Local market • Seattle, WA
House Flipping Calculator for Seattle, WA
Tech-driven buyer demand and strong appreciation; high entry prices push flippers toward dated mid-century stock in established neighborhoods.
Worked example: the 80% rule in Seattle
With a median home price around $850,000 in Seattle, a flipper using a 80% of ARV rule would target a maximum offer near $578,000 on a property worth $850,000 after repairs with roughly $102,000 of rehab. The classic 70% rule is too conservative here — at a $850,000 ARV, a flat 70% would price you out of nearly every deal. Fixed transaction costs are a smaller share of a high ARV and competition compresses margins, so Seattle flippers underwrite closer to 80%.
| After-repair value (ARV) | $850,000 |
| Estimated rehab (≈12% of ARV) | $102,000 |
| 80% of ARV | $680,000 |
| Maximum allowable offer (MAO) | $578,000 |
These are illustrative figures. Run the actual numbers — comps, true rehab scope, holding costs, financing — in the FlipOS deal analyzer for an accurate MAO.
A more accurate MAO: work backward from your costs
The percentage rule is just a shortcut for the real formula — subtract every cost and your target profit from the ARV:
MAO = ARV − rehab − closing − holding − selling − target profit
| After-repair value (ARV) | $850,000 |
| Rehab (≈12% of ARV) | −$102,000 |
| Buy / closing costs (≈2%) | −$17,000 |
| Holding costs (≈3%) | −$25,500 |
| Selling costs (≈6.5%) | −$55,250 |
| Target profit (≈9% of ARV) | −$72,250 |
| Maximum allowable offer (MAO) | $578,000 |
Notice this lands on the same $578,000 as the 80% rule above — the rule just bakes these costs into one number. The trade-off it hides: a higher ARV percentage means a thinner profit margin (9% here), which is exactly why competitive markets like Seattle accept tighter spreads. Always confirm rehab, holding, and selling costs for the specific deal.
What flippers should know about Seattle
Tech-driven buyer demand and strong appreciation; high entry prices push flippers toward dated mid-century stock in established neighborhoods. As with any market, the headline median price masks wide variation block-to-block. Pull comps inside a one-mile radius (or tighter in urban submarkets), and confirm rehab costs with at least two local contractors before committing.
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