Sammamish: two tech incomes and a seven-figure stock position
The plateau is the Eastside's accumulation zone: senior managers, directors, VPs, and dual-income Microsoft and Amazon households whose RSU balances crossed seven figures during the last two market runs.
The default approach got more expensive
The standard plateau strategy — vest, hold, let it appreciate — cost nothing extra when Washington taxed none of it. Now the eventual diversification is taxed at up to 9.9%. Households here are not at Medina scale, but they are precisely the group for whom annual planning matters most: keeping realized gains within efficient bands, selling at vest going forward, and starting the real estate side early, while strong W2 income supports strong financing.
The first property
For households earning $600K to $1M, the first move is usually not a large stock sale. It is a conservatively financed short-term rental with cost segregation offsetting W2 tax — the original core of my practice. Sammamish has many good candidates for it: high income, strong credit, and borrowing capacity that sits unused.
Plateau micro-markets
Trossachs, Klahanie, Sahalee, and the Pine Lake blocks each carry different buyer profiles. The Lake Washington vs. Issaquah school district boundary creates a measurable premium. Commute math to the Redmond and Bellevue campuses shapes demand street by street. Buyers here shop schools first, and sellers should market accordingly.
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.
Common questions
We hold everything in company stock. Where do we start?
With the sequence, not a sale. The review maps your vesting schedule and gains against the thresholds, then identifies whether the first move is a stock tranche, a property purchase, or simply a plan for next year.
Does Washington's capital gains tax apply to selling my home here?
No. Sales of real estate are exempt from the Washington capital gains excise tax at any price. Federal rules, including the primary-residence exclusion, still apply. Confirm the details with your CPA.
Talk through your situation confidentially.
Estate, sale, or purchase — thirty minutes with your numbers.
Book a Tax-Impact Property Review