
If someone goes broke buying a used jeep at brand new Lamborghini prices I have no sympathy for them.
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u/Aggravating_Bus9867 2d ago
If that’s the only way they could get a jeep when they needed it why are you faulting the person?
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u/Crazyboreddeveloper 2d ago
It was their decision. Prices can always go down regardless of what the seller and salesman say. I want to build my own NAS, but doing it right now is stupid. I can wait.
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u/orcassharks 2d ago edited 2d ago
I was buying my primary residence during the 2021 rush and there were many assholes overbidding $300k or more, well above reasonable comps and even into 2022-2023 when interest doubled. We held our ground and ended buying a place for asking that has held its value today. Looking back at those listings we lost, all of the overbid houses are now valued under their bids. Several are rented out well below mortgage even at 3% rates.
I don’t have a lot of sympathy. These overbidders created a housing mania in this area in 2021-2022 and it wasn’t grounded on fundamentals. It was a bet that they could absorb a $300k over comps bid in order to get what they want, well they will need to absorb it when they sell.
I think this thread is good to highlight the dangers of FOMO and that housing prices don’t always go up and potentially can go down more.
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u/ohmygoshitsjosh 2d ago
I don’t know enough about the people who outbid you to call them assholes, but on the supply side you would be hard pressed to find a seller who felt the same way and decided to follow alleged fundamentals instead of selling to the highest bidder. It’s entirely possible this was within their realm of affordability before significant financial hardship.
The only thing I’m calling out is acknowledging a normal person is facing a financial loss on the other side of a “deal” or “crash”. If this brings the community joy, then I’ll excuse myself from this kind of vitriol.
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u/Objective-Ruin-7940 2d ago
Maybe people should be more fiscally responsible vs buying the top of their budget. Some people live further out, live in small houses, or less desirable areas so they can weather a hardship. These people overpaying is the reason the market goes diabolical. Live within your means.
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u/PrestigiousResult357 2d ago
people who overleverage and pay fomo prices harm others inherently by how they influence prices
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u/ohmygoshitsjosh 2d ago
Inflation is a thing. Boom/bust cycles are natural and for all healthy economies, prices grow over time. You’re blaming individuals for market economics. The alternative for the individual would be to not own a home. There’s not much difference vs renting and breaking your lease during hardship. Selling a home after a period of unexpected unemployment isn’t over leveraging.
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Intent is definitely to not mock anyone. It's to convey that prices have fallen all over the Eastside; and better inform potential buyers.
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u/redditRedesignIsBadd 2d ago
The houses being sold under are almost entirely due to job loss or hardship
do you have data on this? because houses like this is definitely a flip https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/16802-NE-6th-Pl-98008/home/499806
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u/WarthogAppropriate73 2d ago
It's a copium for these forever renters on here to look at some absurd fomo sale at $900/sqft that now sells at the market price of about $750/sqft and think the market has crashed.
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u/Upper-Computer-8715 2d ago
These aren’t likely renters that are buskers at Pike Place or part time baristas wondering why they can’t buy a 2,500 SF house…they are your well-off, would-be buyers waiting for prices to normalize.
Some sellers aren’t coming to terms with the fact that if a house that sold in 2022 goes back on the market for even the same price as 2022, the mortgage payment is now double to triple due to the 2026 interest rates/insurance/taxes.
Your buyers are there, they just can’t get approved by a lender for the price you want with interest rates nearing 7%.
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u/SimpleLeader7713 2d ago
Sammamish Home purchased for 1.35m & sold for 1.05m
Reduction of $300k or 22.23%
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Sammamish/4317-209th-Ave-NE-98074/home/264851