The Silicon Valley Local Lowdown

Quick Take:

• Single-family median sale prices showed a mixed picture in January, with San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties posting year-over-year gains while Santa Clara County saw a nearly 4% decline.
• Inventory levels remain constrained heading into 2026, with single-family home inventory down 12% year-over-year despite a strong month-over-month rebound in new listings.
• Condos are taking dramatically longer to sell across the region, with days on market increasing by more than 50% in most counties.

Note: You can find the charts/graphs for the Local Lowdown at the end of this section.

A tale of two markets as we kick off 2026

The single-family home market in Silicon Valley started the new year with divergent trends across the region. San Mateo County posted a solid 4.46% year-over-year increase in median sale price, with the median home selling for $1,875,000. Santa Cruz County also saw gains, with the median home selling for $1,237,500, representing a 3.21% year-over-year increase. However, Santa Clara County bucked the trend, with the median home selling for $1,730,051, a 3.89% year-over-year decline. The condo market told a different story entirely, with declines across the board. San Mateo County condos fell 8.24% year-over-year to $780,000, Santa Clara County condos declined 2.52% to $755,000, and Santa Cruz County condos dropped 7.85% to $692,500.

Inventory remains tight despite a surge in new listings

After the typical holiday slowdown, new listings came roaring back in January, with single-family home new listings increasing by 136.57% month-over-month. However, despite this influx of fresh inventory, overall inventory levels remain well below where they were last year. There are currently 1,100 single-family homes for sale across Silicon Valley, representing a 12% year-over-year decline. The condo market tells a similar story, with 537 condos for sale, down 11.68% year-over-year. This persistent inventory shortage continues to create challenges for buyers looking to find the right property in this competitive market.

Condos are sitting on the market for much longer than last year

While single-family homes are still moving relatively quickly, the condo market has seen a dramatic slowdown in the pace of sales. In Santa Clara County, the average condo is now spending 55 days on the market, a staggering 57.14% increase compared to last year. Santa Cruz County condos are taking even longer, spending an average of 67 days on the market, more than double what we saw in January 2025. San Mateo County condos are also sitting longer, with a 36.59% year-over-year increase bringing the average to 56 days. On the single-family side, the increases were more modest: San Mateo County homes are selling in 17 days (up 6.25%), Santa Clara County homes in 14 days (up 16.67%), and Santa Cruz County homes in 45 days (up 40.63%).

Silicon Valley remains firmly in seller's market territory

When determining whether a market is a buyers' market or a sellers' market, we look to the Months of Supply Inventory (MSI) metric. The state of California has historically averaged around three months of MSI, so any area with at or around three months of MSI is considered a balanced market. Any market that has lower than three months of MSI is considered a seller's market, whereas markets with more than three months of MSI are considered buyers' markets.

Despite the challenges buyers are facing, the single-family home market remains a strong seller's market across Silicon Valley. San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties both have just 0.9 months of supply on the market, while Santa Cruz County has 2 months of supply, down 28.57% from last year. The condo market offers a bit more balance for buyers, with San Mateo County at 2.1 months of supply, Santa Clara County at 2.4 months, and Santa Cruz County at 3.3 months. With inventory levels continuing to lag behind demand, especially in the single-family home market, buyers should expect competition to remain fierce as we head into the spring selling season!

Local Lowdown Data