Extraordinary surge in luxury homes listed in Washington real estate market
Seattleites are moving to Nevada in droves, report finds
Realtors are changing up their pitches for potential clients, after a report found an increase of Washington residents moving to the Silver State.
SEATTLE - Realtors in other states are making social media pitches to attract Washington residents as clients.
Roy Shetrit with Huntington & Ellis in Las Vegas posted a video on Instagram that starts with him saying "Seattle, Seattle, Seattle." In the video he goes on to say, "The number one group moving to Nevada isn’t California anymore, it’s Seattle."
What they're saying:
Shetrit tells FOX 13 that Washingtonians can get a lot more home in Nevada and that he is witnessing more Washingtonians moving to his state.
As out-of-state realtors make their pitches, local brokers are also busy with a surge in inventory.
"He's a smart agent for doing that because it is on the top of people's minds," Managing Broker of Compass Kristin Clark said.
Across the board, residential property listings are up this spring. That trend is expected during the season when many sellers list their homes.
But the surge in luxury properties on the market is extraordinary.
By the numbers:
Beyond Real Estate crunched the latest data released by Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The median home sold in King County is around $850,000, so most of the transactions happening are homes under $2 million. Residential property listings in that category are up 54% from Jan. 1 to May 14 compared to the same time last year.
But the luxury market is where things get dramatic.
Properties above $2 million in King County surged by nearly 84% during the same period.
When we dig deeper into neighborhoods, Seattle had 240 homes entering the market in 2025 and during the same period there were 445 residential properties. That is an 85% surge in listings.
The numbers are tracking up on the Eastside as well.
Kirkland went from 150 homes listed in 2025 to 303 in 2026. That equates to a 102% spike in home listings.
Bellevue and Sammamish surged by around 70% and Redmond hit 77%.
With a lot of speculation about capital flight, FOX 13 asked Clark if wealthy residents are leaving the state.
"It’s true that part of it," Clark said.
Clark says the new income tax targeting millionaires is driving these numbers up.
"But in addition to that, it’s really not just a single tax-related issue," Clark said.
She says some of the sellers now are those who listed back in January but didn’t sell and back on the market.
She also says layoffs and uncertainty in the tech industry could be a part of the reason.
"You look at the instability of the tech market, and then you also look at the volatile stock market. I mean, all of these things, in addition to that millionaire's tax, they're thinking about all of that," Clark said.
It’s a new territory for buyers with sellers typically in the driver’s seat for many years. For the luxury market, it’s 6 months’ worth of inventory which officially crosses over to a buyers’ market.
"It is very unheard of, and it is shocking," Clark said.
Clark says the conversations during listing appointments are very different now.
"It's a difficult conversation to say, hey, we're probably not going to see an offer coming in the first five to six days like everybody's used to. It's going to be more like 28 days, 30 days, maybe longer," Clark said.
What's next:
For homes under $2 million, the inventory surge also means it’s heading in the direction of a buyers’ market.
Beyond Real Estate says the takeaway is that more sellers are selling, but fewer buyers are buying, with the highest price point homes having to wait longer to sell.
Although interest rates are still high, Clark says this might be the time for buyers on the sidelines to jump in because they will have room to negotiate and ask for concessions.
The Source: Information in this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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