Are Bothell Buyers Gaining Negotiating Power in August 2026?

By Brandice Raybourn

Yes, in a lot of situations they are.

But this is where I want to be careful, because saying buyers have more negotiating power does not mean every Bothell seller is accepting a dramatic discount. It means buyers had more choices, more time to compare homes, and more reasons to walk away when the value did not feel clear.

The July numbers make that shift difficult to ignore.

Buyers had 555 homes to choose from

Bothell had 555 homes for sale in July 2026, compared with 350 during July 2025. That is an increase of nearly 59%.

At the same time, closed sales fell from 139 to 112. Pending sales were steadier, moving from 127 to 122, but they still did not keep pace with the increase in available homes.

That matters because leverage often begins with choice.

When buyers can compare several similar homes, they do not have to overlook an awkward layout, deferred maintenance, a higher monthly payment, or a price that feels disconnected from the competition. They can keep looking.

Sellers, meanwhile, are competing against far more alternatives than they were a year ago.

The middle seller gave up more of the original asking price

The median closed seller received 97.1% of the original asking price in July, compared with 99.5% one year earlier.

This statistic includes the effect of price reductions and offers accepted below the initial list price. It does not mean every seller accepted 2.9% less, and it does not include homes that never sold.

Still, the dollar translation is useful.

On a $1,000,000 original list price, 97.1% equals approximately $971,000. That is about $29,000 below the original asking price.

Some sellers received more. Some received less. A small group still sold above list price. The larger point is that buyers were less willing to automatically validate the first price a seller chose.

What the above-list sales actually looked like

I also reviewed a separate detailed export containing 80 Bothell sales recorded for July. Only four of those sales closed above their listing price.

No addresses are needed to understand what happened:

• In Downtown Bothell, one property listed at $995,000 and sold for $1,102,000. That was $107,000, or about 10.8%, above list price after three days on market.

• In the broader Bothell area of ZIP code 98021, one property listed at $995,000 and sold for $1,030,800. That was $35,800, or about 3.6%, above list price after eight days.

• In Canyon Firs, one property listed at $1,025,000 and sold for $1,035,000. That was $10,000, or about 1%, above list price after five days.

• In North Creek, one property listed at $925,000 and sold for $931,000. That was $6,000, or about 0.6%, above list price after one day.

Ooh… that Downtown Bothell result was clearly different from the others.

The other three above-list sales were much closer to asking price. That tells me competition still existed, but it was concentrated around individual homes that buyers considered difficult to replace. It was not the normal result across the entire export.

The detailed export and the citywide report use different source groupings, so their transaction totals should not be treated as interchangeable. I use the citywide report for the broad market and the detailed export to understand where individual wins occurred.

Buyers had leverage, but not permission to ignore a standout home

This is the part buyers need to understand.

More inventory gives you room to compare, investigate, and negotiate. It does not mean a well-priced home in a strong location will wait patiently while you decide what to do.

The North Creek sale went above list after only one day. The Downtown Bothell sale produced a much larger premium. When a home creates urgency because of location, condition, presentation, or scarcity, the broader market can temporarily stop mattering.

That is why the right buyer strategy is not simply, “Offer less.”

It is to understand what else is available, how replaceable the home is, and whether the seller’s price is supported by the competition.

Sellers need to earn the buyer’s confidence

For sellers, the market is rewarding clarity of value.

Homes that feel aligned with their condition and competition can still move quickly. Homes that ask buyers to overlook too many compromises are more likely to sit, reduce the price, or give up more during negotiations.

The median market time for closed Bothell sales increased from 10 days last July to 18 days this July. Remember, that statistic describes the homes that successfully closed. Active and unsuccessful listings may be having a slower experience.

If I had to sum up July in one sentence: Bothell buyers gained leverage because they had choices, but they still stepped up when the right home felt hard to replace.

Read the Full Bothell Housing Market Report

Want to see every Bothell housing type and residential resale price range in one place?

Read the complete Bothell Housing Market Update for August 2026.

The August report uses July 2026 NWMLS data. Market statistics describe groups of properties and do not determine the value or likely outcome of any individual home.

Brandice Raybourn
Coldwell Banker Danforth
Snohomish & North King County Real Estate Broker