What If Selling Your Home for Less Was Actually a Good Thing?

When reflecting on Seattle’s current real estate market, there’s a famous quote by Warren Buffett that comes to mind:

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

Here’s a quick example of how this applies to Seattle’s real estate market right now:

Let’s look at a classic “move up” situation. Let’s say you want to sell your house to buy your next house.

In a softer market, move-up buyers can sometimes benefit because the home they’re buying loses more dollars in value than the home they’re selling.

Say you want to sell your $1 million home and move up to a $2 million home:

If the market softens by 8%:

• Your $1 million home drops by $80,000
• The $2 million home drops by $160,000

So yes, you may sell your current home for $80,000 less—but you could also buy the next home for $160,000 less.

That leaves you $80,000 better off on the move-up.

Even better if you buy your home in Q4 2026 (there are opportunities for buyers right now) and sell your current home in Q1 2027 (if you can wait, this is the best time!).

If you'd like to talk through what these stats mean for your unique situation, we’re always happy to chat and dive into the details! Whether you want to buy or sell a home next month or next year, it is truly never too early to make a plan.