Real Estate Insights From Mark Popach
Market updates, buyer guides, and seller strategies for every city on the Eastside. Written by Mark Popach.
Bellevue’s housing market split in two in the first half of 2026. The mid-tier single-family segment, homes priced $1.4M to $2.0M, is still moving fast. The condo market has shifted toward buyers, with more inventory, longer days on market, and room to negotiate that did not exist a year ago. And the luxury tier above $2.5M is running on its own timeline entirely. Understanding which market you are actually in is the difference between overpaying and winning.
Buying a home in Bellevue? One number will not tell you much. The citywide median is around $1.5 million in 2026.
Bellevue is still a seller’s market. That’s the good news. The part most sellers miss is that “seller’s market” no longer means you can list at whatever price feels right and wait for offers to roll in.
Issaquah draws buyers for reasons that are easy to list: Issaquah School District, mountain access, reasonable proximity to both Bellevue and Seattle, and price points that sit below Kirkland and
The Seattle home seller who listed in 2022 and the one listing in 2026 are operating in fundamentally different environments. Two years ago, sellers could price aggressively, skip preparation, and
What buyers, sellers, move-up families, and value-focused buyers need to know right now. Updated May 2026 | By Mark Popach, Bothell real estate agents at Popach & Co. Bothell’s housing
What buyers, sellers, move-up families, and anyone considering Kirkland needs to know right now. Updated May 2026 | By Mark Popach, Kirkland full service real estate agent at Popach &
Redmond is the most misread city on the Eastside. Buyers who have not lived here assume it is a bedroom community for Microsoft employees and not much else. What they
Twenty minutes separates Bellevue from Seattle. Cross the 520 bridge and you move between two genuinely different ways of living. Both cities are exceptional. Both have strong schools, excellent dining,
Most of the conversation about selling a home in Bellevue focuses on the preparation: the pricing, the staging, the photography, the launch. And that preparation matters. But the part sellers
Most buyers spend more time researching a refrigerator than they spend vetting the person who will help them spend $1.5 million. That is not an exaggeration. It is what happens
Most buyers who lose offers in Bellevue do not lose because they were outbid on price. They lose because their offer was structurally weaker than the one that won, and
Bellevue is still a seller’s market. That’s the good news. The part most sellers miss is that “seller’s market” no longer means you can list at whatever price feels right
Most Bellevue sellers spend months preparing their home and about ten minutes thinking through their list price. That is backwards. No amount of staging, photography, or marketing can fix a
Buying a home in Bellevue? One number will not tell you much. The city-wide median is around $1.5 million in 2026. But the real range goes from $559,000 for a
