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Reads & strategy
The PNW Pinnacle Group blog.
Clear, hype-free guidance on buying, selling, and investing across Greater Seattle and the Eastside — plus the interest-rate moves, global forces, and Washington laws that change the math.
WA Market & Policy
The Fed hiked. Rates crossed 7%. Our data hasn't caught up.
The Fed raised rates to 3.75%–4.00% and the 30-year mortgage hit 7.03%. What that adds to a monthly payment — and why August's local numbers don't show any of it yet.
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WA Market & Policy
Demand rebounded. The median fell $75,000 anyway.
Buyer showings rose 1.9% in August while the King County median slid to $925,000. How buyer traffic and price can move in opposite directions — and what it means for your move.
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Neighborhoods
Buyer traffic rose in 7 of 11 markets. Here's the map.
Shoreline is now the tightest market we track, Sammamish and Redmond rebounded, and Issaquah cooled. City by city, where buyers are competing and where there's room to negotiate.
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WA Market & Policy
Rates near 6.7%. Demand stopped falling anyway.
The Fed held for a fifth straight meeting and mortgage rates pushed past the forecast range this blog cited in June. Yet Seattle-area buyer traffic stabilized instead of falling further. Here's why.
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WA Market & Policy
Mercer Island cooled hardest. Edmonds heated up.
June's hottest market posted July's steepest drop, and Edmonds took its place. What a one-month reversal in thin versus liquid markets can — and can't — tell you.
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WA Market & Policy
84% of Washington now allows middle housing
Seattle's permanent zoning has been in effect since January — four units per lot everywhere, six near transit. What's actually buildable now, not what's theoretically coming.
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WA Market & Policy
King County’s median just dropped below $1M — what it actually means
June’s NWMLS figures put the county median at $999,000 with a quarter more homes for sale. Why that is a market easing, not a crash — and why the median can fall without your home losing value.
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WA Market & Policy
Seattle-area buyer demand cooled almost everywhere in June — except one market
NWMLS showings data shows buyer traffic falling in eight of nine Greater Seattle communities. Mercer Island went the other way. What showings-per-listing tells you that price data cannot.
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For Buyers
Condos are the most buyer-friendly corner of King County right now
Condo prices fell 10.9% year over year — more than twice the drop in houses — with 5.8 months of supply. The entry-point argument, and the four things to check before you buy one.
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WA Market & Policy
Washington's zoning revolution in 2026: HB 1110, HB 1337, and “One Seattle” explained
The biggest change to Greater Seattle real estate isn't rates — it's zoning. How Washington's middle-housing laws are rewriting what's buildable on your block.
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Market & Economy
Interest rates in 2026: what “higher for longer” means for Eastside buyers
The Fed isn't riding to the rescue. How mid-6% mortgage rates actually affect your buying power on the Eastside — and what to do about it.
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Market & Economy
Geopolitics and your mortgage: why global events move Seattle home prices
Wars, oil prices, and trade policy feel a world away — until they show up in your rate quote. How global forces reach the Eastside closing table.
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For Buyers
From frenzy to breathing room: Seattle buyers finally have time again
After years of waived contingencies and same-day offers, the Eastside market has rebalanced. How to use the extra time without losing the good homes.
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Neighborhoods
Where's the best value on the Eastside right now?
Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Bothell, Sammamish — the medians vary by a million dollars. A clear-eyed look at where your budget goes furthest in 2026.
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For Investors
House-hacking and middle housing in Seattle: what HB 1110 and HB 1337 unlocked
Washington's zoning reforms quietly rewrote what's buildable on thousands of lots. For investors and first-time buyers, that's a new path to cash flow.
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For Sellers
Staging that pays off: where Seattle sellers should spend before listing
You don't need to renovate to sell well. A focused prep plan — curb appeal, light, and a few targeted fixes — returns more than it costs.
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For Sellers
Selling in Seattle? Price to today's comps, not to 2022 memory
The single biggest mistake sellers make in a rebalanced market is anchoring to peak prices. How strategic pricing actually wins.
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For Investors
The 1031 exchange, explained for Eastside investors
Sell an investment property, defer the capital-gains tax, and roll your equity into the next one. The mechanics, the deadlines, and the traps.
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