Rob In Seattle

Below is the current snapshot of the real estate market for Seattle and Bellevue, plus a fun fact on how a water view impacts the sale of a home. 

SUMMARY

The inventory for both homes and condos is up slightly (key word) this week, which was actually predicted at the beginning of the year by pundits (they predicted a slight increase in inventories). 

But it’s important to note that while inventory is growing, homes are still selling too, that is, the national news reports of a stalled housing market aren’t true here. I’ve said before and I’ll say again, it’s actually a pleasant market in 2026 that’s not too hot or too cold, with homes available for buyers and homes selling for sellers. 

The average house is selling for over $2 million in Bellevue, and over $1 million in Seattle. The average condo is just under a million in Bellevue, and about 700K in Seattle. Some homes are sitting a little longer but also a third of the homes go under contract within a week of listing; in fact, Larissa and I just sold a home for more than our client was hoping for in less than five days.

This weekend I’ll be releasing a summary of how 2026 to date compared to the first six months of 2025, which is a good barometer for how this year’s real estate market is (subscribe here or here on my blog robinseattle.com). A spoiler alert, the numbers are down slightly this year but are surprisingly resilient all things considered (war, inflation, gas prices, layoffs) especially since homes are selling on average for more than list year to date, especially in May. The biggest change this year from last year is that a lot less homes are selling off-market to builders and investors).

In case you were curious, a view of the water does change the experience of buying or selling a home. A lot. Homes sell for over a third more if they have a view, but also take longer to sell (probably because of the higher price). Interestingly, a home with a view closes for less of the asking price as a percentage than a house with no view. See below for the actual data based on this years closings/solds to date.

Anyway, thank you for reading. Below is a snapshot of the data. I’ll provide a detailed analysis of the year to date compared to last year after the weekend. 

Enjoy the World’s Cup! (Larissa is half-Australian on her dad’s side and an American dating back to the 17^thcentury on her mom’s side, so we’ll definitely be watching the Australia-US match on Tuesday).

I love real estate data and welcome any questions. Reach me at fromthedeskofrob@gmail.com or RobMathison@BHHSNW.com.