Living in Moss Bay, Kirkland: 2026 Neighborhood & Real Estate Guide

Moss Bay — A Kirkland Neighborhood Guide

By Matthew Konsmo | Coldwell Banker Danforth / Updated November 2026

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Living in Moss Bay, Kirkland

Moss Bay is downtown Kirkland. It sits on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, bordered by the lake to the west, Central Way/NE 85th Street along the northern edge, and I-405 to the east, with the southern edge dipping toward Kirkland Way before circling back to the waterfront. It’s the most walkable neighborhood in the city and the only one where the lake, the central business district, the transit center, the performing arts venue, the library, and the public pool all sit within a few blocks of each other.

The name traces back to Peter Kirk and his business partners, who founded the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company of America here in 1888 after purchasing thousands of acres from the original Church homestead claim. Kirk named the bay after Mossbay in Workington, England, where he’d lived before emigrating. The steel mill never materialized — the 1893 financial panic ended that vision — but the name stuck, and the waterfront eventually became the civic heart of the city. The old ferry terminal that anchored Moss Bay through the early 20th century was decommissioned after the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge opened in 1940; the last cross-lake ferry ran in 1950. What sat as an industrial waterfront with lumberyards and shipyards through the 1960s was rebuilt as a parks-first downtown after a 1968 King County parks bond funded the cleanup of Lake Washington and the Kirkland shoreline.

Commute reality is the thing that distinguishes Moss Bay from almost every other Eastside neighborhood. Downtown Seattle via SR-520 typically runs under 30 minutes outside peak. Bellevue via I-405 South is roughly 15 minutes. The Google Kirkland campus at 747 6th Street South sits inside the neighborhood — many residents walk to work. Microsoft’s Redmond campus is about 15 minutes east on SR-520. The Kirkland Transit Center is in the middle of Moss Bay, and the Sound Transit Stride S2 BRT line (currently under construction along the I-405 corridor) is planned to serve the NE 85th Street interchange.

Moss Bay Real Estate Overview

Moss Bay is the most architecturally varied neighborhood in Kirkland. Housing stock breaks down across several eras and types:

• Pre-1920s and early Craftsman homes — a small remaining inventory north and east of the downtown core, on streets like 7th Avenue, 6th Street, and the blocks behind Peter Kirk Park. Many have been substantially renovated; some retain original wood floors, built-ins, and exterior detailing.
• Mid-century single-family — 1940s through 1970s ramblers and split-levels on the residential blocks that wrap the commercial core, especially east toward I-405.
• 1990s–2000s townhomes — built during the first major downtown densification wave, scattered through the residential blocks between the lake and the freeway.
• Mid- and high-rise condominiums — the dominant ownership product in the immediate downtown core. Buildings from the 1980s onward, with a heavy concentration of construction since the 1990s. The waterfront condo inventory ranges from compact one-bedrooms to full-floor penthouses with direct lake views.
• New-construction custom homes — infill projects on small downtown lots and the rare dead-end waterfront streets, often three stories with rooftop decks to capture lake views over neighboring buildings.
• Mixed-use apartment buildings — predominantly rental, but several recent and planned projects include for-sale condominium components.

Moss Bay Home Prices

Moss Bay pricing spans a wider range than any other Kirkland neighborhood because the product mix is so varied — a 1,000-square-foot condo and a 4,000-square-foot waterfront single-family home are both Moss Bay.

• Condominiums: broad range from the high $500Ks for compact units in older buildings to several million dollars for premium waterfront and penthouse product.
• Townhomes: generally $1M–$2M depending on size, vintage, and proximity to the lake.
• Single-family detached: typically $1.5M–$4M+, with waterfront and view properties pushing higher.

For current active listings, recent sold comps, and days-on-market data, see the Western Washington Market Pulse.

Schools in Moss Bay

Moss Bay is served by the Lake Washington School District. The typical assignment pattern is:

• Lakeview Elementary (K–5) — 10400 NE 68th Street, Kirkland. Note: Lakeview sits south of the Moss Bay border, in the Lakeview neighborhood; Moss Bay students are bused or driven.
• Kirkland Middle School (6–8) — 430 18th Avenue, Kirkland. Located in the Norkirk neighborhood just north of Moss Bay.
• Lake Washington High School (9–12) — 12033 NE 80th Street, Kirkland. Located in the South Rose Hill neighborhood, about a mile and a half east of downtown.

All three are consistently high-performing within LWSD.

Private school options within a short drive include Bellevue Christian School (Clyde Hill campus), The Bush School (Seattle), and Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (Bellevue). Northwest University, a small private Christian college, sits just east of the neighborhood at 5520 108th Avenue NE.

The Anchors: Moss Bay’s Defining Features

Marina Park. The 3.6-acre central waterfront park at the foot of Market Street, with the Allen Locke Pavilion (the lighthouse-cupola gazebo on the city’s official logo), public moorage docks available first-come-first-served, a small swimming beach, and the Centennial Fountain by sculptor James FitzGerald. It hosts the July 4th fireworks, summer concerts, and Kirkland Uncorked.

David E. Brink Park. Waterfront park on Lake Street with a dock, paved walking path, and viewing platform. The site was a WWII boat yard — the Kirkland Marine Construction Company built picket boats here for the U.S. Coast Guard under a federal contract.

Peter Kirk Park. 202 3rd Street. The neighborhood’s full-amenity recreation park: athletic fields, courts, a seasonal outdoor pool, a skatepark, and playgrounds. The Lee Johnson Field complex is here.

Kirkland Performance Center. 350 Kirkland Avenue. The city’s primary performing arts venue, on the megablock shared with the library, pool, and senior center.

Kirkland Library. 308 Kirkland Avenue. Part of the King County Library System, on the same civic block as the Performance Center.

Kirkland Urban. The mixed-use development at 6th Street and Central Way — restaurants, retail, office space (including Google), and the QFC anchor.

Google Kirkland. 747 6th Street South. One of Google’s largest engineering offices outside the Bay Area, with multiple buildings in the downtown core.

Kirkland Transit Center. The central bus hub in downtown, served by King County Metro and Sound Transit.

Outdoor Recreation in Moss Bay

• Marina Park — swimming, boat moorage, summer events
• David E. Brink Park — waterfront walking, fishing dock
• Peter Kirk Park — pool, skatepark, athletic fields, playgrounds
• Heritage Park — historic site north of Central Way at the original Lake Washington High School location
• Cross Kirkland Corridor — the 5.75-mile rail-trail running along the eastern edge of the neighborhood, connecting south to South Kirkland Park-and-Ride and north toward Totem Lake
• Lake Washington Boulevard bike lanes — connect Moss Bay south to Carillon Point and north toward Juanita Beach Park

Surrounding Neighborhoods

• Norkirk — directly north across Central Way
• Houghton — directly south along Lake Washington Boulevard
• Lakeview — south of Moss Bay, between downtown and Houghton
• Highlands — east across I-405
• Everest — southeast across I-405

For the full Kirkland collection, see the Kirkland city guide.

My Moss Bay Pro Tips: Local Insights for Living, Buying & Selling

1. The condo HOA matters more than the unit. The most consequential decision in a Moss Bay condo purchase is rarely the floor plan — it’s the building. Review the HOA reserve study, the most recent two years of financial statements, the special assessment history, and any pending or recently completed building envelope work. Older waterfront and near-waterfront buildings have faced significant envelope, deck, and window-system repair cycles. A unit that prices below comparable buildings is almost always priced that way for a reason — usually a known assessment, deferred maintenance, or a reserve fund that hasn’t kept pace with the building’s age.

Pro move: I read the resale certificate cover to cover before writing an offer. Surprises in those documents are almost always paid for by the new owner.

2. View tiers are real, and they’re priced precisely. A direct lake view, a partial lake view, a “peek” view, and a no-view unit in the same building can range across hundreds of thousands of dollars. The floor matters. The orientation matters. The line of sight over neighboring buildings matters — and so does what’s currently planned for adjacent parcels. Several recent and pending downtown projects have changed view lines for existing buildings.

Pro move: Stand in the unit at the time of day you’d actually be home. A southwest-facing unit on the 4th floor in late afternoon tells you something the listing photos can’t.

3. Walkability is the asset — verify it lines up with your actual life. Moss Bay is the only Kirkland neighborhood where most daily errands genuinely don’t require a car. Walk Score rates the area around 81. That’s the highest in the city. But “walkable to downtown” means different things depending on where in Moss Bay you are. The blocks east of 6th Street are a comfortable walk to Marina Park; the blocks east of 9th can be a 15-minute walk in each direction with elevation.

Pro move: Before you tour, drop a pin at the property and walk to the waterfront, to QFC, and to your most-likely coffee spot at the time of day you’d actually do it. The neighborhood sells itself for the right buyer — but the wrong block can disappoint.

4. Pre-1980 buildings have older-era inspection items. For the small inventory of pre-1980 single-family and small-multi-family properties in Moss Bay, the construction-era inspection items I look at carefully include galvanized water supply lines (corrosion, full repipe typically $8K–$15K), cast iron drain lines (joint failures), older electrical panels — including Federal Pacific (FPE) and Zinsco panels, which are insurance flags and typically $2K–$4K to replace — single-pane windows, and asbestos in popcorn ceilings, original floor tile, and pipe wrap.

For pre-1940 craftsman homes, add knob-and-tube wiring, cloth-wrapped wiring degradation, lead paint disclosure, lead and galvanized water lines, original poured concrete foundations, and original single-pane wood windows.

Pro move: My residential construction background is genuinely useful for evaluating these properties. I’m happy to walk through inspection findings together and tell you which items are routine and which are the ones I’d actually negotiate.

5. Get the building envelope history for any condo built before 2010. Washington’s condominium construction defect history is real. Many Pacific Northwest condo buildings completed in the 1990s and early 2000s went through envelope repair cycles — siding replacement, deck and balcony rebuilds, window reseals — that resulted in significant special assessments. Some buildings have completed this work; others haven’t. Some have settled construction defect litigation; others have ongoing matters.

Pro move: Ask for the building’s envelope history specifically, not just the reserve study. “Has this building had any envelope, siding, or deck repair work in the last 15 years, and is any pending?” is the right question.

6. Parking is part of the price. Most Moss Bay condos include a deeded or assigned parking stall, but inventory varies — some units include two, some include one, and some have no dedicated parking at all. Guest parking in downtown is genuinely difficult. If you have two vehicles or you host frequently, parking is a real variable to underwrite, not an afterthought.

Pro move: Confirm in writing whether parking is deeded, limited common element, or rented. Deeded stalls transfer with the title; assigned-but-not-deeded stalls can be reassigned by the HOA.

7. Short-term rental rules are tightening. Downtown Kirkland has high short-term rental demand, but Kirkland’s regulations have evolved. If your purchase math depends on STR income, verify current city rules and the building’s HOA rules independently. Many downtown condo buildings prohibit short-term rentals outright in their CC&Rs, even where the city would allow them.

Pro move: Investor underwriting for Moss Bay condos should assume long-term rental rates unless STR is independently verified at both the city and HOA level.

8. The Stride BRT and downtown densification will reshape the neighborhood. Sound Transit’s Stride S2 BRT line along I-405 includes a planned NE 85th Street station that will alter access to the Moss Bay/Rose Hill corridor. Multiple mixed-use projects are in permitting or construction. These are net positives for the neighborhood’s long-term positioning — but the construction window will mean noise, dust, and street disruption in the interim.

Pro move: If you’re buying a unit that fronts NE 85th, Central Way, or 6th Street, factor in 2–4 years of construction-adjacent living. If you’re selling in that window, lean into the long-term transit access story.

9. Lake access is not the same as a lake view. Moss Bay has multiple public access points to the water — Marina Park, David E. Brink Park, and several smaller street ends. Many residents who don’t own a waterfront unit still use the lake daily. A non-view condo three blocks from Marina Park can deliver more lake access in practice than a private-dock home in a quieter neighborhood, depending on how you actually use the water.

Pro move: If your priority is using the lake, the public moorage at Marina Park, a slip lease, or a kayak storage rack at a nearby marina can be more practical than buying a waterfront unit at a premium.

10. Resale liquidity is the long-term advantage. Moss Bay condos and downtown homes have historically sold faster than most other Kirkland neighborhoods. Recent data has shown median days on market in the low 30s — quicker than the national median. The combination of walkability, lake access, Google proximity, and limited inventory creates a deep buyer pool. That liquidity is worth something in any market, and it’s worth more when you eventually sell.

Pro move: Even if you plan to stay long-term, buying with future resale in mind in Moss Bay is straightforward — proximity to the lake and the downtown core is the through-line. The closer to those two anchors, the more resilient the value.

Is Moss Bay Right for You?

Strong fit if you:

• Want to live without daily car dependence
• Work at Google Kirkland, in downtown Kirkland, or somewhere accessible via SR-520 or I-405
• Prefer condo or townhome living
• Value walkable restaurants, the waterfront, and downtown culture as part of daily routine
• Want lake access without the maintenance of a waterfront single-family home

Less ideal if you:

• Need significant outdoor space, a large lot, or a workshop/garage setup
• Want a school assignment to a neighborhood-walking-distance elementary
• Prefer single-family quiet over downtown density
• Are looking for an entry-level price point — the floor in Moss Bay is higher than in most other Kirkland neighborhoods
• Don’t want to underwrite HOA financial health as part of every purchase decision

Thinking About Buying or Selling in Moss Bay?

I’m a third-generation Western Washington real estate broker with over a decade of residential construction experience and a Fortune 500 advertising background. For Moss Bay specifically, the combination of construction-era inspection knowledge for older buildings and condo HOA due diligence experience is what I’d want on my side of the table.

Direct: (425) 463-8243 Email: MatthewKonsmo@gmail.com Or use the contact page.

For neighborhood market data, see the Western Washington Market Pulse.

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