Gross yield runs from 1.99% to 5.95% across 22 Seattle ZIP codes. The highest numbers are downtown — but they're high because values are collapsing while rents fall too. The healthier yields are mid-tier ZIPs where rents are genuinely rising.
Gross rental yield across Seattle's 22 ZIP codes ranges from 1.99% to 5.95% — a threefold spread within one city. The highest yields are all in dense, condo-dominant downtown ZIPs: Belltown (98121) at 5.95%, Downtown (98101) at 5.48%, Pioneer Square and the International District (98104) at 4.57%.
But there are two entirely different reasons a ZIP shows high yield, and they carry opposite risk. Downtown's yield is widening because home values are collapsing while rents there are also falling. Mid-tier ZIPs like Georgetown and Fauntleroy show moderate yield built on genuine rent growth of 4–6%. The first is a shrinking denominator. The second is a strengthening numerator. Conflating them is the most common mistake in yield screening.
Gross yield is annual rent divided by typical home value. Values as of July 31, 2026; rents as of July 31, 2026. Sorted highest to lowest. Rows shaded where values fell and rents rose.
| ZIP | Area | Gross yield | Typical value | Value YoY | Typical rent | Rent YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98121 | Belltown | 5.95% | $544,576 | -5.4% | $2,700 | -2.5% |
| 98101 | Downtown / Denny Triangle | 5.48% | $567,273 | -3.0% | $2,592 | -0.3% |
| 98104 | Pioneer Square / Chinatown-ID | 4.57% | $544,708 | -3.7% | $2,075 | -2.0% |
| 98106 | Highland Park / S. Delridge | 4.41% | $662,078 | -1.5% | $2,433 | +2.2% |
| 98108 | Georgetown / S. Beacon Hill | 4.03% | $689,557 | -2.0% | $2,316 | +3.8% |
| 98109 | South Lake Union / Westlake | 3.90% | $772,473 | -2.7% | $2,509 | -1.2% |
| 98126 | N. Delridge / West Seattle | 3.38% | $753,797 | -1.8% | $2,125 | +2.9% |
| 98118 | Columbia City / Rainier Valley | 3.28% | $734,729 | -2.4% | $2,007 | +1.7% |
| 98102 | Eastlake / N. Capitol Hill | 3.26% | $759,249 | -3.0% | $2,064 | +0.8% |
| 98107 | Ballard | 3.24% | $848,846 | -2.7% | $2,295 | +0.1% |
| 98122 | Capitol Hill / Madrona | 3.05% | $821,024 | -2.5% | $2,086 | +0.3% |
| 98136 | Fauntleroy / West Seattle | 3.04% | $935,925 | -0.9% | $2,368 | +4.7% |
| 98144 | Mount Baker / N. Beacon Hill | 3.03% | $775,802 | -3.4% | $1,962 | -0.3% |
| 98103 | Fremont / Wallingford / Green Lake | 2.97% | $909,772 | -1.2% | $2,254 | +1.6% |
| 98117 | Loyal Heights / Crown Hill | 2.97% | $978,686 | -0.1% | $2,421 | +2.3% |
| 98116 | Alki / West Seattle | 2.83% | $1,000,929 | -0.9% | $2,364 | +2.2% |
| 98125 | Lake City / Northgate | 2.76% | $810,550 | -2.5% | $1,867 | -1.1% |
| 98115 | Ravenna / Wedgwood / View Ridge | 2.70% | $1,049,521 | -1.0% | $2,360 | +1.2% |
| 98199 | Magnolia | 2.70% | $1,249,432 | -0.4% | $2,810 | +5.6% |
| 98119 | Queen Anne | 2.39% | $1,044,900 | -0.4% | $2,082 | -0.1% |
| 98105 | University District / Laurelhurst | 2.09% | $1,170,916 | -1.9% | $2,037 | +0.2% |
| 98112 | Madison Park / Montlake | 1.99% | $1,362,281 | -1.4% | $2,263 | +0.3% |
ZIP-to-area labels indicate the commonly understood areas each ZIP covers. USPS ZIP boundaries do not align to neighborhood boundaries.
Screening for yield alone will lead you straight to downtown Seattle. That may be the right answer, but not for the reason the number suggests.
| ZIP | Area | Yield | Value YoY | Rent YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98121 | Belltown | 5.95% | -5.4% | -2.5% |
| 98101 | Downtown / Denny Triangle | 5.48% | -3.0% | -0.3% |
| 98104 | Pioneer Square / Chinatown-ID | 4.57% | -3.7% | -2.0% |
All three downtown ZIPs show high gross yield with declining rents. The ratio is improving because the denominator is falling faster than the numerator. If values keep sliding and rents keep softening, a headline yield of 5.95% is describing a weakening asset, not a bargain.
| ZIP | Area | Yield | Value YoY | Rent YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98108 | Georgetown / S. Beacon Hill | 4.03% | -2.0% | +3.8% |
| 98106 | Highland Park / S. Delridge | 4.41% | -1.5% | +2.2% |
| 98136 | Fauntleroy / West Seattle | 3.04% | -0.9% | +4.7% |
| 98126 | N. Delridge / West Seattle | 3.38% | -1.8% | +2.9% |
| 98199 | Magnolia | 2.70% | -0.4% | +5.6% |
Georgetown and South Beacon Hill (98108) yields 4.03% with rents up 3.8%. Fauntleroy (98136) yields 3.04% with rents up 4.7%. Magnolia (98199) yields only 2.70% but has the strongest rent growth in the city at +5.6%. These are markets where tenants are paying more, which is a different and generally more durable foundation than a price correction.
Not "highest yield." Rather: yield above the city median, plus positive rent growth, plus a value decline that looks like a cycle rather than a structural problem. On this month's data that points at Georgetown / South Beacon Hill (98108) and Highland Park / South Delridge (98106) — 4.03% and 4.41% gross, both with rising rents — rather than at Belltown's headline 5.95%.
That is a screen, not a recommendation. It ignores everything a real analysis requires: condition, property type, HOA structure, financing, and your own holding period.
Every figure on this page is annual rent divided by home value, and nothing else. It excludes property tax, insurance, HOA dues, vacancy, maintenance, capital expenditure, and management.
This matters most in exactly the ZIPs that look best here. Seattle's highest-yield ZIPs are condo-dominant, and HOA dues on a downtown condo commonly run several hundred dollars per month. On a $544,576 Belltown unit renting at $2,700, dues alone can absorb a quarter to a third of gross rent. A 5.95% gross yield can net out below a 3% gross yield on a single-family house with no dues.
Add Washington property tax, insurance, and a realistic vacancy allowance, and the ordering of this table can invert. Treat it as a starting screen for further work, never as a return estimate.
Gross yield = (typical monthly rent × 12) ÷ typical home value, computed per ZIP code.
Home values use the Zillow Home Value Index at ZIP granularity, reporting the typical value for homes in the 35th–65th percentile band, covering single-family homes and condominiums. Rents use the Zillow Observed Rent Index at ZIP granularity, covering all rental housing including multifamily apartments.
An important limitation: the two indices measure different housing stock. The value index is weighted toward the owner-occupied stock; the rent index toward the rental stock. A ZIP's yield therefore compares a value drawn from one population against a rent drawn from another. It is a legitimate relative signal for comparing ZIPs to each other, and it is not a property-level cap rate. Anyone evaluating a specific building should use that building's actual rent roll and expenses.
22 of Seattle's ZIP codes appear in both datasets and are included. ZIPs present in only one dataset are excluded rather than estimated.
Data: Zillow Research, zillow.com/research/data, retrieved September 5, 2026.
98121 (Belltown) at 5.95% gross, followed by 98101 (Downtown / Denny Triangle) at 5.48% and 98104 (Pioneer Square / Chinatown-International District) at 4.57%. All three are dense, condo-dominant downtown ZIPs. Critically, their high yield comes from home values falling faster than rents, not from rent strength — rents in all three are flat or declining.
Seattle is a low-yield, high-appreciation market by national standards. Across the city's 22 ZIP codes with data, gross yield ranges from 1.99% to 5.95%, with most between 2.7% and 3.4%. Anything above 4% is unusual here and concentrated downtown. Gross yield excludes taxes, insurance, HOA dues, vacancy and maintenance, so net returns are materially lower.
Because home values are falling while rents mostly are not. In 15 of Seattle's 22 ZIP codes, typical home values declined year over year while typical rents rose. Yield is a ratio, so a shrinking denominator widens it even when the numerator is flat. That is arithmetic, not necessarily an improving investment case.
98199 (Magnolia) at +5.6% year over year, 98136 (Fauntleroy / West Seattle) at +4.7%, and 98108 (Georgetown / South Beacon Hill) at +3.8%. Notably these are mid-tier residential areas, not the downtown ZIPs where gross yield is highest.
No. Gross yield is annual rent divided by home value and nothing else. This matters enormously in Seattle's highest-yield ZIPs, which are condo-dominant: HOA dues on a downtown Seattle condo commonly run several hundred dollars a month and can consume a substantial share of gross rent. A 5.95% gross yield on a condo can net out below a 3% gross yield on a single-family house.
This slot is where a named, licensed Seattle agent's market commentary and credentials appear. It is intentionally empty rather than filled with an unattributed voice — a market report should say who is behind its judgment calls.