Puget Sound Properties & Lifestyle

Taxes are a very real expense to consider when moving to Washington state. The lack of a state income tax is an enormous benefit, but the state certainly makes up for that revenue by taxes residents in other ways. As you consider moving to Tacoma or relocating to Seattle or another town, it's important to take taxes into account. Below are the 2025 rates you should note.  🌲 Thinking about buying or selling in Pierce, King, Thurston, or Kitsap County ? Here’s a quick snapshot of 2025 property & sales tax rates across the Puget Sound: 📍 Pierce County Sales Tax: 8.1% Property Tax: ~ 1.0% (Tacoma closer to 1.05%) 📍 King County Sales Tax: 8.8% Property Tax: ~ 0.85% 📍 Thurston County Sales Tax: 8.3% (up to 9.8% in Olympia & Tumwater) Property Tax: ~ 0.94% 📍 Kitsap County Sales Tax: 9.2% Property Tax: ~ 0.86% 💡 Note: Sales tax can be higher inside certain cities depending on local add-ons. Property tax rates shown are effective averages (wh...

So, you’ve been thinking about moving to Tacoma or the South Puget Sound, but you don’t know much about the area other than it’s really green, it looks like it rains a lot, and Seattle seems to get all the attention. While most of that is true, like any place, there’s always room for deeper conversation. I relocated from Las Vegas years ago, after living along the Washington coast during my teens, right before Nirvana became the center of the music scene. What I didn’t know then was that microclimates exist, and not everywhere is as drab as the coast. I wasn’t sure what to expect moving to Tacoma, but I knew it wasn’t going to be 294 days of sunshine like Las Vegas. Having built a successful real estate business for years before moving, I knew I was transitioning into a completely different market. I define it as moving from a transactional market into a generational market—where people move less often and stay in Tacoma much longer. My home in the West End was built in 1951, and I ...