Tam O’Shanter Homes, Bellevue & Redmond: Homes, Prices, and What It’s Like to Live Here
By Jacob Bowles, Broker, Windermere Real Estate/East · License 112200 · Updated September 2026
Tam O’Shanter homes sit on the Bellevue–Redmond line in ZIP codes 98008 and 98052, next to Tam o’Shanter Golf & Country Club and a short drive from Lake Sammamish. Same neighborhood, two cities — about 500 houses. As of 2026, sales have clustered around $1.5 million to $2.3 million, with a median near $2.0 million. The community is split between Bellevue and Redmond but it is all in the Bellevue School district. Bennett Elementary, Highland Middle School, and Interlake High School serve the neighborhood on both the Bellevue and Redmond sides.
Looking for Tam O’Shanter homes Bellevue buyers can actually tour this month? Inventory is usually thin.
I live in Tam O’Shanter and sell here and on the adjacent Lake Sammamish waterfront.
What is Tam O’Shanter?
Tam O’Shanter is a private residential community between Bellevue and Redmond, centered on the club: golf, pool, tennis and pickleball, park, and clubhouse. It is not a downtown high-rise neighborhood and it is not Lake Washington waterfront. It is a quiet Eastside street grid with extra-wide streets, sidewalks, and course or territorial, or lake views depending on the street you are on.
The club and most of the classic streets are thought of as East Bellevue, but the neighborhood is not 100% Bellevue. A slice of the community is inside Redmond. Portals often file the whole subdivision under “Tam O’Shanter, Bellevue,” which isn’t accurate. Pull the parcel. City and ZIP have to match the address, not the marketing name.
Owners are part of Tam o’Shanter, Inc., with CC&Rs and club membership tied to the lots. Confirm current dues, assessments, and membership rules with the club and your title/escrow team before you write an offer.
Location facts buyers actually use
- Bellevue 98008 and Redmond 98052
- Club area: 1313 183rd Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98008
- Minutes to SR-520 and I-90; Microsoft/Redmond and downtown Bellevue are a normal Eastside commute
- Lake Sammamish is next door — waterfront is a different product and a different price band
What do homes in Tam O’Shanter cost in 2026?
As of mid-to-late 2026, Tam O’Shanter is a low-inventory, about $2 million neighborhood. Recent medians have sat near $1.975 million on a small sample. Inventory on any given week is often a handful of actives, not dozens.
Original or light update
About $1.3M–$1.6M. Older single-family, smaller footprint, work left to do.
Solid remodel / right-sized update
About $1.6M–$2.3M. Most of the market.
Large custom / new construction
$3M+. Few of these; they set the ceiling.
A three-sale month can swing the “median” more than it should. Look at the mix (original vs. rebuilt), not one headline. Course-view and quiet cul-de-sac lots do not trade like a house on a cut-through.
What types of houses are here?
Most of the neighborhood was built in phases from the mid-1960s through the 1980s: ramblers, split-levels, tri-levels, and two-stories on established lots. Buyers today split into three camps: keep and improve the original house, buy a remodel and move in, or buy for the lot and the club and rebuild.
New construction here is usually 4–5 bedrooms and 4,000+ square feet, more traditional than downtown-modern. Lot utility matters as much as interior photos: grade, drainage, privacy from the course, and whether a future second story might get you a view.
What is it like to live here?
Just a relaxed club neighborhood people actually live in. You can walk, take your golf cart, or drive to golf, the pool, tennis and pickleball, the park, and kids’ sports. Streets are quieter than Crossroads or downtown Bellevue. You can run most errands within a six to eight minute drive.
Schools. Tam O’Shanter is split between Bellevue and Redmond, but the school assignment is not. Homes on both sides of the city line in this neighborhood feed the Bellevue School District: Bennett Elementary, Highland Middle School, and Interlake High School. Bennett sits in the neighborhood and includes BSD’s elementary Japanese dual-language program. That is one reason families will buy a Redmond-address Tam house and still plan around Bellevue schools. Confirm the parcel on the BSD locator before you waive.
Commute. Downtown Bellevue, Overlake, and the Microsoft campus are the default job centers. SR-520 and I-90 are the two highways that matter.
The un-glamorous stuff. Drainage, retaining walls, and view corridors come up on more listings than people expect. If you are buying original construction, budget for systems and grading, not just paint. If you are selling, pretreat those issues or price them.
Compared with West Lake Sammamish
These are adjacent markets. They are not the same house.
Tam O’Shanter
Golf-course community, about 500 homes. 2026 prices roughly $1.3M–$3M+, median near $2M. Club, pool, tennis, neighborhood streets. Bennett, Highland, and Interlake on both the Bellevue and Redmond sides. Thin inventory.
West Lake Sammamish / shoreline
Waterfront and near-water. Often $2M–$6M+ for true water. Dock, bulkhead, flood and permit issues. Confirm schools by address. Also thin inventory; each dock prices on its own.
If you want the lake, buy the lake. If you want the club and a normal Eastside lot, buy Tam. Some households do both over time. I work both sides of that line.
Pricing Tam O’Shanter homes Bellevue off a custom rebuild will miss the original-home segment.
Buying or Selling?
Buyers. Decide first: original, remodeled, or lot. Then walk the street at two times of day. Course adjacency is not automatically better — it depends on the hole, the noise, and the view you actually get from the living room. Underwrite dues and any special assessment. Do not skip sewer, drainage, and roof on a 1970s house because the listing photos are pretty.
Sellers. The comp that kills pricing here is using a new-construction sale to price an original rambler. Buyers in this neighborhood know the difference. Prep, price to the segment you are in, and use the club/community story without pretending you are selling Medina waterfront.
I list and sell in this neighborhood as a resident, not as someone who drove in from another office for the weekend.
Who is the local real estate agent?
Jacob Bowles is a broker with Windermere Real Estate/East (Yarrow Bay), license 112200. Economics degree, University of Washington; prior mortgage-broker background. I live in Tam O’Shanter and work the Eastside — Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, and Lake Sammamish waterfront — with Lake Chelan as a second-market practice.
I live here and represent Tam O’Shanter homes Bellevue and the Redmond-address houses in the same neighborhood.
If you got a note card or a farm piece from me, this is the page it was supposed to hit.
Jacob Bowles · Windermere Real Estate/East
3933 Lake Washington Blvd NE, Suite 100, Kirkland, WA 98033
206-915-1577 · jacob@jacobbowles.com
https://www.jacobbowles.com/contact-me
FAQ
Is Tam O in Bellevue or Redmond?
Both. The neighborhood straddles the Bellevue–Redmond city limit. Many homes are Bellevue 98008; some are Redmond 98052.
If part of Tam O’Shanter is in Redmond, are the schools different?
No. In this neighborhood the Redmond addresses still feed Bennett Elementary, Highland Middle School, and Interlake High School in the Bellevue School District.
Why does the city line still matter?
Taxes, permits, police/fire, and utilities. Not the K–12 assignment.
Is Tam O’Shanter a gated community?
No. It is a private residential club community with CC&Rs and membership tied to the lots.
Do I have to join the golf club if I buy a house?
Lot ownership is tied to Tam o’Shanter membership and community rules. Get the current membership, dues, and use rules in writing before you waive contingencies.
How many homes are in Tam O’Shanter?
About 500.
What is the average home price in Tam O’Shanter in 2026?
Recent sales have centered near $2.0 million, with a wide spread from original homes in the mid-$1 millions to custom work above $3 million.
How close is Lake Sammamish?
Next door. Waterfront homes are a separate search and usually a higher price.
Are there many homes for sale at once?
Usually no. This is a low-turnover neighborhood.
Who should I call to sell my Tam O’Shanter home?
206-915-1577.
