Is Redmond Gaining or Losing Value When the Price Rises and the Price per Foot Falls? Reading a Rising Sale Price

How can the price rise while the price per foot falls?

A median sale price is the price in the middle of all the homes sold. A median price per square foot is the middle of all the prices divided by each home's own size. They are calculated separately, and they do not have to move together. If the homes selling this year are bigger than last year's, the price can rise while the price per foot falls.

Redfin's figures give a rough illustration. A rise of 3.3% in the price and a fall of 11.1% in the price per foot, taken at face value, would mean that the typical home sold was about 16% larger than a year ago. That figure divides 1.033 by 0.889. It is an illustration and not a measurement, because medians cannot be divided like averages, and the page does not give home sizes.

A plausible reason is a change in the mix of what sells. Smaller homes and condominiums may have sold less, or larger houses may have sold more. The page does not say. What it does say is that the number of sales fell by about a third, and when a third of the sales vanish, the mix of the rest can change a great deal.

The lesson for an owner is that the headline median describes the group of homes that sold, not the home you own. A home that is smaller than the typical sale may find that its price per foot is the figure buyers use, and that figure fell. Realtor.com agrees on the direction, with $592 a foot and a fall of 6.92%, a smaller fall than Redfin shows but a fall all the same.

Sources: Redfin and Realtor.com pages as cited. The 16% figure is this brief's arithmetic and illustration. The explanation of the mix of sales is this brief's reasoning and not a finding of either page. Commercial content; not independently verified.

Why is the median sold price above the median asking price?

Realtor.com shows a median listing price of $1,292,000 and a median sold price of $1,395,000. The sold figure is higher by $103,000, or 8.0% of the asking figure. If every home sold for a little under its ask, as Redfin's ratio of 97.7% says, how can the median of what sold be above the median of what was asked?

The two medians describe different groups. The listing median covers all the homes for sale at a point in time, including the unsold homes that have been cut or have sat for months. The sold median covers the homes that closed in the period. If the larger and more expensive homes closed while the cheaper ones lingered, or if the cheaper ones left the market quickly and the dearer ones have yet to sell, the two medians drift apart in either direction.

The year-on-year changes show the same split. The listing median is down 9.70% and the sold median is up 5.28%, a gap of about 15 points. Sellers who list are, on average, asking less than a year ago, and buyers who close are paying more. The most likely explanation is that the closings are of older listings and the listings are of a different mix of homes, though the pages do not say.

For a seller, this means that the sold median is a poor guide to an ask. A home asked at the sold median may be above what the market is now listing, and the page for listings says that homes are priced lower than a year ago. A better guide is the set of homes that look like yours and have sold in the last few months, and these pages do not give that set.

Sources: Realtor.com and Redfin pages as cited. The $103,000 and 8.0% figures are this brief's arithmetic. The explanation is this brief's reasoning and not a statement of either page. Commercial content; not independently verified.

What does it mean when sales fall by a third?

Redfin counted 139 homes sold in August against 211 a year earlier, a fall of 72 homes, or 33.9% as the page states. A market that loses a third of its sales in a year is one in which many buyers and sellers are waiting, and the prices that are seen come from the rest.

At the same time, Realtor.com shows 419 active listings, up 25.59% on the year and more than three times the count of three years ago, since the three-year change is 216.30%. If both counts are right, 419 listings against 139 monthly sales would be about 3.0 months of supply. The two counts come from different sources and may not describe the same homes, so this is an illustration and not a measurement.

Supply that has risen when sales have fallen is a sign of a market that is easing. It is consistent with a wait that grew from 15 days to 23 on Redfin and from about 36 to 42 on Realtor.com, a rise of 16.22% on the page. It is also consistent with the share of homes with a price drop reaching 38.6%, up 6.2 points, so that about two homes in five have had a cut.

The share sold above the list price fell from about 21.8% to 6.6%, a drop of 15.2 points, which is the sharpest change on the Redfin page. A year ago more than one home in five closed above its ask. Now it is about one in fifteen.

Sources: Redfin and Realtor.com pages as cited. The 3.0 months, 21.8% and one in fifteen figures are this brief's arithmetic and illustrations. Commercial content; not independently verified.

Is Redmond somewhat competitive, warm or balanced?

Redfin says somewhat competitive, with one offer per home on average. Realtor.com says warm, because homes sold in a median of 42 days, and balanced for August 2026, because supply and demand are about the same. Its summary calls a median listing price of $1.3M a sign of strong demand, and another line says the market rewards decisive offers from buyers.

The numbers are plainer. Homes sold at 1.99% below the ask on Realtor.com and at a ratio of 97.7% on Redfin. Both pages agree that a typical Redmond home sells for two to three cents less than the dollar asked. A seller who prices at the market might expect that, and a seller who prices above it should expect more.

Redfin's panels give a range. In one, the average home sells for about 3% below list and goes pending in around 34 days. In another, the average sells for about 1% below list in around 19 days. In a third, it sells for about 3% below in around 22 days. The page does not label the panels in the text that I could read, so I do not say which home type each describes. The spread, from 19 to 34 days, is wide enough that an owner should ask which kind of home the quoted figure describes.

A seller reading the pages should keep two facts in view. The first is that the homes that did sell sold close to their asks, so pricing to the market still works. The second is that fewer homes sold, so the cost of pricing a little too high is a longer wait than a year ago. Nothing here says Redmond is weak. It says the middle of the market is slower, with discounts of a few percent, and that a minority of homes still draw several offers.

Sources: Redfin and Realtor.com pages as cited. The reading of the labels is this brief's reasoning. Commercial content; not independently verified.

What do 214 rentals and a rent down 18 percent suggest?

Realtor.com counts 214 rental listings in Redmond, up 105.95% on the year, so there are more than twice as many as a year ago. The median rent is $2,570 a month, down 18.15%, and down 21.65% over three years. Rental counts rose 13.07% in a month, while the median rent fell 9.54%.

The page does not say why. One possibility, offered as a hypothesis and not as a finding, is that some owners who could not sell at their price have chosen to rent the home instead, which adds to rental supply and pulls rents down. Another is that new apartments have opened. The pages do not distinguish between these.

The Census shows how large the rental market already is. Renters occupy 18,865 homes in the postal area, 55.2% of those occupied, against 15,312 owner-occupied homes, 44.8%. Median gross rent in the Census table is $2,405 a month, which is $165 below the Realtor.com median of $2,570, though the two measure different things: the Census figure covers all renters over five years, while the page covers current listings.

For an owner, the rental route is a real alternative to selling, but it brings tenants, repairs and a rent that has fallen by about a fifth in a year. It is worth weighing against a sale at a price that is known, on a date that the owner chooses.

Sources: Realtor.com and U.S. Census Bureau as cited. The $165 figure is this brief's arithmetic. The explanations of the rental count are hypotheses of this brief and not findings of the pages. Commercial content; not independently verified.

What does the Census say about Redmond homes?

The Census profile covers the postal area that includes Redmond. It counts 80,717 people and 36,226 housing units, of which 34,177 are occupied and 2,049 vacant, a vacancy rate of 5.7%. Median household income is $163,460.

Owners estimate the median home at $1,180,600, with a margin of error of $34,149, or 2.9%. That is $161,962 below Redfin's median sale price of $1,342,562, a gap of 12.1% of the Redfin figure, and a margin of error that wide does not close it. The Census figure pools five years of survey answers and covers every owned home in the area, including older homes and condominiums, while the sale medians describe recent closings. A gap of this kind is common, and it means that an owner's own estimate may run behind the current market.

The homes are of the 1980s and the 2010s. The median year built is 1992. The largest group, 7,988 homes (22.1%), dates from the 1980s, followed by 7,781 (21.5%) from the 2010s and 5,608 (15.5%) from the 1970s. Only 9,160 homes, 25.3%, were built before 1980, and 1,628, 4.5%, were built since 2020.

Homes of the 1980s are now about forty years old. The roof, the water heater, the windows and the exterior paint have often been replaced once, and a second round of work is coming due. The sources here do not give the condition of Redmond homes, and I do not estimate costs. A buyer's inspector will ask about all of them.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau as cited. The $161,962 and 12.1% figures are this brief's arithmetic. Census figures cover the postal area, not the city.

What does the Seattle series add?

The Realtor.com series for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area shows the region and not the city. Its median days on market was 34 in April, 36 in May, 37 in June, 44 in July and 45 in August, a rise of 11 days in four months. Redmond's 42 days on Realtor.com sits just below the regional figure of 45.

The area median listing price (Realtor.com, median listing price) was $780,000 in May and $749,970 in September, a fall of 3.8%. The Redmond figure of $1,292,000 is 1.7 times the area figure, so Redmond is among the pricier parts of a wide region, and the regional direction, down a little, matches the direction of the Redmond listing median, down more.

Active listings in the area (Realtor.com, active listings) rose from 6,427 in February to 11,644 in June, an increase of 81%, and the count of listings with a price reduction (Realtor.com, price reduced listings) rose from 1,786 to 4,714 over the same months, a factor of 2.6. Some of the rise is the usual spring build, since the series are not adjusted for season, but a count of reductions that grows faster than the count of listings says that more homes are being cut as they sit. A Redmond owner who lists into that supply competes with homes that have sat since spring.

It is a reasonable step, before any decision, to ask for a written offer and compare it with the net from a listing, using the same arithmetic on both: the price, less any charges, less the cost of repairs a buyer would ask for, and with the cost of waiting included. A private offer that is a little lower on the headline may be higher on that comparison. Readers comparing markets can also read the Bellevue brief and the Kirkland brief.

Sources: Realtor.com series on FRED as cited. The 3.8% and 1.7 figures are this brief's arithmetic. Series are not seasonally adjusted. Commercial content; not independently verified.

What does a private sale change?

On a home that sells near $1.34 million, each 1% of the price is $13,426. That is arithmetic and not a claim about any commission or cost. It shows why the amount an owner keeps, and not the headline price, is the figure to compare.

A private sale offers five things that a public listing cannot. There is privacy, because there are no showings and no neighbors talking about you selling. The closing date can be flexible, which gives you time to find a new home. There are no commission costs. There are no closing costs. And there are no inspections or repairs for the buyer to ask for.

Consider the page that says 38.6% of Redmond homes have had a price cut. A cut is a public mark. Buyers see it and read it, and a home that has been cut is often offered a lower price still. A private sale leaves no such mark, and no later buyer sees a history.

The flexible date matters in a market where many owners wait. An owner who needs three more months to find the next home can name that date, and a buyer who wants the home can agree to it. In a public sale the date is usually part of a negotiation among several offers.

None of this means that a private offer will always beat the market. A very good home in a good week may still draw several bids. The question for an owner is whether the chance of that outcome is worth the wait, the showings, the inspection and the public listing.

Before choosing, an owner can ask three questions of any buyer or agent. Which homes are behind the price you quote, with addresses and dates? Is the wait you quote for homes that sold or for homes still listed? And what will I receive at closing after every charge? In a market where the median price rose while the price per foot fell, answers to those questions in writing are worth more than any page, and they let an owner compare a private offer with a listing on the same terms.

It also helps to think about what a year of waiting costs. A home that sits through a slower season may be cut, and the cut stays visible. Taxes, insurance, upkeep and the mortgage continue while it sits. A fixed closing date and a known price remove that uncertainty, which some owners value as much as the price itself.

Source: this brief's arithmetic and reasoning. The 38.6% figure is from Redfin as cited. The benefits are those offered by Maison Off-Market. Commercial content; not independently verified.

Methodology and limitations

Prices, price per square foot, days on market, offers, sale-to-list ratio, price drops, listing counts and rents for Redmond come from two commercial pages: a national brokerage and a national listing site. They measure different things and were not independently verified. The first Redfin address tried returned a page for a different place and was not used; the Redmond page was found by search and read.

Age, tenure, vacancy, income, rent and owner-estimated value come from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates for the postal-code area that includes Redmond. Shares are calculated from published counts, and owner-estimated value carries a margin of error.

Days on market and median listing price are Realtor.com series published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area. They describe the region and not the city. The brief makes no forecast and values no home.

Conclusion

The Redmond record shows a sale median up 3.3% beside a price per foot down 11.1%, a listing median down 9.7% beside a sold median up 5.3%, sales down by a third, supply up a quarter and a rental count that more than doubled.

It does not fix a price for any one home. The choice between a public listing and a private sale comes down to whether an owner would rather compete in that market or take privacy, a flexible closing date, no commission, no closing costs and no inspections or repairs. To see what a direct offer would look like for your home, use the contact form below or call 401-219-4207.