Washington

Luxury Real Estate in Washington

Washington's luxury market is concentrated on the eastside of Lake Washington — Medina, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Bellevue — where waterfront and view corridors command the state's highest prices. Seattle's own neighborhoods and the San Juan Islands form separate markets with different buyers again.

The Washington Market in 2025

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which covers 27 counties across western Washington, reported 67,929 residential and condominium sales in 2025, totaling more than $55 billion in closed volume. The median sale price across that whole market was $644,500, up 0.7% on 2024. Those are general-market figures spanning every price band; the luxury tier behaves differently.

At the top of the market, 152 sales closed above $5 million in 2025, and 127 of those were on the Eastside. Three properties traded above $20 million, in Bellevue and on Mercer Island, and the highest sale to go through the MLS was a Bellevue waterfront property at $26 million.

The state record was set outside the MLS entirely. In April 2025 a Hunts Point estate on Lake Washington sold privately for $63 million — the most expensive residential sale in Washington history, first reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal. The property had last traded in 2019 for $37.5 million.

Inventory loosened over the year. Active listings averaged 16,007 a month against 11,910 in 2024, and months of supply rose from 2.11 to 2.83. More choice for buyers, though still well short of the four to six months that marks a balanced market.

Where the Value Concentrates

Median prices in the eastside enclaves sit far above the regional figure: Medina at $4,511,000, Mercer Island at $2,300,000 and West Bellevue at $1,977,250. For homes above 5,000 square feet, West Bellevue led at $5,752,500.

What Sellers Should Know

Waterfront on Lake Washington is finite and tightly held, and the buyer pool for it is small, informed and patient. Pricing a waterfront property against non-waterfront comparables is the most common error made here.

Washington's real estate excise tax is graduated and reaches 3% on the portion of a sale price above $3,025,000, with county excise added on top. On an eight-figure sale it is a material closing cost and worth modeling early.

What Buyers Should Know

Shoreline management rules, dock permitting and view easements govern a great deal of what you can do with waterfront in Washington. They are worth confirming during diligence rather than assuming.

Washington levies no personal income tax, which draws relocating buyers, but the picture is more complicated at higher net worth. The state estate tax reaches a top marginal rate of 35%, and long-term capital gains above $1 million are taxed at 9.9% — though gains on real estate itself are exempt. Speak with a Washington tax advisor before structuring a move.

Market data: NWMLS 2025 Annual Report. Record sale: Puget Sound Business Journal, April 2025. These figures describe the broader Washington market and are not Platinum Group transaction data.