We went into 2025 with high hopes for the Seattle real estate market! The general expectation was that mortgage rates would drop into the 5s, unlocking healthy buyer demand. Instead, the surprise introduction of tariffs in April put the brakes on the market—and it never fully recovered. Here’s hoping 2026 finally brings a return to something resembling “normal,” since it has been so long since we’ve had a normal real estate year.

A big thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our Mary’s Place fundraiser! It’s not too late to give, and we’ll continue to match all donations. You can donate via Facebook, or if you’d rather donate directly, forward me your receipt and we’ll take care of the match.

Not surprisingly, last week was slow, and this week will be too. These are typically the two worst weeks of the year. That said, it hasn’t been slow for us! We just handed off the keys to a Lake Washington waterfront home, helping our buyer negotiate $300,000 off, and we’re busy prepping a ton of new listings for 2026.

Thanks for being a regular reader in 2025!

Noteworthy deals last week

• Most expensive pending: Kirkland new construction at $2.5M
• Highest % over asking sale: Maple Leaf bungalow for 16% over
• Most expensive sale: Queen Anne condo with a view for $5.35M
• Least expensive sale: Georgetown condo pre-sale for $175K
• Most popular Seattle listing on Redfin: West Seattle home for $875K

Links

• Local group opposes development at Crown Hill cemetery (Myballard.com)
• These are the Seattle’s Gen Z homeowners. How did they do it? (Seattle Times)
• Gen Zers, just because you can buy a home, should you? (Seattle Times)
• Downtown Seattle retail upheaval? Who’s relocating, who’s leaving (Seattle Times)
• Seattle’s Martin Luther King Jr Way to extend into Kent, Renton (Seattle Times)
• Puget Sound area luxury homes prices surge in 2025, led by Bezos’ $69M deal (PSBJ)

New listings by week

Seattle: 38 new listings last week, down 44.9% w-o-w
Eastside: 19 new listings last week, down 56.8% w-o-w

Homes going pending by week

Seattle: 92 pending last week, down 23.3% w-o-w
Eastside: 64 pending last week, down 6.7% w-o-w

Top five eye candy of 2025

1. $79M Lake Washington modern by Tom Kundig

2. $8.6M Bellevue new construction by MN Custom Homes

3. $7M downtown Seattle penthouse

4. $6.9M downtown condo with interiors by Terry Hunziker

5. $699K Burien tree-top cottage with views

Check out last week’s market update, Happy Holidays!

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