If you're thinking about selling a duplex in Tacoma, one of the biggest questions is where to price it. Price too low and you risk leaving money on the table. Price too high and the property can sit on the market, eventually forcing you to reduce the price anyway.
I recently analyzed 65 closed Tacoma duplex sales from the last 12 months. The data gives us a pretty clear picture of where buyers are active, how long properties are taking to sell, and what happens when a duplex doesn't sell within the first few weeks.
Tacoma Duplex Sales at a Glance
Over the last 12 months:
-
65 duplexes sold
-
Median sale price: $565,000
-
Average sale price: $565,438
-
Median price per square foot: $283
-
Median days on market: 25 days
-
Average days on market: 50 days
-
Median sale-to-final-list-price: 99.2%
-
36 of 65 sales (55%) sold within 30 days
The middle 50% of Tacoma duplex sales occurred between approximately $494,000 and $625,000.
The difference between the median 25 days on market and the 50-day average is also important. A group of properties sat for a long time and pulled the average substantially higher.
Where Tacoma Duplex Buyers Are Most Active
Most sales were concentrated between $500,000 and $700,000:
| Sale Price | Number of Sales |
|---|---|
| Under $400,000 | 2 |
| $400,000–$499,999 | 15 |
| $500,000–$599,999 | 27 |
| $600,000–$699,999 | 15 |
| $700,000–$799,999 | 5 |
| $800,000+ | 1 |
Approximately 65% of all Tacoma duplex sales occurred between $500,000 and $700,000.
Above $700,000, the buyer pool became considerably smaller. Only six of the 65 duplexes sold for $700,000 or more.
That doesn't mean a Tacoma duplex can't be worth $700,000+. It means the property needs to justify that price because there are fewer demonstrated buyers at that level.
Owner-Occupant Buyers Are an Important Part of the Tacoma Duplex Market
Another interesting part of the data is financing.
Of the 65 sales:
-
31 used conventional financing
-
12 used FHA financing
-
7 used VA financing
-
8 were cash purchases
-
7 used other, exchange, assumable or undisclosed financing
At least 19 of the 65 sales — approximately 29% — used FHA or VA financing.
Those loan programs are primarily associated with owner-occupied purchases. Conventional financing also includes owner-occupants, meaning the actual percentage of Tacoma duplexes purchased by owner-occupants was likely higher.
This can be especially important when selling a duplex with a vacant unit.
A vacant unit can open the property to buyers who want to live in one side and rent the other. That potentially expands the buyer pool beyond investors who are evaluating the property primarily on rental income and return.
The FHA sales were particularly interesting: median days on market was only 7.5 days, and the median sale-to-list ratio was 100%.
What Happens When a Tacoma Duplex Doesn't Sell Quickly?
This may be the most useful finding in the entire analysis.
Of the 65 duplexes sold, 23 had a lower final listing price than their original listing price.
That's 35.4% of all sales.
Among properties that reduced their price:
-
Median price reduction: $40,000
-
Average price reduction: $49,026
-
Median percentage reduction: 5.6%
-
Average percentage reduction: 7.8%
-
Largest reduction: $155,000, or 21.5%
But the overall 35% number doesn't tell the whole story.
When we compare price reductions with days on market, a very clear pattern emerges.
Price Reductions Increase Dramatically With Days on Market
| Days on Market | Sales | Reduced Price | % That Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–30 days | 36 | 2 | 5.6% |
| 31–60 days | 10 | 4 | 40.0% |
| 61–90 days | 7 | 5 | 71.4% |
| 91+ days | 12 | 12 | 100% |
| Total | 65 | 23 | 35.4% |
The pattern is hard to ignore.
Among duplexes that sold within 30 days, only about 1 in 18 had reduced its price.
Once a property took 31–60 days to sell, 40% had reduced.
Between 61 and 90 days, that increased to 71%.
And among the 12 Tacoma duplexes that took more than 90 days to sell, every single one had a price reduction before it sold.
The Longer Properties Sat, the Larger the Reductions Became
It wasn't just the probability of a price reduction that increased with time.
The size of the reductions generally increased as well.
For the small number of properties that reduced and still sold within 30 days, the median reduction was approximately 3%.
For properties taking more than 90 days to sell, the median reduction was approximately 9%.
Looking at the data another way:
29 duplexes took more than 30 days to sell. Of those, 21 — 72.4% — eventually reduced their price.
Even more telling:
19 duplexes took more than 60 days to sell. Of those, 17 — 89.5% — eventually reduced their price.
And once a property crossed 90 days, the number was 12 out of 12.
Original List Price vs. Final List Price Matters
It's common to hear that properties are selling close to asking price. Technically, that's true.
The median Tacoma duplex sold for approximately 99.2% of its final listing price.
But that statistic can be misleading.
Some sellers reduced their asking price substantially before receiving an offer. Across all 65 sales, the median property ultimately sold for approximately 97.7% of its original asking price.
That's why I look at both original list price and final list price when analyzing a market.
A property that starts at $650,000, reduces to $599,000 and sells for $595,000 technically sold at more than 99% of asking price. But that doesn't tell you what happened during the entire listing.
Is the Tacoma Duplex Market Improving?
Comparing approximately the most recent six months with the preceding six months shows an interesting trend:
| Prior 6 Months | Recent 6 Months | |
|---|---|---|
| Closed Sales | 31 | 34 |
| Median Sale Price | $565,000 | $552,498 |
| Median DOM | 39 | 21.5 |
| Median Sale/List Price | 98.3% | 100.0% |
| Median $/SF | $285 | $283 |
Prices haven't shown meaningful appreciation. In fact, the median sale price was slightly lower during the more recent period.
But properties have been selling considerably faster, and sellers have been receiving a higher percentage of their final asking prices.
I would characterize the current Tacoma duplex market as active, but price-sensitive.
Buyers are there. They're simply paying attention to value.
Pricing a Tacoma Duplex Correctly From the Beginning Matters
There are essentially two different experiences happening in this market.
A well-priced and well-positioned duplex can sell quickly. 23 of the 65 duplexes sold within 14 days, and 29 of the 65 ultimately sold at or above their final asking price.
But when a property misses the market, it can sit.
19 of the 65 sales took more than 60 days, and 12 took more than 90 days.
Every one of those 90+ day listings eventually reduced its price.
That's why I generally prefer to make a meaningful price adjustment when the market is telling us we're too high rather than making a series of small reductions and chasing the market down.
There is nothing inherently wrong with testing the upper end of a property's value. But after several weeks of market exposure, showings, online activity and buyer feedback, we have considerably more information than we had when the property was originally listed.
At that point, the market is giving us an answer.
What Does This Mean for Tacoma Duplex Owners?
Every duplex is different. Location, condition, rents, vacancy, unit mix, parking, financing options and development potential can all have a significant impact on value.
But the last 12 months of Tacoma sales provide some useful benchmarks:
The median Tacoma duplex sold for approximately $565,000 and $283 per square foot. About 65% of sales occurred between $500,000 and $700,000. More than half sold within 30 days.
Most importantly, the probability of eventually reducing the price increased dramatically as days on market increased — from 5.6% during the first 30 days to 100% among properties that took more than 90 days to sell.
For owners considering selling, the goal shouldn't necessarily be to have the lowest-priced duplex on the market.
The goal is to identify the highest price the current market is likely to accept and position the property accordingly.
That's the difference between testing the market and chasing it.