Thanks to low maintenance costs and a healthy mortgage environment, Seattle is the No. 7 large real estate market in the United States in 2026, according to a new report from WalletHub.
The finance site ranked 300 cities, from as small as Allen, Texas to as large as New York, based on two main metrics: the real estate market (including factors like home-value forecasts, home-price appreciation, days on market, foreclosure rates and building permit activity) and affordability and the overall economic environment (including factors like housing affordability, unemployment rates, underemployment rates and job growth).
Seattle ranked seventh among large cities — those with over 300,000 residents — behind Charlotte, North Carolina; Irvine, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; Henderson, Nevada; Fort Worth, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee.
Among all 300 cities on WalletHub’s list, Seattle ranked No. 31, coming in 26th for its real estate market and 153rd for affordability and economics. Those numbers don’t tell the full story of the local market, however.
Specific metrics demonstrate the financial stability of Seattle homeowners: The metro ranked 129th for its share of seriously underwater mortgages, 10th for its percentage of delinquent mortgage holders and 15th for foreclosure rates. Seattle also ranked 50th for job growth and 15th for home maintenance costs as a percentage of income.
“Current home prices are extremely important, but there’s much more that you need to look at when determining the health of a city’s real estate market,” said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo. “Factors like the cost of living, the potential for the value of homes to increase, the availability of recently built homes and the quality of the city’s job market are all important to consider in conjunction with asking prices and interest rates. The best cities may not always be the cheapest, but they offer excellent housing options and long-term stability.”
Among only midsize cities, Bellevue ranked No. 22, boasting the fourth-lowest foreclosure rate in the nation and the third-lowest maintenance costs; among only small cities, Everett ranked No. 13, Renton ranked No. 23, Kent ranked No. 33 and Federal Way ranked No. 79.
The top real estate markets in the U.S. were Frisco, Texas; McKinney, Texas; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Durham, North Carolina; and Denton, Texas — five relatively affordable midsize cities with ample new construction.