2026 Greater Seattle Area Real Estate Market Report

Eric Akines

3 hours ago

7 min read

What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

Compiled September 2026 — Eric Akines, Properties of Distinction

The Puget Sound housing market spent 2026 rebalancing. After several years firmly in sellers' favor, rising inventory and a late-year jump in mortgage rates have handed buyers more room to negotiate than they've had in a long time — while well-positioned sellers, especially in the luxury tier, are still closing quickly at strong prices. Here's a full breakdown of where King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties stand heading into the final stretch of the year.

The Puget Sound Market at a Glance

Northwest MLS's 27-county service area posted these numbers for August 2026:

Median sale price: $635,000 (down 2.3% year over year)
Active listings: 24,675 (up 22% year over year)
Months of inventory: 4.21 (up from 3.19 a year ago)
Closed sales: 5,861 (down 7.6% year over year)

It's a rebalancing market: inventory is up sharply, prices have eased slightly, and buyers are regaining negotiating room for the first time in several years. Elevated mortgage rates remained the dominant force through the summer — Northwest MLS's own commentary noted that high rates continued to dampen activity in August, even as new listings arrived faster than buyers could absorb them.

King, Snohomish & Pierce Counties Compared

As of September 2026, Pierce County is the only one of the three posting year-over-year price growth.

King County: $839,950 median (down 4.0% YoY), 7,935 active listings, 21-day median days on market, 3.9 months of supply
Snohomish County: $705,000 median (down 5.6% YoY), 2,813 active listings, 20-day median DOM, 3.1 months of supply
Pierce County: $574,475 median (up 1.7% YoY), 3,379 active listings, 20-day median DOM, 3.2 months of supply

Pierce and Snohomish currently favor sellers more than King County does. With 3.9 months of supply, King crossed the four-month threshold for the first time this cycle — that gives buyers more negotiating room than they've had in recent years, even as Pierce's tighter 3.2-month supply keeps that market moving briskly.

Source: Beyond WA county comparison, September 2026; Northwest MLS, August 2026.

Inside Seattle's City Limits

As of September 2026, Seattle's median price sits at $849,389 (down 5.2% year over year), with single-family homes at $950,000 and condos/townhomes at $602,500. Months of supply is at 4.5 — a market Beyond WA now classifies as balanced.

The median listing still sells in 21 days at 100.5% of asking, meaning homes are trading at or slightly above list price even in a balanced market. Price per square foot sits at $563 across active listings, with 3,105 homes currently on the market. Looking ahead, seasonal softening is typical heading into December. Condos remain the more pronounced buyer's market within the city, with pricing down nearly 4% year over year.

Source: Beyond WA Seattle market report, September 2026.

Seattle's Core Neighborhoods

As of August 2026, each of these remains highly competitive on Redfin's Compete Score, though the character of that competition varies block to block:

Ballard: $949,542 median (up 3.5% YoY), 18-day DOM, 161 homes sold — very competitive, restored craftsman and bungalow stock
Capitol Hill: $892,069 median (up 16.6% YoY), 26-day DOM, 87 homes sold — very competitive, 19% of sales closed above list
West Seattle: $824,713 median (down 2.0% YoY), 8-day DOM, 431 homes sold — highly competitive, the fastest pace of the three
Queen Anne: roughly $1,550,000 median — a mid-prime tier known for downtown views and walkability (this figure is a directional estimate from a different source than the other three, not a same-methodology Redfin number)

Source: Redfin neighborhood data, August 2026.

The Eastside: Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island & Bainbridge Island

Eastside figures are drawn from more than one source and time period, so treat each as dated individually rather than one snapshot:

Eastside overall (single-family): $1,475,000 median (down 7.1% YoY), 46-day DOM — Q1 2026
Bellevue: $2,450,000 median — 2026
Kirkland: $1,242,250 median (down 14.9% YoY), 33-day DOM — August 2026
Mercer Island: $2,370,000–$2,950,000 median range (down 19.3% YoY), 46-day DOM — Q1 2026
Bainbridge Island: $1,189,000 median (down 21.9% YoY) — Q1 2026
Eastside condos: $620,000 median (down 13.8% YoY), 53-day DOM — Q1 2026

Eastside luxury inventory surged nearly 62% year over year in the first quarter, which did most of the work pulling prices down from 2025's peaks — days on market on the Eastside nearly doubled, from 25 to 46. Mercer Island's wide price range reflects that divergence directly: its median sale price fell sharply even as ultra-luxury waterfront listings kept commanding premium per-square-foot pricing, up over 14% even as the median dropped. Bellevue's trophy stock on Yarrow Point and Hunts Point regularly trades above $10 million and sits largely outside these median figures.

Sources: Judah Realty Group Eastside Luxury Market Report, Q1 2026; The Luxury Playbook, 2026; Beyond WA Kirkland report, August 2026.

Snohomish County: The North End Holds Steadier Ground

As of September 2026: median price $705,000 (down 5.6% YoY), 2,813 active listings, 20-day median DOM, and 3.1 months of supply — still a seller's market.

Everett, the county's largest city, illustrates the pace: a median price of $595,111 (down 2.4% year over year on a three-month average), a median 11 days on market, and 268 homes sold — up 7.5% from a year ago. Snohomish remains one of the tighter markets in the region even as prices soften.

Source: Beyond WA county comparison, September 2026; Redfin Everett housing market, August 2026.

Pierce County: The One Market Still Gaining Ground

As of September 2026: median price $574,475 (up 1.7% YoY), 3,379 active listings, 20-day median DOM, and 3.2 months of supply — a seller's market.

Pierce is the region's outlier — the only one of the three core counties still posting year-over-year price growth, and among the counties currently favoring sellers the most. Tacoma, the county seat and largest city, mirrors that pattern with a competitive, multiple-offer market that has held up better than King County's core through 2026.

Source: Beyond WA county comparison, September 2026.

The Luxury Segment: Above $2 Million

2026 data via The Luxury Playbook's Seattle market analysis and the Eastside luxury report above:

Cash buyers make up 40%+ of purchases above $2 million
Luxury median days on market: 24 days
Madison Park median: $2.85M (up 4.4% YoY)
Trophy stock on Yarrow Point and Hunts Point regularly trades above $10M

By pocket: Mercer Island ($2.95M median, waterfront and schools driving strong international demand in the trophy tier), Madison Park ($2.85M, Lake Washington frontage), Bellevue ($2.45M, eastern premium corridor), Queen Anne ($1.55M, design-oriented buyers with downtown views), and Ballard ($895K, an entry point for design-focused buyers).

Two buyer profiles are driving the top of this market: tech professionals timing purchases to RSU vesting and stock-grant liquidity, and international capital — concentrated from East Asia — anchoring demand in the trophy tier on Mercer Island and in Madison Park.

For sellers in this tier, the fundamentals haven't changed even as inventory has grown: a well-priced, well-presented home in a prime corridor still clears above asking in a matter of weeks, while an overpriced or under-presented one sits. That's the case for treating pricing, presentation, and positioning as one connected strategy rather than three separate decisions — particularly now, with more competing inventory for a buyer's attention than at any point in the last several years.

Source: The Luxury Playbook, Seattle Real Estate Market 2026 Overview.

Rates Reversed Course Through the Year

The single biggest swing factor behind 2026's rebalancing: rates dropped to 6.10% in the first quarter — down from 6.82% a year earlier — briefly giving buyers meaningfully better purchasing power, which is part of why Q1 luxury and Eastside inventory moved as fast as it did.

That relief didn't hold. By late September, the 30-year fixed rate had climbed back to 7.23%, its highest point in the past year, with the 15-year fixed at 6.48%. That reversal lines up closely with the slower closed-sales counts and rising days-on-market seen across King County and the Eastside through the summer.

Sources: Judah Realty Group, Q1 2026; Forbes Advisor mortgage rates, September 25, 2026.

Looking Ahead: The Rest of 2026

Most analysts covering King County expect modest, single-digit price growth from here — likely in the 1–3% range year over year — rather than a return to the double-digit gains of recent cycles. Inventory is expected to stay elevated relative to the lows of the past few years, and days on market should keep drifting upward as buyers take more time to decide.

Interest rates remain the swing factor. If they hold steady or ease from September's 7.23%, expect renewed buyer demand and a firmer floor under prices. If they climb further, the current cooling likely continues into winter. Seasonally, further softening into December is typical regardless of rate direction.

Condominiums stand out as the segment with the most room for buyers right now, particularly within Seattle proper. At the other end, well-located single-family homes and luxury properties in prime, view, or waterfront corridors are expected to hold value better than the broader market — school access, walkability, and water views continue to insulate these pockets even as overall conditions soften.

Thinking about your next move in this market? Let's talk about what these numbers mean for your specific property or search.

This report compiles third-party market data current as of the dates noted in each section. Figures are drawn from multiple sources using differing methodologies and are provided for general informational purposes only — they do not constitute an appraisal, a comparative market analysis of any specific property, or investment advice. Market conditions change quickly; contact Eric Akines directly for a current, property-specific analysis.

Sources: Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), Monthly Market Snapshot & August 2026 Market Report; Beyond WA, Washington County Housing Market Comparison and Seattle/Kirkland Market Reports, September 2026; Redfin, neighborhood and city housing market data for Ballard, Capitol Hill, West Seattle, and Everett, August 2026; Judah Realty Group, Bellevue & Eastside Luxury Real Estate Market Report, Q1 2026; The Luxury Playbook, Seattle Real Estate Market 2026 Overview and Forecast; Nora Real Estate, Seattle Housing Market Trends and Forecast 2026; Forbes Advisor, Mortgage Rates, September 25, 2026.

About the Author

Eric Akines is a luxury real estate agent licensed in Seattle, Washington and Sun Valley, Idaho, specializing in [luxury residential properties / waterfront homes / mountain resort properties — specify your niche] across the Puget Sound and Wood River Valley markets.

With numerous years of experience Eric ranked #7 in Seattle having sold $50M in 2025 and consistently ranks in the Top 1% in the Nation. Eric built his practice around what he calls the Golden Triangle — pricing, presentation, and positioning treated as one connected strategy rather than three separate decisions.

Eric works with buyers and sellers on properties of distinction in Seattle's most sought-after neighborhoods and Sun Valley's resort communities. To talk through your next move, contact Eric directly.