What is the typical home value in Renton?
The typical Renton home is worth $731,654 as of September 30, 2026, down 1.9% from a year earlier, according to Zillow's home value index. Homes go pending in about 28 days.
That figure is a modeled value across every home in the city, condos and townhomes included. The median sale price in any given month runs higher, because larger single-family homes trade more in summer. Both measures have drifted down over the past year, which is the pattern across King County.
Renton housing market at a glance
Are Renton home prices going up or down?
The data shows down, but gently. Zillow's index is off 1.9% over the year, and every one of Renton's five zip codes is down between 1.6% and 3.3%.
That is a smaller decline than Bellevue (down 3.9%), Kirkland (down 5.2%), or Redmond (down 3.9%). Renton's prices never ran as far up during the boom, so there is less to give back. The homes losing the most ground are at the top of the range, where buyers stretching to $900,000 feel the rate increase most. The downtown and valley zip, where a buyer can still find a house under $600,000, is also down the most in % terms. That is where rate-sensitive first-time buyers live.
How fast are homes selling in Renton?
In about 28 days, which is faster than Redmond (35) and in line with Kirkland and Bellevue.
The 28-day median hides two speeds. A well-priced home in the Highlands or Kennydale still draws multiple offers and goes pending inside a week. A home priced to 2025 comparable sales sits, cuts, and lands in the second month. The market still rewards a home priced to the last 90 days of closed sales. It has stopped rewarding a seller's wish.
Is Renton a buyer's or seller's market right now?
A buyer's market for anyone willing to look at homes past their second weekend, and a seller's market for the few homes priced correctly on day one.
For buyers, the leverage is on the listings that have sat. Sellers who have cut once are listening. Credits toward closing costs or a rate buydown are back on the table in a way they were not two years ago. For sellers, the first two weeks decide everything. Our read on whether the Seattle area is a buyer's or seller's market covers the regional picture.
What do Renton homes cost by neighborhood and zip code?
Renton has one of the widest price spreads of any King County city, and the zip codes map it cleanly. Zillow typical home values as of September 2026:
Three tiers. The valley floor and downtown, where the housing stock is older, smaller, and increasingly townhomes and condos near The Landing, prices like south King County. The Highlands and Fairwood, where most of Renton's post-war single-family neighborhoods sit, price like a family suburb. The Lake Washington side and the eastern plateau, where lots are larger and the newer construction is, price closer to the Eastside. The gap from the lowest zip to the highest is $377,000, or 68%, inside one city.
Kennydale deserves its own line. It is Renton's Lake Washington neighborhood, with water views, I-405 at the door, and Coulon Park. Homes there price well above the 98056 average and compete with south Bellevue listings for the same buyers.
Our Renton community page covers each neighborhood, and our guide to the best Seattle suburbs for families puts Renton alongside the rest of south and east King County.
How does Renton compare to Bellevue, Kent, and Seattle?
Renton is the price relief valve between the Eastside and south King County, and the numbers show it.
A Renton buyer pays about half what a Bellevue buyer pays for the typical home and saves roughly $3,800 a month in principal and interest. Against Seattle the gap is $560 a month, for a house that is more likely to have a yard and a garage. The trade is the commute, and for anyone working in Bellevue or the south end of Seattle, I-405 makes Renton's commute shorter than Kirkland's. Our Bellevue, Kirkland, and Seattle market pages carry the detail behind each row.
What is driving the Renton market?
Four things, and only one of them is new.
Boeing and The Landing. The 737 plant is still Renton's largest employer, and The Landing turned the old Boeing parking lots into the city's retail and apartment core. Downtown Renton has more new housing under construction than at any point in decades, almost all of it attached.
Interstate 405 and the lake. Renton sits where I-405 meets the south end of Lake Washington. It is 15 minutes to Bellevue when traffic cooperates and 20 to downtown Seattle. That access is the reason Kennydale and the Highlands price the way they do.
The eastern plateau. East Renton Highlands and the May Valley corridor have most of Renton's newer single-family construction, larger lots, and the Issaquah School District boundary running through them. That is the $929,344 zip, and it is where Eastside buyers priced out of Issaquah and Sammamish land.
The new factor is the payment. At 7.40%, the typical Renton purchase with 20% down costs about $4,053 a month in principal and interest. A year ago, at a lower rate and a slightly higher price, it was close to the same number. Buyers' budgets have not grown, so prices have given a little ground to hold the payment steady. That is the whole story of the 1.9% decline.
What to know if you are buying in Renton
Know which Renton you are shopping. The same budget buys a 1960s rambler in the Highlands, a new townhome at The Landing, or a lot in Fairwood, and they are different purchases.
Pick the zip before the house. The table above is the search filter. A $700,000 budget is a stretch in 98059 and comfortable in 98058.
Target listings past their second weekend. The sellers who have cut once are the ones who will negotiate on credits, inspection repairs, and closing dates. Our guide to how to buy in a seller's market covers the opposite case, the week-one home with competition.
Check the school district line. Renton School District covers most of the city, but the eastern plateau crosses into Issaquah School District, and that line shows up in price.
Ask about the crawl space and the slope. Renton's older neighborhoods sit on hillsides with clay soil. Drainage and foundation questions belong on every tour. Our guide to questions to ask when touring a house has the list.
What to know if you are selling in Renton
Price to your zip code's last 90 days of closed sales, not to Renton's median, and not to what the neighbor listed for.
The first two weeks decide the outcome. A home priced to recent closed sales in its tier still draws competition. A home priced to the citywide median from a higher-priced zip joins the ones that cut. Start with what your home is actually worth.
Condition sells in a 28-day market. Buyers are comparing you against every other listing in the Highlands for a month. A home that shows well earns its price. Every Door's Turnkey Services handle pre-sale repairs and staging with nothing paid upfront, settled at closing.
Read offers for certainty. A fully underwritten buyer with a short financing window at 2% under list is often the better offer than an unproven buyer at asking.
If speed matters more than price, there is another route. A cash offer on your home trades some price for a fast, certain close. Worth knowing the number even if you list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median home price in Renton, WA?
Zillow's typical home value for Renton is $731,654 as of September 2026. The median sale price in a given month runs higher, often in the $750,000 to $800,000 range, because the homes that sell skew toward larger single-family properties. Either way, the citywide number matters less than the zip code's: Renton homes range from about $550,000 to $930,000 by area.
Is Renton expensive to live in?
Compared with the Eastside, no. Compared with the rest of the country, yes. Renton's typical home costs about half of Bellevue's and 12% less than Seattle's, but 24% more than the Washington statewide figure of $591,879. Renton is where Puget Sound buyers go to stay close to Bellevue and Seattle jobs without paying Eastside prices.
Are house prices dropping in Renton?
Slightly. Zillow shows Renton down 1.9% over the past year, with every zip code down between 1.6% and 3.3%. That is a smaller pullback than Bellevue, Kirkland, or Redmond, and the cause is the mortgage rate rather than any weakness in demand for Renton itself.
Is Renton a good place to invest in real estate?
The eastern plateau and Kennydale have held value better than the valley floor, and downtown's new construction is mostly rentals, which caps appreciation for condo investors there. The strongest case is the Highlands: established single-family homes at a discount to the Eastside, on the 405 corridor, in a city still adding jobs.
Reading the Renton market with a local team
Renton is three markets with one median, and the median is the least useful number on this page. Which zip you are in decides your price, your competition, and your commute.
At Every Door Real Estate, we help buyers pick the right tier for their budget and find leverage in a 28-day market. We help sellers price to the comparable sales in their own zip rather than the city's. If you are deciding whether to move in Renton this fall, talk with our team.
Market figures in this article are from Zillow as of September 2026 and the Freddie Mac rate as of October 8, 2026. They are updated quarterly and describe citywide and zip-level trends. Your specific home, street, and price range may differ.
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