The Georgetown Seattle housing market runs on four numbers: a median sale price near $500,000, a median price per square foot of $492, an average of 41 days on market, and a 98 percent sale-to-list ratio. Those figures do not agree with one another, and the disagreement is the story for 2026.

Walk the half mile of Airport Way South between Elysian Taproom and Great Notion Brewing and the reason becomes visible. Georgetown holds a compact residential core wedged between rail lines, warehouses, and the Duwamish River. It is a small housing market sitting inside a large city.

Small markets behave differently than big ones. A handful of sales in a single quarter can move a median further than any real shift in value, and Georgetown produces exactly that kind of thin sample.

I have worked South Seattle for more than 30 years. Georgetown is the neighborhood where reading the numbers carelessly costs sellers the most, so here is the 2026 data with an interpretation attached to every figure.

The Georgetown Seattle Housing Market in Numbers

Start with the raw figures. Each one below reflects neighborhood-level reporting for Georgetown rather than a citywide Seattle average.

MetricCurrent FigureDirection
Median sale price $500,000 Down 16.7% year over year
Median price per square foot $492 Up 6.3% year over year
Average home value About $669,000 Well above the median sale price
Average days on market 41 Slower than most of South Seattle
Sale-to-list price ratio 98% Narrow negotiating gap
Walk Score 68 Transit 55, Bike 65

Two rows in that table point in opposite directions. The median fell sharply while price per square foot rose. Both are accurate, and understanding why is the difference between pricing a Georgetown home well and pricing it by accident.

Why Georgetown's Median Fell While Price Per Square Foot Rose

A median is simply the middle sale in a set. It describes the homes that happened to trade, not the value of the homes that stayed put.

When a neighborhood records few sales, the mix drives the result. A year weighted toward small bungalows and one-bedroom conversions pulls the median down. That happens even when every one of those homes sold for more than it would have fetched a year earlier.

Price per square foot corrects for that. It measures what buyers paid per unit of space, so it is far less sensitive to which houses came to market. At $492 and rising 6.3 percent, it says Georgetown values are moving up rather than down.

The average home value tells the same story from another angle. Zillow tracks the typical Georgetown home closer to $669,000, roughly $169,000 above the median sale price. Ordinary Georgetown houses are worth more than last year's sales imply.

My breakdown of Georgetown price-per-square-foot data goes deeper on why this one metric carries so much weight here.

How Thin Is Inventory in the Georgetown Seattle Housing Market?

Very thin, and for structural reasons rather than cyclical ones. Georgetown was incorporated in 1890 and remains Seattle's oldest neighborhood, but almost none of its remaining land is available for new housing.

Industrial parcels, active rail corridors, and the Duwamish River set hard edges around the residential blocks. There is no open ground left to build a subdivision on, so the supply of homes is close to fixed.

What exists is a core of older houses on small lots near Georgetown Playfield. Alongside them sits a growing set of loft and warehouse conversions around Airport Way South and the Rainier Cold Storage buildings.

Thin supply has two consequences for the Georgetown Seattle housing market. First, any given listing competes against very few direct substitutes, which is part of why price per square foot keeps climbing. Second, comparable sales are scarce, which makes pricing genuinely harder here than in a neighborhood such as Columbia City, where similar homes trade every month.

I tell Georgetown sellers to expect a smaller set of comparable sales and to plan around it rather than be surprised by it later.

What Does 41 Days on Market Mean for Georgetown Sellers?

It means patience, not weakness. At 41 days, Georgetown moves slower than Beacon Hill, Columbia City, and Rainier Beach, and sits just ahead of West Seattle at 42.

The explanation is the buyer pool. Georgetown attracts people who specifically want Georgetown: makers, artists, and brewery regulars. Many of them would rather walk to Fantagraphics Bookstore on S Vale Street than to a suburban shopping center. That group is loyal and durable. It is also smaller.

The 98 percent sale-to-list ratio confirms the reading. Sellers give up about two cents on the dollar, which is a narrow gap by any standard. Homes here are not sitting because they are badly overpriced. They are sitting because the right buyer takes a few extra weeks to show up.

That distinction matters when a seller starts talking about a price reduction in week three. Usually the better move is to hold the price and improve the presentation.

How the Georgetown Seattle Housing Market Compares Across South Seattle

Context makes these numbers useful. Here is Georgetown next to the five other South Seattle markets I work in most often.

NeighborhoodMedian PricePrice Per Sq FtDays on MarketSale-to-List
Georgetown $500,000 $492 41 98%
SODO $550,000 $450 35 98%
Rainier Beach $689,000 $333 6 100%
Beacon Hill $715,000 $450 27 100%
West Seattle $800,000 $532 42 99%
Columbia City $840,000 $468 13 102%

Georgetown carries the lowest median price in the group and the second-highest price per square foot. That combination is unusual, and it is the most useful fact in this article.

It means Georgetown homes are not inexpensive by the foot. They are simply small. Buyers pay a strong per-foot price for character housing on compact lots and then arrive at a lower total because there is less house to buy.

For a seller, the practical consequence is direct. Anything that adds usable finished space converts to value at roughly $492 a foot. A finished basement, a permitted addition, or a properly converted attic reads straight into the price.

Curious what your own Georgetown home would price at using the per-foot math rather than the neighborhood median? Send me the address and I am glad to run the numbers and show you the comparable sales behind them.

What the Georgetown Seattle Housing Market Means for Sellers in 2026

Here is how I translate this data into a listing strategy for Georgetown owners.

My guide to standing out as a Georgetown seller covers the presentation side in detail. My Georgetown seller services page explains how I handle pricing, marketing, and negotiation from listing through closing.

How Should You Price a Home in the Georgetown Seattle Housing Market?

Begin with price per square foot, adjust for the specifics of the property, and check the result against the few genuine comparable sales available. Then sanity-check against the $669,000 average home value rather than the $500,000 median.

If those two paths land in the same range, the price is defensible. When they diverge widely, something about the comparable set is off and it is worth another look before the home goes live.

What Georgetown Buyers Should Take From the Same Data

Buyers reading this table often see the $500,000 median and expect bargains. The per-foot figure is the correction. Georgetown is affordable on total price because the houses are compact, not because the neighborhood is discounted.

The 41-day pace is genuinely useful on the buy side, though. It gives you room to tour twice, order an inspection, and think, which is rare in a market where Rainier Beach homes clear in six days.

Look closely at square footage, permitted space, and parking. Those three items explain most of the price variation between two Georgetown homes that look similar in photographs. For a fuller picture of entry points, see my guide to Georgetown for first-time buyers.

Quick Facts: Georgetown Seattle Housing Market

  • Median sale price: $500,000, the lowest among South Seattle neighborhoods
  • Price per square foot: $492, up 6.3 percent and second only to West Seattle
  • Average home value: roughly $669,000, well above the median sale
  • Days on market: 41 average, with a 98 percent sale-to-list ratio
  • Inventory: structurally limited by rail, industry, and the Duwamish River
  • Walk Score: 68 walk, 65 bike, 55 transit

Frequently Asked Questions About the Georgetown Seattle Housing Market

What is the median home price in the Georgetown Seattle housing market?

The median sale price in Georgetown sits near $500,000, which is the lowest median among the South Seattle neighborhoods I work in. That figure describes the middle sale rather than the middle home. Zillow tracks the average Georgetown home value closer to $669,000, and the gap between those two numbers is the result of a small, uneven set of sales.

Why did Georgetown prices fall 16.7 percent year over year?

Sales volume in Georgetown is low enough that the mix of homes sold moves the median more than values do. A year weighted toward small bungalows and condo conversions pulls the median down even when individual homes appreciate. Median price per square foot rose 6.3 percent over the same stretch, which is the more reliable read on direction.

How long do homes take to sell in Georgetown, Seattle?

Homes average 41 days on market in Georgetown, one of the longer timelines in South Seattle. The pace reflects a narrow buyer pool rather than weak demand, since the sale-to-list ratio holds at 98 percent. Sellers should plan a marketing window of about six weeks instead of expecting a first-weekend decision.

Is inventory low in the Georgetown Seattle housing market?

Yes, and the reason is structural rather than seasonal. Rail lines, industrial parcels, and the Duwamish River set hard edges around Georgetown's small residential core, so there is very little land left for new housing. Listings face few direct substitutes, and comparable sales are scarce enough that pricing takes more work than it does in larger neighborhoods.

Is Georgetown a better value than Beacon Hill or Columbia City?

It depends on whether you measure by total price or by the foot. Georgetown carries the lowest median in the group at $500,000, well under Beacon Hill at $715,000 and Columbia City at $840,000. By price per square foot, though, Georgetown runs $492 against $450 in Beacon Hill and $468 in Columbia City, so the homes are smaller rather than cheaper.

Should I price my Georgetown home above the neighborhood median?

Often, yes. The median reflects which homes happened to sell, so a larger or updated house can be worth well above it without being overpriced. I start from price per square foot, adjust for condition, lot, and parking, and then check the result against the few genuine comparable sales the neighborhood offers.