King County: Property and Tax Record Search By Address

In a county as large as King County, Washington, we as lenders, insurers, and investors depend on the county’s website to find property records. Property records are publicly accessible in every county in our nation. It’s getting to those records that differ between counties.Do you need to get some info on a property located in King County, Washington, but unsure where to go? County public records are accessible to the public and contain valuable property data that the lending, investing, and insuring industries rely on. Every county website differs in how they are structured. Some may have direct portals to public records, some may not, and some, well, you have to do a lot of digging. Finding the source of access to those public records can be very time consuming, challenging, and frustrating. We will show you how to save time, money and get to King County real estate records within a few clicks!

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A Synopsis of King County

King County is a beautiful area nestled in between mountain ranges in Washington. It comes in as the 13th largest county in the U.S., with Seattle as the county seat. Over two million people called this area home. The county was initially named after an Alabama senator (William Rufus DeVane King) but was later renamed to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.Culture is highly diverse here where artists, poets, writers, and everyday people of all types collide as a society. The county is among the top 100 U.S. counties with the highest income. Affluent communities and properties include celebrity residents such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. The economy within the area is prosperous and thriving, with big companies headquartered here such as Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, Amazon, Costco, and more. One of the nation’s largest international seaports is located here as well.Try a King County property tax search NOW!

The Scope of King County

King County has 39 cities and towns. Three-fourths of the county is forest land. The highest concentration of populus is in and around the Seattle area.

Cities/Towns

  1. 1Algona
  2. 2Auburn
  3. 3Beaux Arts Village
  4. 4Bellevue
  5. 5Black Diamond
  6. 6Bothell
  7. 7Burien
  8. 8Carnation
  9. 9Clyde Hill
  10. 10Covington
  11. 11Des Moines
  12. 12Duvall
  13. 13Enumclaw
  14. 14Federal Way
  15. 15Hunts Point
  16. 16Issaquah
  17. 17Kenmore
  18. 18Kent
  19. 19Kirkland
  20. 20Lake Forest Park
  21. 21Maple Valley
  22. 22Medina
  23. 23Mercer Island
  24. 24Milton
  25. 25Newcastle
  26. 26Normandy Park
  27. 27North Bend
  28. 28Pacific
  29. 29Redmond
  30. 30Renton
  31. 31Sammamish
  32. 32SeaTac
  33. 33Seattle
  34. 34Shoreline
  35. 35Skykomish
  36. 36Snoqualmie
  37. 37Tukwila
  38. 38Woodinville
  39. 39Yarrow Point

Owning or Renting Property in King County

The alluring mountains, forests, job market, and diversity of people draw prospective residents into the area. Options in housing offer a wide variety in affordability, location, styles, and amenities.

Quick Facts About King County

  • Covers 2,132 square miles
  • Urban areas: 462 square miles
  • Rural areas: 301 square miles
  • Agricultural areas: 62 square miles
  • Streams/Rivers: 3,000 miles
  • Forest land: 850,000 acres
  • Coastline: 100 miles
  • Population over 2,190,200 (13.4% growth over past 8 years)
  • 49 Hospitals
  • 20 School districts
  • 477 public schools
  • 243,861 students
  • Emergency Services
  • 4 Police precincts
  • 1 Sheriff’s department
  • 25 Fire districts
  • 40+ Colleges/Universities

Owning or Renting Property in King County

Property Climate in King County

Home prices are higher in King County compared to other areas of our nation. Having a higher population of affluent residents and communities lend to the higher costs of homes here. Median property taxes were $4,611.

  • Median sales price: $695,000
  • Median listing price: $675,000 ($410/sq. ft.)
  • Median home value: $493,500

Valuations

  • >$2m: 7%
  • $1.5m – $2m: 7%
  • $1m – $1.5m: 7%
  • $750,000 – $1m: 13%
  • $500,000 – $750,000: 25%
  • $400,000 – $500,000: 14%
  • $300,000 – $400,000: 17%
  • $200,000 – $300,000: 12%
  • $100,000 – $200,000: 4%
  • $50,000 – $100,000: 1%
  • <$50,000: 2%

Home Value Appreciation for King County

The value of homes in King County increased 11% over the past year and 13.66% over the past two years.

Housing Occupancy Rate for King County

King County has 917,904 housing units (434 homes for every square mile.) 57% of those units are owned-homes, and 43% are rental properties. A whopping 94% of homeowners occupy their properties, leaving a narrow property vacancy margin of only 6%. Seasonal/vacation homes may account for the 6% of vacant properties.

Rental Property Data for King County

Median monthly rental: $1,494

  • >$3,500: 2%
  • $2,500 – $3,500: 8%
  • $1,500 – $2,500: 39%
  • $1,000 – $1,500: 30%
  • $750 – $1,000: 10%
  • $500 – $750: 4%
  • $300 – $500: 3%
  • <$300: 3%

Economy for King County

Major employers in King County include Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon, University of Washington, Starbucks, and the area hospitals.

GDP King County

  • 2019: $294,329,768
  • 2018: 278,127,160
  • 2017: 256,067,584

Second Mortgages/HELOCS in King County

  • 2nd mortgage only: 2%
  • HELOC only: 11%
  • No second mortgage/HELOC: 59%
  • No mortgage: 27%

Second Mortgages/HELOCS in King County

King County has its fair share of natural disasters/risks as most other counties do. Several environmental factors place the county at risk of six natural disasters that can impact properties.

  • Earthquakes
  • 3 past events causing $39.5 million in damage.
  • Flooding
  • Occurrence happen every 2-5 years
  • 28 past events causing trillions of dollars in damage.
  • Landslides
  • 8 past events causing $200 million in damage.
  • Winter Weather Events
  • 8 past events causing $101 billion in damage.
  • Windstorm
  • 2 past events causing $30 billion in damage.
  • Volcano
  • Wildfires

Public Record Access in King County

Unlike many other counties in the U.S., King County is relatively easier to access public records providing you have an address, homeowner’s name, or parcel ID. It would be ideal if every county had the organized infrastructure of websites that enabled easy online access to public records.We have encountered hundreds of county websites to date that have no portal or online access to public records. When industry professionals like yourself go to search property records in counties such as those, you will find that you must lean on outdated methods of acquiring the information you need.It’s then that you must decipher what department handles and maintains public records. County clerks or assessors are the presumed sources. Where do you start with a King County property lookup? Our starting point included trying the King County property appraiser for access to public property records.

Our Experience In Performing A King County Property Lookup

We will admit that compared to the numerous other county property records searches we do on county websites, King County was not as cumbersome. Our search did require a bit of digging and hunting through various departments and typing in searches on the county’s website.A typical search for property records on a county website takes us anywhere from 1 – 3 hours. We perform these searches and break down what it took to get through the county website’s pages and links to provide you an inside look at how frustrating the process can be.

Our “Descent” Into King County’s Website

With the website landing page in front of us, we do a search for “public records.” A new page opens where numerous links appear to more pages of information. One link catches our eye, so we click on it (“find public records and documents.”)A new page opens listing various departments and links. We click on “Property & Land.” Another page opens where we click on “property tax records.” Another page opens to a sub-page under “King County Department of Assessments.” On this sub-page is what appears to be a platform called “eReal.”The eReal platform page has a checkbox that we must select to agree to their terms, which we do. We are then taken further into the platform to a new page. On this page are search options.

  • “Search by address, city, zip”
  • “Search by parcel number”
  • Search by property name”

We enter a known address in the county in the “Search by address, city, zip” box. It fails to turn up any results. We try another known address, and it opens a page with property information.

  • Parcel #
  • Owner name/address
  • Image
  • Tax levy rate district
  • Tax history
  • Year built
  • Square footage
  • # bedrooms, baths
  • Lot size
  • Condition

At the top of that page is a menu bar with various links.

  • Property tax bill
  • Map of property
  • Area report
  • Property details

We click on “Property details,” and a new page opens featuring a comprehensive listing of property information. We decide to try another property search by address back on the eReal platform page, so we hit the back button until we are taken back to it. We enter a known address in the “Search by address, city, zip,” and it too failed to yield results.Doing a property records search on King County’s eReal platform page is a “hit and miss” situation because you may or may not get the results you need.Do you want to invest your precious time by trying a “hit and miss” search that is uncertain with results? Try doing a QUICK search HERE!

Get The Property Records You Need In ONE CLICK!

So, now you have a glimpse into just how cumbersome and time-consuming searching for property records is. Who has time and money to burn with a business to run? PropertyScout.io provides professionals like yourself with an efficient and productive solution!

  • Property records are accessible in just one click.
  • No diving deep into the abyss of county website pages.
  • You get a great return on your investment by partnering with us.

Leverage our platform to get the data you need to optimize your business! Give us a try!Source for county statistics: www.towncharts.com