If you've read a real estate headline this month, you've probably seen some version of "the Eastside market keeps growing." Here's what actually happened in August: Bellevue is down about 11% year-over-year. Woodinville is down around 15%. Kirkland is up 2.6%. Bothell is basically flat. Kenmore is holding steady at more accessible price points. That's not one market. That's five different conversations happening at the same time, in cities that sit fifteen minutes apart.
I've worked this market for 33 years - Bellevue, Kirkland, Bothell, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah, Woodinville, the ultra-luxury pockets in Medina and Clyde Hill - and I can tell you the "Eastside is just one hot market" story hasn't been true for a while. It's just easier to write that way.
Here's what's really going on.
King County inventory just hit its highest point of the year - active listings are up roughly 17% year-over-year, and King County has close to doubled its supply since the December low. More homes on the market usually means one thing to buyers: wait, prices must be dropping everywhere. That's not what's happening. What's happening is buyers are getting selective, and the market is rewarding homes that are priced right, updated, and staged well - and punishing the ones that aren't. A well-priced Kirkland home near the water still moves. An overpriced, tired listing in a slower pocket sits, and sits, and sits.
For buyers, this is actually good news if you know where to look. Cities where prices pulled back - Bellevue, Woodinville - mean more room to negotiate than you've had in years. Cities holding steady or climbing - Kirkland - mean you still need to move decisively on the right home. The mistake I keep seeing is buyers treating "the Eastside" as one price tag, when the real opportunity is knowing which city you're actually in.
For sellers, the story's a little more personal. A lot of people I talk to are sitting on a 3-4% mortgage rate and don't want to trade it for something closer to 6% on their next place - that's the "rate lock" effect, and it's part of why inventory has been tight for so long. I get it. But here's what I tell people: you don't have to guess your way through that math. That's exactly why I built the Guarantee Sale Program - your home sells at a price you accept, or I pay the difference - and the Guaranteed Cash Offer, which gets you a real number within 24 hours so you know exactly where you stand before you commit to anything. You shouldn't have to gamble on two transactions to make one good decision.
You have to earn it - that's how I've always thought about this job, whether it's finding a first-time buyer their first home in Bothell or walking an investor through what actually performs versus what just sounds good. Right now, in a market that's genuinely different street to street, that means one thing: know your specific city's numbers before you make a move, not the headline.
If you want to know exactly where your neighborhood stands right now - not "the Eastside," your actual block - that's a 15-minute call, no pressure, just numbers.
George Moorhead, Bentley Properties - 425-295-2544 - georgem@bentleyproperties.com
Sources for the numbers above: Seattle Housing Market Update, Summer 2026 (Eastside and North End inventory and city-by-city price data); Simmi Real Estate's 2026 Eastside market analysis (rate lock effect, buyer selectivity).