Who pays the excise tax?

Customarily the seller. Budget title, escrow and lender costs on the buyer side instead.

Why are there so few new condos?

Washington’s construction-defect liability regime pushed developers toward apartments for years. It shapes the age and quality mix of what you can actually buy.

United States · USD

Seattlereal estate

Seattle puts the real-estate excise tax on the seller, has no state income tax, and gives tenants some of the strongest protections in the United States.

New York Miami Los Angeles Chicago Austin

County records path

HOA & insurance checked

3D map

50state codes — there is no one US market

Titleinsurance, not a notary, protects the buyer

FIRPTAwithholding hits foreign sellers, not buyers

No SSNneeded to take title as a foreign buyer

What a purchase really costs

$750,000 home in Seattle

Owner's title insurance (≈0.5%): $3,750
Lender, escrow & appraisal (≈1%): $7,500
Attorney, recording & prepaids (≈0.3%): $2,250
Cash needed at closing: $763,500

≈ +1.8% over the price. There is no national property code. Transfer tax is a city and county question — New York adds a buyer mansion tax above $1m, Chicago charges the buyer 0.75%, Texas charges nothing and takes it back in annual property tax. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated in writing rather than assumed from the listing.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

Deposit caps, notice periods and eviction timelines are state law — one to two months is common, but New York and Florida are not the same statute.
Rent stabilization is local: New York City has it, Miami and Austin sit under state preemption against it.
Insurance is the variable that reprices a building — Florida wind and flood can move faster than the asking price.

HOA and condo documents are the yield. Read the reserve study and the special-assessment history before the inspection.

Cities

Six metros, six closing customs

The buyer-side transfer tax is the fastest way to see how local this market is: 1%+ in Manhattan, 0.75% in Chicago, zero in Austin and Seattle where the seller pays instead.

Washington’s REET is graduated and customarily the seller’s cost, which makes buyer closing costs here lighter than in New York or Chicago. The offset is a state condominium liability regime that historically suppressed new condo construction and left an older, litigation-shaped stock.

Seattle tenant law includes winter and school-year eviction restrictions, relocation assistance on economic displacement, and just-cause requirements. Model that before you model a repositioning.

Employment concentration in a handful of large technology employers is both the demand engine and the concentration risk. Ballard, Capitol Hill and the Eastside across the lake are separate markets.

FAQ

Who pays the excise tax?: Customarily the seller. Budget title, escrow and lender costs on the buyer side instead.
Why are there so few new condos?: Washington’s construction-defect liability regime pushed developers toward apartments for years. It shapes the age and quality mix of what you can actually buy.

All markets: sivrce.com · Georgia marketplace: sivrce.ge · Prices and availability are published only when a verified listing exists. Market currency: USD.