Chac RealtyWill Chac · Gentry Real EstateCall

Market updates · Market snapshot · Santa Clara and San Mateo counties

Silicon Valley market update: October 2026

Published · By Will Chac

This update puts September’s county numbers and the newest weekly data in one place. The short version: Santa Clara County prices were a little lower than a year ago and more homes were for sale, but homes still sold quickly. San Mateo County went the other way, with single-family prices higher than a year ago.

Santa Clara County in September

Single-family homes September 2026 Compared with
Median sale price (C.A.R.) $1,920,000 -4.0% vs. Sept. 2025 ($2,000,000); +1.1% vs. Aug. ($1,900,000)
Median sale price (MLSListings) $1,880,000 -3.6% vs. a year earlier
Homes sold (MLSListings) 731
Change in sales (C.A.R.) +15.3% vs. Aug.; +1.5% vs. Sept. 2025
Median days on market 11 (C.A.R.) / 12 (MLSListings) C.A.R.: 10 days in Sept. 2025
Sale-to-list price ratio (MLSListings) 103%
Supply of homes 2.1 months (C.A.R.) / 1.8 months (MLSListings) C.A.R.: 1.8 months in Sept. 2025
Active listings (MLSListings) 1,096

C.A.R. reports that active listings in Santa Clara County were up 26.4% from a year earlier, the third-largest increase of any California county it tracks.

Condos and townhomes moved more slowly. MLSListings shows a median sale price of $850,000 on 263 sales, a median of 22 days on market, a 100% sale-to-list ratio and 3.2 months of supply, with 819 condos and townhomes for sale.

San Mateo County in September

Single-family homes September 2026 Compared with
Median sale price (C.A.R.) $2,327,500 +8.3% vs. Sept. 2025 ($2,150,000); +3.4% vs. Aug. ($2,250,000)
Median sale price (MLSListings) $2,172,500 +8.7% vs. a year earlier
Homes sold (MLSListings) 322
Change in sales (C.A.R.) -0.4% vs. Aug.; -8.6% vs. Sept. 2025
Median days on market 11 (C.A.R. and MLSListings) C.A.R.: 12 days in Sept. 2025
Sale-to-list price ratio (MLSListings) 106%
Supply of homes 2.0 months (C.A.R.) / 1.4 months (MLSListings) C.A.R.: 2.1 months in Sept. 2025
Active listings (MLSListings) 418

Condos and townhomes here also moved more slowly: a median sale price of $877,600 on 97 sales, a median of 22 days on market, a 100% sale-to-list ratio and 2.7 months of supply, with 244 condos and townhomes for sale (MLSListings).

Why two different medians in each county? C.A.R. compiles its county numbers from a survey of local REALTOR® associations, while MLSListings reports directly from its own sales data. They count slightly different sets of sales, so the exact figures differ, but in both counties they point the same direction.

For context, C.A.R.’s statewide median for single-family homes in September was $899,720, and the Bay Area region’s was $1,325,000.

The latest weekly numbers: San Jose area

Redfin’s weekly report for the four weeks ending October 18 covers the San Jose metro area (Santa Clara and San Benito counties):

  • Prices: the median sale price was 4.7% lower than a year earlier, the second-largest year-over-year drop among the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas Redfin tracks, after Seattle.
  • New listings: up 17.7% from a year earlier, the second-largest increase of those 50 metros, after Nashville.
  • Pending sales: Redfin reports that pending sales declined in all 50 of those metros, for the second week in a row.

Nationally, Redfin put the weekly average mortgage rate at 7.4%.

Santa Clara County’s assessment roll

San José Spotlight reports that the Santa Clara County Assessor’s roll for fiscal year 2026-27 reached a record $760.1 billion, up $34.4 billion (4.7%) from the year before. Changes in ownership added nearly $16.9 billion of that growth, and residential properties accounted for 82% of the change in value.

At the same time, the county placed 24,727 properties in Proposition 8 “decline in value” status, nearly triple the year before, with the reductions driven mainly by condominiums and townhomes. Proposition 8 lets the assessor temporarily lower a property’s assessed value when its market value falls below it.

Affordability

The Legislative Analyst’s Office’s latest affordability tracker notes that in Santa Clara County, monthly payments on a home are now about 3.1 times the monthly rent for a two-bedroom home.

What stands out

  • Two counties, two directions. Santa Clara County’s September median was about 4% below last year’s, and Redfin’s weekly San Jose-area numbers show the same dip. San Mateo County’s single-family median was about 8% above last year’s, with homes selling at 106% of list price.
  • More homes coming to market in the South Bay. Santa Clara County active listings were up 26.4% year over year in September, and Redfin shows new San Jose-area listings up 17.7% in the four weeks ending October 18.
  • Homes still sell quickly. Single-family homes in both counties sold in a median of 11 to 12 days.
  • Condos and townhomes are their own market. In both counties they sold at about their list prices with more supply than single-family homes, and they drove most of Santa Clara County’s Proposition 8 reductions.

Averages across a whole county or metro area hide a lot. Prices and pace vary widely by city, neighborhood and price range, so the numbers for any one home can look quite different.

Sources

Figures are from the sources above as of the dates shown, and can change. This is general market information, not an appraisal or a prediction.

Want to know what this means for your home or search? Get in touch or request a free home value estimate.