Welcome to Redmond
Living in Redmond, WA
Redmond, WA is a thriving Eastside city best known as the headquarters of Microsoft and Nintendo of America, but it offers far more than its booming tech economy. Just 20 minutes from Seattle and Bellevue, Redmond is a dynamic city that balances innovation with livability.
Nicknamed the “Bicycle Capital of the Northwest,” Redmond features a network of trails and bike paths, plus a vibrant downtown filled with shopping, dining, and community events. Families are drawn to Redmond for its top-rated Lake Washington School District schools, safe neighborhoods, and abundance of parks and outdoor spaces.
Redmond attracts professionals, families, and investors alike, offering a lifestyle that combines career opportunity, suburban comfort, and natural beauty.
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Marymoor Park – King County’s largest park, featuring sports fields, a climbing wall, summer concerts, and an off-leash dog park
Downtown Redmond – Shopping, dining, and community events, including the popular Redmond Saturday Market
Sammamish River Trail – A scenic biking and walking path that connects to Woodinville and Bothell
Microsoft Visitor Center – Explore interactive exhibits and Redmond’s tech history
Idylwood Beach Park – Swim, kayak, or picnic along Lake Sammamish
Redmond Town Center – An outdoor shopping and dining hub with seasonal events
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Redmond Town Center is the city's main retail and dining destination — an open-air plaza with well over 100 stores built directly into the downtown grid. The blocks around Redmond's downtown park corridor add a walkable stretch of cafes and bakeries, giving the area a more everyday, neighborhood feel alongside the larger retail center.
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Getting Around Redmond
The Downtown Redmond light rail station, part of Sound Transit's 2 Line, has meaningfully changed the city's transit picture — Downtown Redmond and Overlake now have a direct light rail connection to Bellevue and Seattle, something the area didn't have until recently. Outside that immediate corridor, a car remains the practical choice for most daily trips.
By car, expect roughly 15–20 minutes to Bellevue and 25–35 minutes to Seattle off-peak, both stretching considerably during rush hour. Redmond is also known as the "Bicycle Capital of the Northwest," with an extensive network of trails including the Sammamish River Trail connecting to Woodinville and Bothell.
Thinking About Redmond?
Redmond rewards buyers who know which part of the city actually fits their goals — whether that's a fast-moving single-family home near the core or a more relaxed search in North Redmond. Learn more about working with Melissa → or reach out for current listings and comps specific to a Redmond neighborhood.
Redmond Neighborhood
Downtown Redmond & Overlake (98052)
This is Redmond's employment and transit center — Microsoft's campus, the Downtown Redmond light rail station, and a growing collection of condos and townhomes built around walkability. It's also where the city's fastest-moving inventory lives: well-priced single-family homes near the core still draw multiple offers and move quickly. The condo and townhome segment here tells a slightly different story, with more inventory and longer timelines to sell — genuinely good news for a buyer who wants walkable, transit-connected living without competing quite as hard for it.
North Redmond (98053)
Spacious, established, and largely insulated from the broader market's ups and downs. Large estate-style homes on generous lots here command a significant premium over the citywide median — this is where buyers go for space and privacy without leaving Redmond.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Redmond consistently ranks among the Eastside's most desirable cities for tech professionals and families alike, combining major employers like Microsoft and Nintendo, strong schools, extensive parks, and — with the new light rail extension — genuinely improved transit access to Bellevue and Seattle.
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Downtown Redmond and Overlake suit buyers who want walkability, transit access, and proximity to major employers, with condos offering the most accessible entry point. North Redmond offers more space and privacy for buyers prioritizing a larger single-family home and lot.
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The citywide median across all property types runs $1.30 million to $1.33 million, with detached single-family homes closer to $1.47 million. North Redmond's larger estate homes run significantly higher, while downtown condos offer a considerably more accessible entry point.
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Yes. The Downtown Redmond light rail station is now open, connecting Redmond directly to the broader Link system serving Bellevue, Seattle, and beyond — a significant and relatively recent improvement to the city's transit access.
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It depends heavily on where you're headed and from which part of Redmond. Downtown Redmond and Overlake now have direct light rail access to Bellevue and Seattle. Driving, expect roughly 15-20 minutes to Bellevue and 25-35 minutes to Seattle off-peak, both stretching during rush hour.
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It depends on the segment. Well-priced single-family homes near the Microsoft campus and light rail corridor are still drawing real competition and multiple offers. Outside that immediate core, and within the growing condo market, inventory has grown enough to give buyers genuine negotiating room.
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Yes, and often an underrated one — it offers the shortest possible commute to the Microsoft campus without the price premium of Sammamish or the competitive intensity of Bellevue's inner neighborhoods.
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Increasingly, yes. Redmond has been investing in its downtown core and retail in recent years, narrowing the walkability gap it used to have with Kirkland and Bellevue.
Redmond Real Estate
Redmond Housing Market
Redmond has settled into a genuinely balanced market in 2026, and that shift is opening real opportunity across the board. Active inventory has surged 50.4% year-over-year, easing the extreme seller leverage of recent years and giving buyers meaningful room to negotiate — including the ability to add protective contingencies that simply weren't realistic a year or two ago. The median sale price runs $1.30 million to $1.33 million across all property types, with standalone single-family homes closer to $1.47 million, while homes are now typically taking 23 to 32 days to find their buyer, a measured, healthy pace compared to the under-a-week frenzy of previous years.
Redmond's real character shows up in its range. Downtown Redmond and Overlake, energized by the new Downtown Redmond Light Rail station, offer a genuinely accessible entry point through condos starting around $625,000 — ideal for buyers seeking walkability and transit access, with a bit more time to make their decision. At the other end, North Redmond's spacious, premium single-family neighborhoods remain remarkably insulated, with large estates commanding $1.95 million to $2.02 million. And with Microsoft and Nintendo continuing to anchor the local economy, Redmond's fundamentals — for buyers, sellers, and renters alike — remain exceptionally strong.
Popular housing options in Redmond include:
Downtown Redmond condos – Modern, walkable living near shopping and transit
Family neighborhoods – Safe suburban areas with larger homes and access to excellent schools
Luxury estates – Upscale properties with acreage, custom designs, and private amenities
New construction homes – Contemporary designs in planned communities like Education Hill and Overlake
Why Buyers Choose Redmond
Employment access — Microsoft and Nintendo both anchor major campuses here, and the new light rail connection makes a car-free commute genuinely realistic for the first time
School quality — Redmond is served by strong public school options that consistently rank well regionally
Range of housing — from walkable downtown condos to spacious North Redmond estates, few Eastside cities offer this much variety within one set of city limits
Parks and trails — Marymoor Park alone is one of the largest and most-used parks on the Eastside
Redmond's proximity to Microsoft and other major tech employers keeps demand strong, but where you're buying matters more than it has in years — a home near Overlake and the Link stations plays by different rules than one further out. Know which market you're actually in before you set your price or your offer strategy.
Why Melissa Waller?
Melissa Waller is a Sammamish-area real estate agent with 10+ years of experience helping buyers and sellers throughout Sammamish, Klahanie, and the greater Eastside. She has closed over $250 million in Eastside real estate sales, holds the Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation, and is a RealTrends Verified Top Real Estate Professional in Washington, ranking in the top 1.5% of RealTrends-recognized agents nationally. She carries a verified 5.0-star rating across 78+ Zillow reviews, including confirmed closed transactions in Klahanie, Trossachs, Sahalee, and Pine Lake.
Melissa lives in Klahanie and brings resident-level, street-by-street knowledge of the Sammamish Plateau's neighborhoods — not just general Eastside market familiarity. She works with Compass, one of the nation's largest residential real estate brokerages, and specializes specifically in the Sammamish, Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Woodinville, Medina, and Clyde Hill markets.
Quick Facts
Experience: 10+ years serving the Sammamish and greater Eastside real estate market
Sales volume: $250M+ in closed Eastside transactions
Credentials: Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE); RealTrends Verified Top Real Estate Professional in Washington; top 1.5% of RealTrends-recognized agents nationally
Reviews: Verified 5.0-star rating across 78+ Zillow reviews
Neighborhood-specific experience: Klahanie (resident), Trossachs, Sahalee, Pine Lake
Brokerage: Compass
Service area: Sammamish, Klahanie, Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Woodinville, Medina, Clyde Hill