Whidbey’s real estate market is typically insulated from buying and selling trends affecting the mainland, and 2025 was no different.

While luxury homes on the South End struggled to sell, Oak Harbor and Coupeville remained opportune places for real estate throughout the year, Christina Zimmerman, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty, explained. Now is a good time to buy while Zimmerman is seeing “seller concessions” as “pent-up buyers” could return to the market if rates change in early 2026.

“I don’t think we’ll see the market really go crazy this coming year, but I do think it will stay steady and probably be a little bit more positive than this (past) year,” she said.

According to the most recent available data published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the number of active listings in November in Island County — 321 — was the highest for that month in the last five years. The number of new listings that month — 77 — was the lowest of the last five years, however.

Median prices largely remained above $600,000 throughout the year, peaking at $660,000 in August.

“Home sales stayed right around 100% of the asking price. Around the fall, especially at the start of the fall, like September into the end of October, we started selling more like 98% of the asking price,” Zimmerman explained. “We saw things really pick up in November, and they’re holding pretty steady right now.”

She added that homes under $450,000 often received multiple offers.

Despite the prices, Zimmerman said agents from the mainland came to North Whidbey because their markets were struggling. Homes on the North End spent about 35 days or fewer on the market, whereas on the mainland, they spent anywhere from 60 to 90 days up for sale.

A consistent Navy presence and limited available housing generally keeps the real estate market on Whidbey steady.

“I think that’s historically the case for our area,” Zimmerman said.

The luxury market is particularly sensitive to economic changes, which may explain why some luxury homes took as long as 50 days to sell, even with the right marketing. Many homes listed for over $1 million expired, however.

Luxury homes need extra exposure to sell, especially when they expire. Expired homes are listed as such online, which can drive away buyers. They often need completely different strategies and pricing to sell when they return to the market.

“A lot of times buyers see that and they think there might be something wrong with the house,” Zimmerman, who specializes in selling expired homes, said. “That’s why it’s important to market it right the first time.”

But because most of the luxury homes on the island are located on the South End, any difficulty experienced by the luxury home market is not necessarily reflective of an economic shift on the entire island.