What you probably already know: Residential real estate is inherently local. Just ask Tere Foster. The longtime Seattle-area real estate veteran is known as one of the top real estate brokers in the nation, clocking a whopping $380 million in annual sales for 2025. Foster, co-founder of Team Foster with her daughter, Moya Skillman, has focused on luxury and waterfront properties during her four-decade career. While macro events such as the Iran War or economic shifts impact the psychology of the market, Foster says, local economic factors almost always drive specific regional conditions.
Why it matters: “Real estate is fluid. The market is fluid. It’s forever changing,” Foster says. “Not quite as fast as the stock market, but it’s pretty rapid.” The market in the Greater Puget Sound region has been showing signs of a significant correction. With inventory climbing sharply and higher interest rates, pending home sales in the Seattle area have plunged more than 15% the past year, the highest in the nation. Affordability remains a major challenge, yet Foster notes that homes priced below roughly $1.5 million in many Seattle neighborhoods are still attracting interest.
What it means: For Foster, real estate has never really been about houses. It’s about people. During her career, she’s seen the industry transform from paper books, landline phones and agents following sign crews around town to one powered by smartphones and digital home tours. One thing, though, remains constant, and that’s helping people navigate some of the biggest decisions of their lives. That requires a personal touch. “A good, strong job market is probably one of the best indicators,” she says. “But real estate is bottom up, not top down. The lower end needs to be healthy and active. First-time homebuyers need to be able to get into the market.”
What happens next: Foster is now keenly focused on Central Peak Residences, a new 26-unit boutique luxury condo development in Kirkland positioned as a high-end alternative to the larger luxury condo towers in Bellevue. It’s the first condo development in downtown Kirkland in more than two decades. She says technological advancements give today’s real-estate agents unprecedented opportunity but adds that showing houses is just a small part of the job. It’s estimated that women account for 60% of real-estate agents in the U.S. “You have to constantly be educating yourself,” she says. “The rules change. The market changes. Product changes. If you’re not a person who can deal with change, you should not get into real estate.”
