Redmond

I've done only 4 deals in Redmond, far fewer than Bellevue or Kirkland — and that's exactly the point: Redmond buyers are extremely targeted. Its $1.15M median ranks only fourth on the Eastside, with 18 days on market and +2.5% year-over-year, one of the more moderate growth rates among the six Eastside cities. My clients here are almost all Microsoft employees, specifically those holding large blocks of unvested MSFT stock who think about their life cadence clearly. Their logic is simple: push the commute to near zero, stay through the primary RSU vesting period, then leverage both stock and home appreciation to trade up. It's an efficiency calculation, not sentiment.

The most counterintuitive fact: as Microsoft's global headquarters city, Redmond should logically be the Eastside's most expensive — yet it sits $400K below Bellevue and $270K below Sammamish. Why? Redmond is built for working, not living: downtown dining and retail density is limited, and public amenities trail Kirkland and Bellevue. But here's the data most people miss: LWSD's Tesla STEM High scores a perfect 10/10 on Niche, tied with Bellevue's Newport as one of only two perfect-score high schools on the entire Eastside. A top-tier school district hidden under a 'functional city' label — that's precisely where the opportunity sits.

Who Redmond is really for: Microsoft FTEs or senior contractors with $150K–$250K in annual RSU vesting, planning a 5–7 year stay to complete their schedule and then trade up. This is not a forever home; it's the most efficient docking station for the wealth-accumulation years. If you're not at Microsoft and don't need to minimize commute at all costs, Bothell or Kirkland gives you richer urban amenities at comparable or lower cost. But if you are a Microsoft employee, before you buy anything you need to read my guide on timing a purchase to your RSU vesting schedule — get the timing wrong and the savings may not even cover the tax.