Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Home in King and Snohomish County?

Every week, I sit down with homeowners across King and Snohomish County who are asking the same question: Is this the right time to sell?

Some have been watching the market for years, waiting for a moment that feels certain. Some are facing a life change, a growing family, a job relocation, a house that no longer fits the life they are living. Some just want to understand what is actually happening out there before they make a decision.

I get it. Selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions most people will ever make. You should not do it based on headlines or guesswork. You should do it based on the real numbers, a clear-eyed view of your specific market, and a strategy built for your situation.

So here is what I am seeing right now and what it means for homeowners thinking about selling in 2026.

I have lived in the Seattle area for over 40 years. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. When I tell you what the market is doing right now, I am not reading from a fact sheet. I am describing a market I work inside every single day.

Cheryl Dillon is a real estate agent in the Bothell, Washington area helping buyers and sellers navigate life transitions across King and Snohomish County and the greater Seattle area.

What the Numbers Are Actually Saying About the 2026 Market

Let me give you the honest picture.

Inventory is up. There are more homes on the market in King and Snohomish County right now than there were at this time last year. That is a fact, and some sellers hear it and worry. But here is what the full picture shows: sales volume is holding steady. Year-over-year sales figures in both counties are tracking closely to where they were twelve months ago. That means buyers are still active. They are still purchasing. The increase in supply has not outpaced demand to a degree that is hurting sellers who are well-prepared.

The second number that matters is the sales price to list price ratio. Across the greater Seattle market, homes are selling at very close to their asking price  in many cases at or above 99% of list price for homes that are priced correctly and properly prepared. That is a healthy market. That tells you that buyers are not low-balling every offer or using the slight increase in inventory as leverage to dramatically undercut sellers. They are paying fair market value for homes that earn it.

What this adds up to is a balanced market. Not the frenzied, waive-everything, offers-in-48-hours market of 2021 and 2022. However it is not a buyer's market where sellers have to chase the price down every week. A real, functioning market where the right home priced right and presented right sells.

Why More Inventory Does Not Mean a Bad Market for Sellers

I hear this concern all the time: "There are more homes for sale, so shouldn't I wait until inventory comes back down?"

The logic sounds reasonable on the surface. In reality, it misses something important.

More inventory does not hurt sellers who are prepared. It hurts sellers who are not.

When inventory is low and buyers are desperate, almost any home sells overpriced homes, homes that need work, homes with deferred maintenance and no staging. When inventory rises even modestly, buyers get more selective. They compare. They choose. And the homes that win that comparison are the ones that are genuinely ready to show.

What this means in practical terms is that the bar for preparation has risen slightly. A home that would have sold quickly with minimal effort in 2021 now needs to look its best before it hits the market. That is not a sign of a failing market. It is a sign of a market returning to normal where quality wins.

The sellers I am working with right now who take preparation seriously are seeing strong results. The ones who assume the market will do the work for them are the ones sitting on listings that are going stale.

The Three Things That Separate Sellers Who Win From Sellers Who Don't

In any market hot, cold, or balanced the same three factors consistently separate the sellers who get strong results from the ones who leave money on the table.

Preparation

This is where the transaction is often won or lost, and it is the step most sellers want to skip.

Before any home I represent hits the market, I insist on a preparation phase. That means getting inspections done in advance, completing necessary repairs, and removing any surprises before buyers ever have a chance to use them as leverage. A seller who skips this step hands buyers a negotiating tool. My sellers do not give them one.

It also means presentation. Clean, decluttered, staged spaces that make buyers feel the potential of the home, not the evidence of the previous owner's life. Buyers are making emotional decisions. Help them see the life they could live in the space, not the life you have been living there.

Preparation is not glamorous. It takes time and it takes intention. But it is the single highest-return investment most sellers make before going to market.

Marketing

Professional photography is not optional. It is a buyer's first impression of your home, and in today's market, that impression happens online before they ever schedule a showing.

Amateur photos, dim lighting, wide-angle distortion that makes every room look like a fishbowl these things kill listings before they start. Buyers scroll past. They move on. They assume that if the photos are poor, the home is poor.

Professional photography, paired with a targeted digital marketing strategy designed to reach the right buyers in the right places, is how you generate interest at scale. It is how you build momentum when a home goes live. And momentum is what creates competition. Competition is what drives strong offers.

The marketing phase is where most sellers lose ground they never knew they had. A home that is seen by the right buyers at the right moment sells faster and closer to list price than one that sits quietly waiting to be found.

Pricing

The price you set on day one matters more than most sellers realize.

Overpriced homes attract the wrong kind of attention. They sit. They accumulate days on market. And days on market send a signal buyers start wondering what is wrong, even when the answer is simply that the number was too high.

The right price is not the highest number you can imagine. It is the number that generates interest, creates competition, and ultimately produces the outcome you are actually after: the maximum net proceeds from your sale.

Setting price correctly requires honest, current market data and an agent who will tell you the truth even when it is not what you want to hear. That is how I work.

A Story About Preparation Making the Difference

I worked with a family in Bothell who had lived in their home for nearly fifteen years. They had done their own updates over the years: a remodeled kitchen, new flooring in the main living areas and they felt the home was ready. They wanted to list quickly and move on.

We had a candid conversation. The upstairs bathrooms were dated and buyers were going to see it. The back deck had some soft boards that would come up in any inspection. And the landscaping had been fine for daily life but was not going to make a first impression.

We took three weeks before we listed. Updated the bathrooms cosmetically, repaired the deck, brought in a landscaper for the front approach, and shot professional photos on a day when the light was right. The home went on the market priced correctly based on what comparable properties had actually sold for, not what the sellers hoped the market might deliver.

The result: multiple offers within the first week, a sale price above list, and a transaction that closed clean because we had already addressed the things an inspection would find. The buyers felt confident. My sellers felt protected. That is the process working the way it should.

Is the Seattle Market Slowing Down?

This is the question I get most often from homeowners who are watching the news and trying to make sense of national headlines.

Here is the honest answer: the greater Seattle market is normalizing, not declining.

National real estate coverage tends to paint with a very broad brush. What is happening in Phoenix or Austin or Tampa is not what is happening in King and Snohomish County. The Pacific Northwest has its own economic fundamentals, a technology industry base that continues to draw high-income earners, limited land available for development in the most desirable communities, and a lifestyle that continues to attract buyers from across the country.

Interest rates are higher than they were during the 2020–2022 period, and that has changed the calculation for some buyers. Buyers who were stretching at the margins are no longer in the market. But the buyers who remain are serious, qualified, and actively purchasing. The pool is more focused, which means sellers who position their homes correctly are selling to motivated buyers not tire-kickers.

The all-cash, waive-everything dynamic of the pandemic market has largely passed. That is not a bad thing for sellers. It is a return to a functioning market where preparation, pricing, and marketing determine outcomes rather than sheer scarcity driving everything.

What This Means If You Are Thinking About Selling in 2026

If you have been waiting for the perfect moment to sell, here is the honest truth: there is no perfect moment. There is only your specific situation, your specific home, and a strategy that is built for the market as it actually exists right now.

What the 2026 market in King and Snohomish County offers sellers who are ready:

Active buyers who are still purchasing and still willing to pay fair market value for homes that are well-presented and correctly priced. Sales volume that remains steady year over year. A market where preparation and strategy produce results that passive sellers simply do not see.

What it requires:

An honest conversation about preparation. A realistic pricing strategy grounded in current data. Professional marketing that creates the right first impression at scale. And an agent who stays personally involved from the first conversation to the closing table.

If your life is pointing toward a move whether that is upsizing, downsizing, relocating, or simply stepping into the next chapter the market is ready for sellers who are ready for the market.

What Sellers Deserve That Most Teams Do Not Deliver

I have had clients come to me after difficult experiences with other agents. The story I hear most often goes like this: the agent was engaged and attentive during the listing appointment. Then, once the paperwork was signed, the seller was handed off  to an assistant, a transaction coordinator, someone they had never met and did not choose.

That is not the service most people think they are getting when they hire a Realtor.

I do have an assistant who helps with paperwork and behind the scenes letting me focus on my clients. I am the agent you meet at the first appointment. I am the agent who builds your strategy, prepares your marketing, shows up at the negotiating table, and answers your calls when something unexpected happens on a Tuesday evening. I am personally involved in your transaction from start to finish  because your home sale deserves that level of attention, and you deserve to know exactly who is working for you. 

Boutique, personal service means no handoffs. It means your agent knows your situation completely. And it means when something matters and things always matter in real estate you have someone ready to act.

The Neighborhoods I Know Best Across King and Snohomish County

If you are thinking about selling, the community your home is in shapes the strategy. Buyer pools are different in Bothell than they are in Edmonds. The school district dynamics in Mill Creek are not the same as the waterfront considerations in Mukilteo. Price per square foot trends in Kirkland move differently than they do in Lynnwood or Marysville.

I serve buyers and sellers throughout:

Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville, Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, Seattle, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Brier, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Everett, Marysville, Lake Stevens, and surrounding communities throughout North King and Snohomish County.

I know these communities from living in this region, working in these markets, and walking the streets with buyers who are trying to find where they belong. That knowledge is what goes into every pricing conversation, every marketing decision, and every negotiation on behalf of my sellers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is now a good time to sell a home in King or Snohomish County?

Yes for sellers who are prepared. The 2026 market in King and Snohomish County is balanced and active. Inventory has risen modestly compared to last year, but sales volume is holding steady, and homes that are well-prepared and correctly priced are selling close to list price. The sellers who are getting the strongest results are the ones who invested in preparation, professional marketing, and accurate pricing before they listed.

How long does it take to sell a home in the greater Seattle area right now?

Days on market vary by community, price point, and condition. Well-prepared homes in desirable communities with accurate pricing are still moving within the first one to two weeks and in some cases generating multiple offers. Homes that are overpriced or underprepared are sitting longer and often selling for less than they would have with a different approach from the start.

Are homes selling over asking price in Seattle in 2026?

Competitive situations still occur in desirable communities with limited inventory. Homes that are priced correctly and generate strong early interest can attract multiple offers that push the final sale price above the asking price. This is more common in the $600K–$1.2M range in established King and Snohomish County communities. Above the $1.5M mark, the market is more measured, and accurate pricing matters even more.

Should I sell now or wait for a better market?

Trying to time the market is a strategy that rarely delivers. What matters more than market timing is your personal situation and whether your home is ready to compete. If your life is pointing toward a move and your home is prepared, the current market in the greater Seattle area can deliver strong results. Waiting for conditions that may or may not materialize often means missing a window that is already here.

What should I do to prepare my home for sale in King County?

Start with a pre-listing inspection. Address any deferred maintenance before buyers have a chance to use it as leverage. Consider cosmetic updates in kitchens and bathrooms if they are significantly dated. Declutter and stage for professional photography. Then price based on current comparable sales data not on what you hope the market will deliver. The preparation phase is where most transactions are won or lost.

What percentage of asking price are homes selling for in the greater Seattle area?

Across the King and Snohomish County market in 2026, well-prepared and correctly priced homes are selling at approximately 98–101% of list price depending on the community and price point. This reflects a healthy, functioning market where buyers are paying fair value for homes that earn it. Overpriced or underprepared homes are selling below that range sometimes significantly.

How do I find the right Realtor to sell my home in Snohomish County?

Look for an agent with verifiable experience specifically in your community, a clear preparation and marketing strategy, and a track record of staying personally involved from listing through closing. Ask whether they personally handle your transaction or hand it off to a team member. Ask for references from sellers they have worked with in the past twelve months. A great agent welcomes all of those questions without hesitation.

What is the difference between a balanced market and a buyer's market for sellers?

In a balanced market which is where the greater Seattle area sits in 2026 supply and demand are reasonably matched. Sellers who are well-prepared are getting strong results, but buyers have more choices than they did during the peak of the pandemic market. In a buyer's market, supply significantly exceeds demand and sellers typically have to price more aggressively and offer more concessions to compete. The current Seattle-area market is balanced, not a buyer's market, which means preparation and strategy matter more than waiting.

Ready to Talk About Your Home?

Thinking about selling your home in the greater Seattle area? Whether you are ready to move forward now or just trying to understand your options, I am happy to have a real conversation with no pressure, no pitch, just honest guidance from someone who has been working in this market for over four decades.

I can walk you through what your specific home would realistically sell for right now, what it would take to prepare it, and what the timeline and process would look like for your situation.

Cheryl Dillon is a Realtor in the greater Seattle area helping buyers and sellers navigate life transitions with clarity, strategy, and a genuinely personalized approach.

📞 425-954-5622 📧 Cheryl@CherylDillonRealEstate.com 🌐 CherylDillonRealEstate.com 📍 1455 Leary Way #400, Seattle, WA 98107

Cheryl Dillon is a licensed REALTOR® in the state of Washington with EXP Realty.