Seattle-area homebuyers are running into one more non-negotiable line item in their monthly budgets: homeowners association dues. Those fees are popping up on a growing share of listings and went up again last year, trimming what buyers can afford at a time when mortgage payments, insurance and tax bills are already steep. For many shoppers, the HOA number on a listing is now right up there with list price and square footage.
Nationally, 43.6% of homes for sale in 2025 came with a non-zero HOA fee, and the median monthly dues climbed to $135 last year, according to Realtor.com. The report points to HOA-heavy new construction now flowing into the resale market, which spreads monthly dues across more types of housing. That shift effectively turns HOA payments into another regular bill that buyers have to juggle alongside their mortgage and other housing costs.
In the Seattle metro area, the trend is already baked into the listings. Last year, 58% of homes on the market came with HOA fees, up from 54% in 2024, and about 45% of listings statewide carried dues, according to Axios. The numbers track with a wave of townhomes, planned communities and condo towers aging out of the “brand-new” category but keeping their association structures in place. For buyers who are already priced out of many single-family neighborhoods, that often means a tradeoff between a higher-priced home with shared amenities or a cheaper place that skips the monthly dues altogether.
Why fees are rising
Realtor.com points to a familiar list of culprits behind rising HOA bills: higher insurance premiums, tighter building-safety rules and reserve requirements, plus more expensive labor and materials. All of that puts pressure on associations to raise dues. “HOAs are no longer confined to condos or brand-new developments,” Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said in the report. Big-ticket structural costs, from elevator replacements to building insurance, can also make fee hikes and special assessments more likely.
What buyers should check
For would-be buyers, HOA dues should be treated like any other fixed housing cost, not a footnote buried in the listing. Before committing, shoppers are advised to review the association’s financial health: ask for the budget, the most recent reserve study, meeting minutes and the master insurance policy so you can spot possible special assessments or thin reserves, Axios recommends. Real estate agents say lenders and appraisers also scrutinize HOA funding, which means sudden or steep fee increases can ripple into financing and future resale value.
For Seattle buyers considering condos, townhomes or newer planned communities, that HOA line on the listing is no longer an afterthought, it can be the tiebreaker. As more of Washington’s resale inventory comes with monthly dues attached, buyers will have to factor those payments into how they compare homes, structure offers and plan for long-term costs. The shoppers in the strongest position, agents say, are the ones who comb through HOA documents as carefully as they review inspection reports.
