The latest published Seattle high-tier home price index is 370.657967399200 index points for 2026-05-01, compared with 372.623228228700 in the preceding observation. The series is seasonally adjusted and uses January 2000 as its index base. This report asks: How much of Seattle's early-year high-tier level remained by May?
Seattle's high-tier index lost ground in every interval shown. It fell from 386.037147320300 points in January 2026 to 370.657967399200 in May, a reduction of 15.379179921100 points or approximately 3.98% from the January level. The sequence is a measured change in a metropolitan index; it is not evidence that every waterfront, view, or tech-adjacent property moved by 3.98%.
Retention of the January level
| Month | Index points | Points retained versus January | Percent retained |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | 386.037147320300 | 386.037147320300 | 100.00% |
| 2026-02-01 | 377.170104709500 | 377.170104709500 | 97.70% |
| 2026-03-01 | 374.907845666400 | 374.907845666400 | 97.12% |
| 2026-04-01 | 372.623228228700 | 372.623228228700 | 96.53% |
| 2026-05-01 | 370.657967399200 | 370.657967399200 | 96.02% |
The largest monthly drop was 8.867042610800 points from January to February. The next three declines were smaller, 2.262259043100, 2.284617437700, and 1.965260829500 points, so the path changed from an initial reset to slower erosion. This uses the January 2000 = 100 index base and says nothing about dollars per square foot.
How different participants should read it
A seller should not cut a price mechanically; instead, the May level makes fresh, geographically matched closings and buyer feedback especially important. A buyer can ask whether a view, lot, or construction feature justifies a premium over the softer aggregate path. An investor should stress demand tied to employment and separate it from waterfront insurance, rental rules, and project-specific capital needs.
What remains unmeasured
SEXRHTSA is a seasonally adjusted high-tier repeat-sales series for the Seattle metropolitan area. It does not isolate neighborhood, home type, employment sector, inventory, or transaction financing. FRED observations were retrieved on 2026-08-10, kept unrounded, and not forecast; revisions and the tier's sample design limit causal interpretation. Property-level diligence remains indispensable.
Real Estate Luxury's Seattle desk measures how much of the early-year high-tier level remained by May.
Latest measured observations
| Observation month | Index points (January 2000 = 100) |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | 386.037147320300 |
| 2026-02-01 | 377.170104709500 |
| 2026-03-01 | 374.907845666400 |
| 2026-04-01 | 372.623228228700 |
| 2026-05-01 | 370.657967399200 |
Data sources and references
- Seattle high-tier series
- FRED release table for tiered indexes
- S&P Cotality index overview
- FRED help and data download guidance
- FHFA house price index datasets
- FHFA HPI methodology and FAQ
- U.S. Census construction data
- Federal Reserve data
- NAR research and statistics
- HUD housing data
Research use
For Seattle, use the declining path to sharpen matched-closing, employment-demand, insurance, and capital-needs questions.