It's June and The Market Is Talking

The Market Is Talking

What More Inventory Means for Eastside Buyers and Sellers

For the last few years, the Eastside real estate market has been defined by speed, scarcity, and urgency.

Sellers could often rely on limited inventory to do much of the heavy lifting. Buyers, meanwhile, had to move quickly, make decisions under pressure, and compete hard for the right home.

That market has changed.

Not collapsed.
Not disappeared.
Changed.

The latest Northwest Multiple Listing Service market snapshot shows a meaningful increase in available homes across its service area. Active listings at the end of May were up 16.8% year over year, with 21,381 active listings compared to 18,310 a year earlier. Inventory also increased 15.2% from April to May alone.

That matters.

While those numbers reflect the broader NWMLS market area, the Eastside is feeling the same shift: more available inventory, more buyer comparison, and less tolerance for homes that miss the mark on price, condition, presentation, or positioning.

More inventory means more choice. More choice means more comparison. And more comparison means buyers are taking a closer look at price, condition, location, layout, and presentation.

In other words, the market is still moving — but it is no longer rewarding every listing equally.

A More Selective Market

When buyers have fewer options, they tend to compromise.

When buyers have more options, they become more selective.

They notice the dated kitchen. They notice the tired landscaping. They notice the carpet that should have been replaced, the paint color that photographs poorly, the unfinished projects, and the price that feels a little too optimistic.

This does not mean sellers are in trouble.

It means sellers need to be more thoughtful.

The best homes are still attracting attention. A well-prepared, well-priced, well-marketed home can still perform very well. But homes that come to market casually — overpriced, underprepared, or poorly positioned — are much easier for today’s buyers to skip.

That is the shift.

The market is not punishing sellers.

It is punishing assumption.

Buyers Have Regained Some Leverage

Seattle and the Eastside remain highly desirable. We still have strong employment drivers, limited long-term land supply, excellent schools, high incomes, and lifestyle demand that continue to support the market.

But buyers are no longer operating from panic.

They are operating from choice.

Recent reporting from Axios Seattle has also pointed to cooling conditions in the Seattle-area housing market, including more available inventory and modest year-over-year price pressure in some areas. On the Eastside, where competition has been especially intense in recent years, even a slight increase in inventory can change buyer behavior quickly.

That does not mean every buyer has negotiating power.

Great homes in great locations still move.

But it does mean buyers can often be more measured than they were during the frenzy years. Inspections are back in the conversation. Seller credits are back in the conversation. Pricing discipline is back in the conversation.

That is not a bad thing.

It is a healthier market.

What Sellers Should Take Away

This is not the market for “let’s just try a number.”

Overpricing a home to see what happens may feel harmless, but it can be expensive. The first two weeks on the market are still critical. That is when a listing is fresh, visible, and most likely to capture serious buyer attention.

If the market rejects the price early, the listing can quickly lose momentum.

The better strategy is not to underprice.

It is to price with discipline.

That means looking carefully at what has actually sold, what is currently competing, what is pending, how long similar homes are taking to sell, and which homes buyers have already rejected.

It also means being honest about the property itself.

Does it have a premium view, lot, remodel, floor plan, school district, or location advantage? Or is it competing against homes that show better, live better, or photograph better?

Buyers do not pay top dollar because a seller loves the home.

They pay top dollar when they understand the value.

Presentation Is Part of Pricing

In this market, preparation is not cosmetic fluff.

It is strategy.

Paint, landscaping, lighting, cleaning, staging, photography, video, floor plans, and thoughtful marketing all work together to reduce buyer hesitation. Every unresolved question in a buyer’s mind becomes a reason to pause.

And in a market with more choices, pause is dangerous.

The goal is not to make a home look artificial.

The goal is to make its value obvious.

A buyer should understand within seconds why this home deserves attention.

Not after they read six paragraphs.
Not after they “use their imagination.”
Immediately.

What Buyers Should Take Away

For buyers, this is one of the more balanced environments we have seen in some time.

That does not mean easy. It does not mean cheap. And it does not mean the best homes will sit around waiting for a discount.

But it does mean buyers may have more room to think, compare, inspect, and negotiate than they did during the most frantic periods of the market.

The opportunity now is not necessarily to steal a home.

The opportunity is to make a better decision.

That may mean finding value in a home that needs cosmetic work. It may mean negotiating a credit instead of chasing a price reduction. It may mean watching for listings that missed the mark at launch but still have strong underlying fundamentals.

The key is knowing the difference between a home that is overpriced and a home that is simply misunderstood.

There can be opportunity in both — but they are not the same.

The Bottom Line

There is no single Eastside market.

Kirkland is not Woodinville. Bellevue is not Bothell. Waterfront is not inland. A remodeled home is not the same as a project. A luxury property above $3 million behaves differently than an entry-level home under $1 million.

That is why broad averages only tell part of the story.

The better question is not:

“How is the market?”

The better question is:

How is the market for this specific home, in this specific location, at this specific price, right now?

That is where real guidance matters.

The market is not frozen.

It is simply less forgiving.

For sellers, that means preparation, pricing, and presentation matter more than ever.

For buyers, it means opportunity is returning — but only for those who know how to read the signals.

The market is talking.

The smart move is to listen.

About Jeff Harrison

Jeff Harrison is a real estate broker with Compass and The Reese Team, serving buyers and sellers across Seattle’s Eastside, including Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Woodinville, Bothell, and surrounding communities.

With a background in executive sales leadership, business development, and real estate investment, Jeff brings a strategic, data-driven approach to residential real estate. His work focuses on pricing discipline, market positioning, preparation, negotiation, and helping clients make confident decisions in changing market conditions.

Jeff and The Reese Team combine decades of Eastside market experience with the tools, reach, and marketing platform of Compass.

Jeff Harrison
Compass | The Reese Team
Seattle & Eastside Real Estate
[email protected]
luxuryhomesnorthwest.com

Market data referenced from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service May 2026 market snapshot and recent Seattle-area housing market reporting from Axios Seattle.