King County’s high-end housing scene has done a sudden about-face this spring, as an unusually large wave of luxury listings hits the market and hands the leverage to buyers at the top of the price ladder. Homes priced above $2 million are coming online at a striking year-over-year pace across Seattle and the Eastside, giving well-heeled shoppers more options and forcing sellers who were used to instant offers to settle in for a longer wait.
Inventory Is Rising Across The NWMLS Area
Across the broader Northwest Multiple Listing Service region, supply has ballooned while prices hold fairly steady. Active listings climbed 28.4% in April compared with a year earlier, and King County’s median sales price hovered near $859,000, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Coverage of the April data notes that the luxury segment is charting a different path from lower price ranges, with inventory and pricing creating notably different conditions depending on which part of the market you are playing in.
Luxury Listings Jumped Fastest
The upper tier is seeing the most dramatic movement. An analysis of NWMLS records shows that between Jan. 1 and May 14, 2026, King County listings for homes above $2 million jumped nearly 84%. In Seattle alone, listings climbed from about 240 to roughly 445, an increase of about 85%.
The Eastside is riding the same wave. Kirkland more than doubled its count, moving from about 150 to 303 listings. Bellevue and Sammamish each rose roughly 70%, while Redmond jumped about 77%. Those figures were detailed by FOX 13 Seattle, which cited brokerage analysis of NWMLS data.
Tax Change And Out-Of-State Pitches
The surge in luxury listings is unfolding alongside a major policy shift aimed at high earners. On March 30, 2026, Governor Bob Ferguson signed a 9.9% tax on household income over $1 million into law, with the revenue directed to the Working Families Tax Credit program, school meals, and small-business relief, according to the governor’s office.
Opponents responded almost immediately. Within days, they announced both a legal challenge and a repeal campaign. The Citizen Action Defense Fund retained former Attorney General Rob McKenna to take the measure to court, as reported by The Olympian.
What Buyers And Sellers Should Expect
On the ground, brokers say the luxury rush is reshaping expectations. Listings that once might have drawn offers in a weekend are now sitting longer.
"It's going to be more like 28 days, 30 days," Compass Managing Broker Kristin Clark told FOX 13 Seattle. Clark added that the luxury tier currently has roughly six months of inventory, which nudges that part of the market into buyer-favorable territory and gives shoppers more room to negotiate.
For buyers who have long felt locked out at the top, this flood of high-end listings is the clearest signal yet that the region’s housing narrative is shifting. For sellers, the takeaway is blunt: price realistically and be prepared to wait. At least for now, the market is rewarding patience instead of the old days-on-market sprint.
