In Medina, the estate tax conversation starts with the house

The 98039 numbers

Median values here sit well above $5M, waterfront trades between $15M and $40M or more, and a large share of homes are already held in trusts and LLCs. The 2025 changes set the estate tax exclusion at $3M and the top rate at 35%. A Medina house on its own now exceeds the exclusion before counting any securities. For families whose plans were drafted under the previous $2.19M exclusion and 20% top rate, the difference is measured in millions, and the plan documents may no longer fit the law.

Selling in Medina

A large share of significant Medina transactions never appear on public search. Sellers here are managing privacy, timing sales around liquidity events, and often selling from a trust or an estate, each of which changes how the sale should be run. Because real estate is exempt from the capital gains excise tax, a Medina sale is often the most tax-efficient liquidity available to the household, more efficient than selling securities of the same value. That argues for deciding the property sale's place in the sequence deliberately rather than defaulting to selling it last.

Buying in

New wealth arrives in Medina after exits and public offerings. Inventory is thin, the strongest properties change hands quietly, and the right entry is usually negotiated before a listing exists. Off-market sourcing is the core of my buyer work here.

This is not tax or legal advice. Aditya Kasturi is a licensed real estate broker, not a CPA, attorney, or financial advisor. Figures are illustrative, based on Washington and federal law as understood at the time of writing, and laws change. Confirm any strategy on this page with your CPA and, where relevant, your estate planning attorney before acting.