What It Costs to Sell a Home in Sammamish: Net Proceeds Explained

Sammamish sellers ask me about price more than any other topic. The median list price sitting active right now is around $1,497,000, and recent closed sales in the area are landing closer to $1,686,000. But the number that actually matters isn’t the sale price. It’s what lands in your account after everyone gets paid. Here’s the honest breakdown.

Start With the Sale Price, Not the List Price

Sammamish is a market where list and sale price can diverge in your favor. The homes selling right now are coming in above the median active list price, which tells you serious buyers are still competing for the right properties even with King County sitting at nearly 16 weeks of supply countywide. That’s not true everywhere in my service area. It’s a Sammamish-specific dynamic driven by school district demand and limited inventory in the neighborhoods people actually want.

Run your own net proceeds off your likely sale price, not your Zestimate. I can pull a data-backed number for your specific home in about the time it takes to walk your home once.

Real Estate Commission

Commission is negotiable and I won’t pretend otherwise. Most Sammamish listings run in the 2.5 to 3 percent range for the listing side, with a separate negotiated amount for the buyer’s agent since the NAR settlement changed how that gets structured. On a $1.6 million sale, even a half-percent difference in total commission is $8,000. Ask specifically what you’re paying for and what your agent’s actual marketing plan looks like before you sign anything.

Washington’s Real Estate Excise Tax Hits Harder Here

This is where Sammamish sellers get surprised. Washington’s REET is graduated, meaning higher sale prices get taxed at a higher rate on the portion above certain thresholds. At $1.6 million, you’re paying the top bracket on a meaningful chunk of your sale price, plus King County’s local REET addition on top of the state rate. I’ve walked sellers through this who assumed REET was a flat 1.28 percent like it used to be years ago. It isn’t anymore, and at Sammamish prices, that difference is real money. I break down the full graduated schedule and how to calculate your exact number in my Washington State REET guide.

Prep and Concessions

Sammamish buyers at this price point expect move-in ready. If your home needs work, you’re choosing between paying for repairs now or offering a credit at closing. Either way it comes out of your net. About 18 percent of King County homes are still selling over list price right now, and well-prepped Sammamish homes are disproportionately represented in that group. Money spent on the right prep, not everything, tends to come back at closing.

What a $1.6 Million Sale Actually Nets

Here’s a realistic range, not a guarantee, for a $1.6 million Sammamish sale in today’s market:

Figures are approximate and based on a $1.6M Sammamish sale price. Verify current NWMLS data and REET brackets for your exact sale price.

Net that out and most Sammamish sellers at this price point walk away with somewhere between $1.42 million and $1.48 million, before whatever you still owe on your mortgage. Your specific number depends on your loan payoff, your exact sale price, and how negotiations go. I run this math with actual numbers for every seller I work with, not a rule of thumb.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to sell a home in Sammamish?

Most Sammamish sellers pay somewhere between 6 and 7 percent of their sale price in total costs, combining commission, Washington’s real estate excise tax, and standard closing costs. At a $1.6 million sale price, that’s typically $95,000 to $115,000 before any prep or concessions.

Why is excise tax higher in Sammamish than other King County cities?

It isn’t a different rate for the city. It’s that Washington’s REET is graduated, so higher sale prices push more of the transaction into higher tax brackets. Sammamish’s higher median price means sellers there feel that graduated structure more than sellers in South King County typically do.

What will I actually net from selling my Sammamish home?

It depends on your sale price, your mortgage payoff, commission negotiated, and any closing concessions. As a general range, expect to net roughly 85 to 90 percent of your sale price after standard costs, before subtracting whatever you still owe on the home.

Gregory Dorrell is a licensed real estate broker (WA License #111862) with Coldwell Banker Bain. Market data from NWMLS, week of August 2, 2026. This post is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice.