Darrington Market Update: Late October 2026

Darrington is the smallest market I cover, and I will say it every time: a couple of sales can swing any monthly median by tens of thousands of dollars. Keep that in mind for everything below, because the third-quarter numbers are a snapshot of a very thin market, not a trend line.

Where the numbers landed

The third-party trackers point the same direction even when the exact figures differ. Agent Pronto's Q3 read put Darrington's median sale price at $423,000, down about 15% from the second quarter, with 14 homes sold in the quarter and a median list price around $361,000. Redfin's most recent 98241 read shows a median sale price near $417,000, down 2.8% year over year, while median price per square foot rose 7.1% to about $375, a reminder that land and condition still carry value in the valley. RealtyTrac counted 53 active listings across 98241 spanning roughly $264,000 to $795,000, with a 12-month median sale price of $463,423. None of these agree to the dollar, and that is exactly what a market this thin looks like.

What is actually selling

Local agents reporting on the MLS show about 28 closed sales in the valley over the past 12 months at a typical price near $458,000, according to Wicklund Real Estate's Darrington page. The spread is genuinely wide: a pending sale at 30720 Sauk Prairie Road listed at $665,000 in late October shows what riverfront and acreage command, while town homes and cabins sell well below the county median. The right property is the story here, more than any monthly average.

The countywide backdrop

The countywide numbers put the valley in context. The NWMLS September snapshot, published October 6, reported Snohomish County's median sold price at $720,000, down 0.4% from a year earlier, with 2,967 active listings at the end of September, up 44.2% year over year. More inventory means buyers in most of the county have choices and negotiating room they did not have a few years ago. Darrington is the exception that proves the rule: inventory here is still thin, so the right property can still move quickly, and price is set by the land and the view more than by the market at large.

One number to know if you sell in town

Any time you sign a listing inside the town limits, remember the extra real estate excise tax Darrington adopted earlier this year. Sales in town carry a 0.50% local REET on top of the state rate, and state law limits what the new slice can fund to capital projects like streets, roads, and sidewalks. Washington's REET is normally the seller's expense, so your title company will show it on the closing statement. It is a small line, but know it is coming before you price the home.

The takeaway

Prices through the third quarter look roughly flat to modestly down from a year ago in the valley, while per-square-foot values still crept up. The biggest variable in any Darrington deal remains the property itself: the river, the mountain view, the well and septic, the road. If you are weighing a sale or a move, I will pull the recent sales near your street and show you what they mean for your number. No pressure, no obligation. Knowledge creates confidence.