What makes a home mid-century modern?

Post-and-beam structure, low or flat roofs with deep eaves, walls of glass toward the view or the garden, open plans and honest materials: homes designed from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. In Seattle the best examples came from Northwest architects such as Paul Hayden Kirk, Fred Bassetti, Roland Terry, Wendell Lovett and Ralph Anderson, and from tract builders who borrowed the vocabulary.

How are mid-century homes identified on this page?

Two ways: the listing agent marked the NWMLS architectural style Mid-Century Modern, or the listing description calls the home mid-century. A 1960 split-level with vinyl windows can carry the label; the detail page and the photos tell you whether the architecture survived.

What are the common problems in Seattle mid-century homes?

Flat and low-slope roofs that have been patched rather than replaced, single-pane glass walls, radiant heat in the slab (expensive when it fails), original electrical panels, asbestos in flooring and ceiling texture, lead paint (pre-1978), and additions that fought the original plan. None is a deal-breaker; each is a number your inspector and agent put on the table before you write.

Do mid-century homes in Seattle sell at a premium?

An intact, architect-designed mid-century home with its view sells to a small, motivated audience and usually above the neighborhood median; a compromised one sells as a 1960s house. The twelve-month closings here show the range in Seattle.

How should I sell a mid-century home in Seattle?

Photograph the architecture, name the architect or builder when records support it, present the original drawings or permits, and market to the buyers who search for exactly this. RexMont lists mid-century homes with that research done, because a buyer who understands the house pays for it.

Seattle, WA · Mid-century modern

Seattle mid-century modern homes for sale

72 active NWMLS listings right now · 473 closed in the last 12 months at a median $1.14M. Refreshed hourly.

See the listings What is my mid-century home worth?

This page lists every Seattle home on the NWMLS filed as mid-century modern or described as one, refreshed hourly. 473 mid-century homes closed in Seattle in the last twelve months at a median $1,135,000 ($550 per square foot, 6 median days on market). An intact, attributed house sells to a small and motivated audience; RexMont researches the architect and the permit file before we price one, on either side.

Written by Adriano Tori, Founder & Designated Broker · WA Lic. #27660Reviewed 2026-10-231,244+ five-star Google reviews

The last 12 months

What mid-century modern homes sold for in Seattle, Oct 2025 to Oct 2026

Every closed NWMLS sale of mid-century modern homes in Seattle in the window, compiled by RexMont from the listing records. This is the comparable set a buyer should be offering against and a seller should be pricing from.

Closed sales: 473
Median price: $1.14M
Median $/sq ft: $550
Median days on market: 6
Sale-to-list: 100.0%
Sold at or over asking: 67.9%

Sales by price

Under $750K54
$750K–$1M130
$1M–$1.5M175
$1.5M–$2M61
$2M–$3M42
$3M+11

Where they sold (NWMLS area)

North Seattle128
West Seattle93
Ballard/Greenlake90
Southeast Seattle56
Queen Anne/Magnolia50
Skyway Area16

Range $410K to $4.03M; median home 2,210 sq ft, median year built 1954.

Information and statistics derived from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Window Oct 2025–Oct 2026; refreshed monthly.

How this market works

What a Seattle mid-century modern home buyer is really buying

Seattle's mid-century modern homes came from a generation of Northwest architects (Paul Hayden Kirk, Fred Bassetti, Roland Terry, Wendell Lovett, Ralph Anderson, Gene Zema) and from the tract builders who copied them: post-and-beam, glass toward the view, low roofs under the firs. They are on the bluffs and slopes the 1950s opened up: Blue Ridge, Innis Arden's Seattle edge, Hawthorne Hills, View Ridge, Seward Park, Magnolia, and the hillsides above Lake Washington.

An intact, attributed mid-century house is a different asset from a 1962 split-level with a flat roof, and both can carry the label in a listing. I research the permit record and the architect before we price one on either side, because the buyer for the real thing is specific, motivated and pays for provenance. The inspection list is the era's: the roof, the glass, the radiant slab, the panel, asbestos and lead.

The twelve-month data on this page is every Seattle NWMLS closing filed or described as mid-century modern.

New listing alerts

New Seattle mid-century homes, the day they list.

Months pass between the good ones. Add an email and a RexMont agent sends each new Seattle mid-century listing as it hits the NWMLS, with the architect and the roof noted first.

Watching: Seattle mid-century modern homes

Seattle mid-century modern homes for sale right now

Active NWMLS listings of mid-century modern homes in Seattle (72 active). Refreshed hourly.

See every listing →

Based on information submitted to the MLS GRID as of October 23, 2026 at 2:25 AM PT (date and time MLS GRID Data was obtained). All data is obtained from various sources and may not have been verified by broker or MLS GRID. Supplied Open House Information is subject to change without notice. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.

Listing information courtesy of Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The listing data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than RexMont Real Estate are marked with the “Listing courtesy of NWMLS” designation. Information provided is for the consumer’s personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.

Some IDX listings have been excluded from this website.

Where to look

Where Seattle mid-century homes are

Blue Ridge and Broadview

The city's best collection of architect-designed mid-century homes on the Puget Sound bluff.

Hawthorne Hills, View Ridge and Windermere

1950s custom homes on the north-east slope above Lake Washington; Kirk and Bassetti houses survive here.

Seward Park and Lakewood

Post-and-beam view homes on the Lake Washington hillside, many by Seattle's Japanese-American builders.

Magnolia

Mid-century ramblers and split-levels on the bluff with Sound and Olympic views.

Lake Forest Park and Sheridan Beach edge

Just outside the city line, the densest mid-century neighborhood north of Seattle.

West Seattle and Fauntleroy

Sound-view mid-century homes along the Fauntleroy slope and Beach Drive.

Before you write

What to check before buying a Seattle mid-century home

Who designed it

Permit records, the Seattle Public Library's building files and the Docomomo WEWA register identify architect-designed homes in Seattle. An attributed house is a different asset from a 1962 tract rambler with a flat roof.

Roof and glass

Low-slope and flat roofs need a replacement date, not a patch history. Single-pane window walls are the house's best feature and its energy cost; replacement with slim-profile insulated glass keeps the look.

Radiant slab heat

Many mid-century homes heat through pipes in the slab. When it works it is the best heat there is; when it fails, the repair is the floor. Ask for the system's service history.

Asbestos, lead and the panel

Floor tile, ceiling texture and ductwork of the era can carry asbestos; paint before 1978 can carry lead; original electrical panels are a known insurance issue. Each is a line item, not a surprise.

Additions that fought the plan

A 1980s second story on a 1958 post-and-beam house is the most common way a mid-century home loses its value. Look at the original footprint and ask what was added.

The buyer is specific

Mid-century homes in Seattle sell to buyers who searched for them. When you sell, the architecture is the marketing; when you buy, be ready to move, because the next one is months away.

Selling

Selling a mid-century modern home in Seattle?

The buyers for a mid-century modern home search for exactly this page, and they compare your home with the closings listed above, not with the city median. RexMont prices from this set, prepares the file the buyer's inspector and lender will ask for, and markets to the audience that is already looking.

Adriano Tori, RexMont's founder and designated broker, prepares the value personally for every home in this niche: the closings, the current competition, and the number that gets the home sold, in writing, within one business day.

Your buyers are comparing you with the 473 mid-century modern homes that closed in Seattle in the last 12 months, median $1.14M.

What is my mid-century modern home worth?

Prepared by Adriano ToriFounder & Designated Broker · WA Lic. #27660

A written value within one business day.

The address, your timing, and anything you want us to know. Adriano prepares the value from the Seattle mid-century modern homes closings and sends it in writing.

Common questions

Seattle mid-century modern homes FAQ

What makes a home mid-century modern?: Post-and-beam structure, low or flat roofs with deep eaves, walls of glass toward the view or the garden, open plans and honest materials: homes designed from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. In Seattle the best examples came from Northwest architects such as Paul Hayden Kirk, Fred Bassetti, Roland Terry, Wendell Lovett and Ralph Anderson, and from tract builders who borrowed the vocabulary.
How are mid-century homes identified on this page?: Two ways: the listing agent marked the NWMLS architectural style Mid-Century Modern, or the listing description calls the home mid-century. A 1960 split-level with vinyl windows can carry the label; the detail page and the photos tell you whether the architecture survived.
What are the common problems in Seattle mid-century homes?: Flat and low-slope roofs that have been patched rather than replaced, single-pane glass walls, radiant heat in the slab (expensive when it fails), original electrical panels, asbestos in flooring and ceiling texture, lead paint (pre-1978), and additions that fought the original plan. None is a deal-breaker; each is a number your inspector and agent put on the table before you write.
Do mid-century homes in Seattle sell at a premium?: An intact, architect-designed mid-century home with its view sells to a small, motivated audience and usually above the neighborhood median; a compromised one sells as a 1960s house. The twelve-month closings here show the range in Seattle.
How should I sell a mid-century home in Seattle?: Photograph the architecture, name the architect or builder when records support it, present the original drawings or permits, and market to the buyers who search for exactly this. RexMont lists mid-century homes with that research done, because a buyer who understands the house pays for it.

Buying

Talk to a Seattle mid-century modern home specialist before you tour.

Tell us the budget and the sub-market, and whether you are buying only or selling first. A RexMont agent who works this niche sets the call, with the current listings and the twelve-month closings already pulled.

Talk to a mid-century modern home specialist

Budget, timing, the area you want. We set the call.

Keep going

Seattle historic homes
The era before: Craftsman, Tudor and Victorian.
Seattle ramblers
Every single-level Seattle home, mid-century or not.
Seattle housing market
The city-wide numbers to compare this niche against.
Homes for sale in Seattle
Every active NWMLS listing in Seattle, refreshed hourly.
Seattle neighborhoods
Live inventory and twelve-month sales for every Seattle community.