Good morning, and welcome to the first Kirkland Dispatch. Five minutes on what moved in Kirkland this week, one item for your own neighborhood, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
Kirkland this week
I-405 at NE 132nd Street closes this weekend. The northbound and southbound on- and off-ramps at NE 132nd Street close from 10 PM Friday, September 25, to 5 AM Monday, September 28, and NE 132nd Street under the freeway closes with them. Crews are restriping the interchange and the roundabouts; signed detours will be in place. The same weekend, southbound I-405 is fully closed from Coal Creek Parkway in Bellevue to North 30th Street in Renton. WSDOT
The weekend shutdown of the I-405 / NE 85th Street interchange is still on hold. WSDOT cancelled the full closure it had planned for September 18–21 "until further notice" and says it will give advance notice of the new date; as of September 24 no new date has been announced. The new roundabout at 114th Avenue NE and Kirkland Way has been open since August 10; lanes there are narrower and semi-trucks can't turn left. WSDOT's schedule puts substantial completion in winter 2026. WSDOT · City project page
Tuesday, October 6: speed limits and a name for the station area. Council's 5:30 PM study session takes up citywide speed-limit changes. The 7:30 PM meeting includes naming the NE 85th Street station area and a briefing on short-term rental rules. The council calendar notes it changes often, so check the agenda that week. Council calendar
Harvest Festival, Saturday, October 3, at Juanita Beach Park. 11 AM to 4 PM on the north side of the park, 9703 NE Juanita Drive. Free. City of Kirkland
No school Friday, October 16. Lake Washington School District has a professional-development day on the 16th, with preschool conferences October 13–15. Wednesday early release (90 minutes elementary, 105 secondary) continues all year. LWSD 2026–27 calendar
Metro's fall schedule is in effect. Route 249, which serves South Kirkland Park & Ride, now runs through Medina, Hunts Point and Clyde Hill instead of Bellevue Way; the new Route 270 covers Bellevue Way. The schedule holds through March 26, 2027. King County Metro
Your neighborhood
Central Houghton. The Cross Kirkland Corridor is closed between NE 52nd Street and 108th Avenue NE for about three months, to around December 8, while King County repairs a culvert and sewer pipe under the trail. Work runs weekdays 7 AM to 8 PM with a signed detour. King County
Sold near you: 19 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.70M (range $253K to $7.30M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 17 days.
Everest. The 114th Avenue NE and Kirkland Way roundabout, part of the NE 85th interchange rebuild, has been open to drivers since August 10. Everest Park's new restroom building opened this spring. City project page
Sold near you: 34 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.38M (range $253K to $2.35M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 16 days.
Evergreen Hill. The Evergreen Hill Neighborhood Association, covering greater Kingsgate, meets online at 7 PM on the third Wednesday of most months; the meeting link is on its site. Bud Homan Park at 15305 119th Avenue NE is a two-acre stand of conifers where Green Kirkland runs volunteer work parties. Evergreen Hill NA
Sold near you: 15 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.04M (range $373K to $1.50M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 13 days.
Finn Hill. Two Holmes Point Overlay items, one on middle-housing development rules and one on tree rules, are on council's list of upcoming business. No meeting date is attached yet. The overlay is the zoning layer that governs infill and environmental protection on the ridge. Council calendar
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $980K (range $326K to $1.60M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 31 days.
Highlands. Worth a walk this month: Cotton Hill Park at 11006 NE 98th Street, a 2.2-acre natural area with a gravel interpretive path and a trail link to the Cross Kirkland Corridor. Green Kirkland has been restoring it since 2008. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 18 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.47M (range $950K to $2.50M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 22 days.
Juanita. Juanita Beach Park reopened for swimming and wading on Tuesday, September 22, after a bacteria closure that began the 15th. It hosts the Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 3. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 20 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $860K (range $300K to $2.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 8 days.
Lakeview. Doris Cooper Houghton Beach Park, 5811 Lake Washington Boulevard, reopened for water activities on September 15 after a short closure; its seasonal restrooms stay open through October. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $770K (range $253K to $7.30M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 25 days.
Market. Heritage Park, 111 Waverly Way, is 10 acres above the lake with Heritage Hall, home of the Kirkland Heritage Society, plus Centennial Gardens, two tennis courts and a playground. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 25 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.55M (range $1.08M to $5.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 16 days.
Moss Bay. The Kirkland Wednesday Market at Marina Park has one date left this season: Wednesday, September 30, 3 to 7 PM. The waterfront shifts to fall hours from there. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 30 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.48M (range $455K to $5.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 16 days.
Norkirk. The Norkirk Neighborhood Association meets Wednesday, October 7, at 7 PM at Heritage Hall, 203 Market Street. Free and open. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 25 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.50M (range $1.08M to $2.50M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 16 days.
North Rose Hill. The signal and turn-lane project at 132nd Avenue NE and NE 100th Street paused in April while the contractor waited for signal poles; the city expected work to resume in August and finish this fall, with work hours 9 AM to 3 PM on weekdays. The city's page has no newer update yet. City project page
Sold near you: 19 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.30M (range $260K to $2.61M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 22 days.
South Rose Hill / Bridle Trails. Site preparation is underway on the former Houghton Park & Ride for the Kraken Iceplex and Kirkland Community Center: two ice rinks plus a city-run community center, with a fall 2027 opening target. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 19 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.50M (range $825K to $3.49M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 18 days.
Totem Lake. Totem Lake Park, 12207 NE Totem Lake Way, is 17 acres with an all-abilities playground, a boardwalk that connects to the Cross Kirkland Corridor, and a picnic table more than 48 feet long. This weekend's I-405 ramp closure at NE 132nd Street (10 PM Friday to 5 AM Monday) is at the neighborhood's front door; plan the detour. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 15 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $875K (range $235K to $1.60M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 24 days.
The market in 60 seconds
Across Kirkland ZIPs 98033 and 98034, the median home sold for $1.20M over the last 30 days (122 closings; single-family alone $1.35M). The median home took 57 days from listing to closing, and there are 4.7 months of inventory on the market.
That puts Kirkland in balanced territory, leaning toward buyers: under three months favors sellers, over five favors buyers. For an owner, pricing right from day one matters more than it did in the spring. For a buyer, there's room to negotiate, and only 9% of homes closed above asking.
→ The full Kirkland market report
One useful thing
Leaves, gutters, and October 31. Kirkland has more than 15,000 storm drains, and fall leaves are the main thing that blocks them. Clear the gutters and downspouts before the rains settle in, sweep the driveway rather than hosing it into the street, and put leaves in the gray yard-waste cart. Drainage questions: Public Works, 425-587-3800 (flooding line 425-587-3900, around the clock). City of Kirkland
And one date: the second half of 2026 King County property taxes is due October 31. King County
The Kirkland Dispatch is a RexMont Real Estate publication. Adriano Tori, Designated Broker. Reply to this email and a person reads it.