Silicon Valley Housing Market Deep Dives | November 2026

Silicon Valley Real Estate: September 2026 Market Update

The short version: Single-family homes in San Mateo and Santa Clara are still selling fast with little inventory, while condo prices have softened across the board. Condo buyers have more leverage than they’ve had in years.

💰 Single-Family Prices: A Split Market

• San Mateo County keeps climbing. The median hit $2,129,000, up 6.5% from last year and 3.2% from August. Prices have held in the $2.1M range since March.
• Santa Clara County is flat. The median of $1,900,000 is down 2.6% year-over-year, though it recovered a bit from August’s $1,850,000.
• Santa Cruz County is up slightly. The median of $1,250,000 is up 1.2% from last year, but down from the $1.35M+ levels of the previous three months.

🏢 Condos Are the Soft Spot

• All three counties saw condo prices fall year-over-year. Attached homes are absorbing the price pressure that detached homes have mostly avoided.
• San Mateo condos: $740,000. Down 3.8% from last year and nearly 10% from August’s $820,000.
• Santa Clara condos: $627,500. Down 17% year-over-year and the lowest reading in three years.
• Santa Cruz condos: $585,000. Down 21% from last year, though the county’s small number of condo sales means prices can swing a lot month to month.

🏠 Inventory Is Tight, But Opening Up a Little

• Single-family listings are down nearly 10%. There were 2,007 homes for sale, compared with 2,223 last September.
• But inventory rose for the first time since spring. Listings climbed from 1,928 in August as fall sellers returned, with 1,579 new listings hitting the market.
• Buyers got a bit pickier. Closed single-family sales fell 7.1% year-over-year to 1,121.
• Condo supply is growing while sales slow. New condo listings jumped 13% to 388 (the strongest month since May), while condo sales dropped 10.4% to 224. That combination explains the falling condo prices.

⚡ How Fast Homes Are Selling

• San Mateo and Santa Clara single-family homes: 12 days. Detached homes in both counties continue to sell in under two weeks.
• Santa Cruz single-family homes: 29 days. Flat from last year but slower than August’s 17 days, a seasonal pattern seen last fall too.
• San Mateo condos sped up. They sold in 25 days, down from 40 days last year and the fastest pace since spring.
• Santa Clara condos slowed down. They averaged 38 days, up from 28 a year ago and the slowest since January.
• Santa Cruz condos are the most patient market. They averaged 39 days, a slight improvement from last year.

📊 Is It a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market?

• How it’s measured: Months of Supply Inventory (MSI) shows how long current inventory would last at today’s sales pace. Around 3 months is balanced, below 3 favors sellers, and above 3 favors buyers.
• San Mateo single-family: 1.3 months. Down from 1.9 months last year, leaving buyers very little room to negotiate.
• Santa Clara single-family: 1.7 months. Unchanged from last year and steady for three straight months.
• Santa Cruz single-family: 3.7 months. Technically buyer’s territory, but tightening from 4.4 months a year ago.
• Condos lean balanced to buyer-friendly. San Mateo sits right at the 3.0 balance point, while Santa Clara (3.8 months) and Santa Cruz (4.0 months, down from 5.8) favor buyers.

🎯 The Bottom Line

• Detached homes are a seller’s game. Buyers in San Mateo and Santa Clara should be ready to compete and move fast.
• Condo buyers have the advantage. More supply, slower sales, and falling prices give condo shoppers more leverage than they’ve had in years.