The Santa Clara County real estate market for single family homes was mixed in August, with some data points strengthening and others weakening.
For condo buyers, it wasn’t mixed at all: August was again a good month for buying and a challenging month for selling.
The Santa Clara County real estate market brief points for single family homes
Here’s a quick summary based on the numbers that I pulled from the MLS directly today. These are a little different from the RE Report numbers.
Inventory of houses for sale rose both monthly and annually.
The number of home sales fell month over month and year over year, as they did in June and July, an indicator that it’s not an easy market to sell in many parts of Silicon Valley. With inventory rising and sales falling, the market is moving closer to the buyer’s favor (but it’s not a buyer’s market – not by a long stretch).
The average sale price dropped month over month, but was up year over year. (A repeat of last month.)
The median sale price declined both monthly and annually. This number is more indicative of falling home values, but we’d need additional data to confirm that. If this continues for a few months, that would confirm it. Right now it’s just a red flag to pay attention.
The sale to list price ratio rose compared to both the month before and the year before. The homes that are selling are doing well on average.
The average price per square foot rose a hair compared to July 2026, but was up more substantially from August 2025.
A quick word about our two active listings, which are both incredibly good opportunities!
Spacious home on HUGE pie-shaped lot! Great value at $1,999,000
Opportunity knocks! Situated in the Cambrian area of San Jose, this house has room for everyone with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2031 SF of living space, 10,430 SF lot with enormous backyard and room to add on or build an ADU. The house features a remodeled kitchen, remodeled bathrooms, dual pane windows, vaulted ceiling in the living room, and loads of natural light throughout the home. The yard includes a large, attractive pool, a separate hot tub, space for an RV, and a good sized lawn. So many possibilities! This is a convenient area close to schools, shopping, dining, and commute routes.Cul-de-sac lot! Please check out the photos, floor plan, and all info at the virtual tour: 1296DentwoodDr.com.
Super bright home, low maintenance! Great price in 95124 at $1,475,000
Bright, younger Cambrian single family home (1996) with 3 beds, 2.5 baths, 1644 SF of living space, 2,346 SF lot, 2 car garage, vaulted ceilings, large dual pane windows, fabulous schools (Lietz, Dartmouth, Branham) in the small Soterion community. HOA dues are just $65 per month, and the HOA manages the front yards! Ultra convenient location close to shopping, dining, schools, commute routes, and even a nearby corporate shuttle stop is just a couple of blocks away! A pedestrian gate to Massidda Court is great for strolling to neighborhood amenities such as the J & P Cosentino farmstead, a neighborhood treasure. This home provides a generously sized back patio. For those preferring a low maintenance home, this is a great fit! Check out all of the details at 4996Agape.com.
Santa Clara County real estate statistics for August 2026 from the RE Report
Here’s the Trends at a Glance table for the Santa Clara County real estate market by home type from our RE Report subscription.
Please keep in mind that these numbers ONLY reflect listings that were entered into the MLS Listings system, and they do not include Bay East, CRMLS, SFAR, or other MLS companies around the state. If it’s not listed in an MLS with a data sharing program, it will not be represented here. The data is off, so some of the stats don’t align with those that I pull from the MLS, but the trends are on target, generally.
Santa Clara County real estate market statistics for SFH
Below please find multi year real estate data charts for Santa Clara County real estate market (single family homes) were pulled by me directly from the MLS. These numbers are a little more accurate than the RE Report ones as they include all listings on the MLS, even if they were entered from a different MLS organization.
Inventory
The Santa Clara County real estate market’s inventory rose in August and is at the high end of what we usually see for this time of year. (This figure is quite a bit larger than the RE Report number of 917. The RE Report only pulls data for listings that were entered into MLS Listings. My charts include all MLS companies that do data sharing with our MLS.)
Please note: for all of the multi year images below, you can see a larger version by clicking on them, which will take you to our article on our website. Still too small? Click on it again and a popup with the largest version will be displayed.
Months of Inventory
The absorption rate or months of inventory grew, indicating cooling market conditions. In most of the U.S. this would be a raging hot seller’s market, but here it’s approaching a balanced market. Note that for other Augusts in recent years this is the largest absorption rate by a good margin. The last time it was this high was January 2023. One month does not make a trend, but this is a figure to watch.
What do you need to do about incorrect property records in Santa Clara County? Sometimes public property records are wrong or have missing information.
Info needed to rectify errors on the public record
What you need to do about incorrect property records in Santa Clara Co depends on what needs correcting. If your square footage is correct but the number of bedrooms is not, you may be able to phone and just tell the person over the phone what the issue is and it will be changed.
If the square footage of the lot size is not right, you’ll need documentation from a surveyor or another professional qualified to measure the parcel and document the calculations. That paperwork will need to be submitted, probably by email, but possibly in person.
In all cases, you need your parcel number for the most efficient help. More on that below.
Incorrect property records in Santa Clara Co – who to contact
In Santa Clara County (San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell etc.), you must go through the county tax assessor’s office to address these errors, and specifically, you need to speak with your property’s assigned appraiser. Here’s what you need to do:
First, find your APN or assessor’s parcel number and keep it handy, as you will need it (also paper & pen). You will find it on your property tax bill. You can also find your APN online via the Santa Clara County website.
Phone the Real Property & Appraiser Department at (408) 299-5300. Someone there will ask you for your APN so that the correct appraiser can be contacted – I was surprised to learn that there are several dozen appraisers on staff! You can also try emailing them at RP@asr.sccgov.org
From there, you’ll need to talk with your assigned appraiser and see what needs to be done. He or she may need some documentation, may ask you some questions – just call and find out.
More info can be found here, on their FAQ page: Santa Clara County Tax Assessor’s Office FAQ page. The phone directory for that office is here. But do yourself a favor and do not phone any other number besides the -5300 one. I made that mistake myself and was passed from one department to the next, each person not understanding what needed to be done, and it ate up 40 minutes of my time. If you want to fix incorrect property records in Santa Clara County, it’s imperative that you call the appropriate number and get put in touch with an appraiser, or you may have an unpleasant experience, as I did.
Why are the public records on real property sometimes wrong?
When are property taxes due in Santa Clara County? The schedule for when property taxes are due in Santa Clara County is not intuitive and confuses most people, at least initially. The tax calendar is as follows:
Beginning of fiscal year: July 1st
First installment of taxes due covers July 1 – December 31st
Second installment of taxes due covers Jan 1 – June 30
Although you might expect the two bills to be due & payable 6 months apart, that’s not how it works!
Installment # 1 is due November 1 and is delinquent December 10th
Installment # 2 is due February 1 and is delinquent April 10th
Don’t confuse the income tax deadline with the property taxes due date
You keep reading that it’s still a “seller’s market” in Silicon Valley real estate. You hear about homes recieving multiple offers and prices getting pushed up. Yet with interest rates still threatening to rise and more layoffs, not everyone is ready to take the plunge to sell.
Should you jump in as a San Jose area seller now?
Maybe, but if you do it, do it right! The dirty little secret that no one talks about is that not all Santa Clara County homes for sale are selling like it’s a hot market. They sit on the market, popping up on MLS searches for month after month, lower their prices, and might eventually accept an offer below asking price.
Dangerous Seller Myths
There are quite a few common myths that home owners believe about selling their property. Believe these, and act accordingly, and your chances of selling are dramatically damaged:
my price is high, but buyers can always “make an offer”
it’s a seller’s market, my home does not have to be perfect
if I fix up the home to sell, the buyer may not like the changes (this one is especially common)
it was like this when I bought it, so I don’t have to improve it now
I have lived with (fill in the blank) forever, there’s nothing wrong with it
Getting the home prepped and pricing right matter tremendously. Today let’s focus on preparing and staging. (more…)
High Voltage Power Lines from around the West Valley.
High voltage power lines are a “location issue” that impacts real estate values, and it sometimes elicits worry regarding safety.
High voltage power lines: how far is far enough?
Something we have spoken about recently with our clients is being far enough away so that if the tower and high voltage power lines were to fall, they’d miss your home and property. In our recent series of atmospheric rivers in January 2023, in San Jose one of these large transmission towers did fall down. It’s rare, but not impossible.
I have not seen a website that can tell us how tall any given tower is, but from what I have read online, it seems that most of them are under 200 feet tall, but some could be higher than that. In most cases, that puts the lines about 4 houses away if the lots are a typical 6,000 SF lot of 60′ across the front and 100′ deep.
We cannot speak to the concerns around potential increased risk of cancer or other problems. Each consumer should research that issue on his or her own.
Where are the high voltage power lines?
Map data from California Energy Commission “California Electric Transmission Lines” Interactive Map
Years ago, I painstakingly mapped out the transmission lines from what I knew on the ground and what I could tell from tracing the Google satellite view. (You can find that link near the bottom of this article.)
Today, though, there’s something better than my map available online. The California Energy Commission has a map of the transmission lines that you can view usingTHIS LINK. Or click on the image at the left.
From the landing page you can zoom in or out. It covers the entire state of California – you might find it interesting to navigate around a little.
Also, a few years ago, PG&E published an interactive map where you can view the location of electric lines (I’ve filtered the imbedded map below to show Electric Transmission Lines in the South Bay), and another map of natural gas pipelines, searchable by address. This doesn’t cover the entire state, but it does cover all of the Bay Area / Silicon Valley.
Note: Over the last few years each these maps have moved around a handfull of times and changed URLs. We do try to keep the links updated, but if the link is broken it doesn’t mean the map no longer exists – do a little hunting on Google or within the site and you should be able to find the map.
The PG&E map:
On the map I hand-drew at the bottom of this article I did also include the location of schools. Quite a lot of schools do have transmission lines present.
What other location issues are there to factor in? (more…)
How long does it take to sell a home in Silicon Valley right now? It depends on what segment of the real estate market the property is in, and what type it is. Most homes are selling in 3-4 weeks.
How long does it take to sell a home in Santa Clara County?
First, for the success stories, the properties that do sell, what’s the timeframe?
Houses which have closed escrow averaged 27 days in September 2022 so far
Also in September, the median days on market is 17 days
For condos and townhouses, the average days on market so far this month is 38
The median days on market for condominiums and townhomes is 27
Pending sales – how long were they on the market?
Pending houses right now average 33 days on market
Pending condominiums and townhomes average 28 days on the market
It’s interesting to see that the more recent sales were slower for the houses but faster for condos and townhomes as compared to the closed sales.
Active listings and length of time on the market
Houses for sale in Santa Clara County that are not under contract (and not listed as “Agent Only”) average 52 days on market
For townhomes and condos, it’s an average of 44 days on market
So it seems that for the homes which DO sell (and not all homes which are listed become sale pending), the average is in the 3-4 week range. What that says, pretty clearly too, is that if your listing is well marketed but doesn’t sell in three to four weeks, you’ve got a problem.
Some types of properties will always take longer (think Santa Cruz Mountains, ultra luxury homes and others), but overall, your home should be seeing 3-5 showings per week and get at least one offer for approximately every 10 showings, which should happen within 3-4 weeks.
What if your home has been on the market for a month with no offers, or only low offers?
If your house or condo has been actively listed and marketed for more than 4 weeks and isn’t selling, it’s time to have a conversation with your agent. Every situation is different and I cannot advise anyone but my own clients about what needs to happen in your case.
I can tell you that if your home does not get an acceptable offer in 3-4 weeks, there’s a good chance that the number one obstacle is a price that’s too high for the current market. If that is the case, it’s time to make a serious change in the price – think hedge clipper, not nail clipper. Otherwise, if home values are dropping and your price does not get ahead of it, you will be chasing the market down. It is very expensive when that happens.
Beyond price and just getting or not getting offers, you will want to understand:
how many showings are there each week?
what is the feedback from the buyer’s agents? (what are the buyers saying?)
what homes ARE selling?
how long does it take to sell if it’s underpriced? (that’s a common strategy today)
Some flaws are fixable and some are not fixable. You cannot do anything about a less desirable location or a neighbor with too many vehicles or an eyesore of a front yard. But you do control the price.
Some real estate gurus like to say “there’s no problem that the right price can’t fix”. That’s true, but sometimes there are cheaper ways to solve whatever the problem is.
In some cases, home sellers are offering to pay points on the buyer’s loan to offset the rising interest rates. Frequently it’s a lot cheaper for the seller to buy down the loan rate than to take a price reduction of 3-5%.
Earthquake faults and flood plains are of interest to home buyers throughout the Golden State and to their lenders, too. Part of the home sale and home buying process is to provide information on these risk factors so that consumers (and their lenders) can make an informed decision.
Natural Hazard Reports are included in the disclosures when homes are bought and sold here in Silicon Valley. Those reports will indicate whether or not the property is located in areas with known natural hazards, including
Flood Plains (100 and 500 year floods from heavy rainfall)
The Prides Crossing neighborhood in the northern part of Saratoga has a lot to boast about: a sense of community, easy access to commuter routes and many amenities, and laid-back California luxury. We’ll go into more detail below, but here is a profile of the neighborhood in bullet points:
The average home is ~2,400 SqFt on ~12,500 SqFt lot, built between the early 1960s-70s
Homes are in the attendance area for either Saratoga or Cupertino schools
Expect to pay between $3 – $4M for most homes, possibly a little less for a small home near a busy street, and more for a larger, centrally located home
The neighborhood is home to 2 parks, a member-owned pool and racket club, and has easy access to commuter routes, shopping, entertainment, and places of worship
There are few hazards, but keep an eye out for Zinsco panels
Where is Prides Crossing?
Click to view full size – Prides Crossing map with markers. Map data: Google. Neighborhood boundaries and overlay by Mary Pope-Handy and Clair Handy.
North of 85 near the Campbell and West San Jose borders, boundaries of the neighborhood include Prospect Rd to the north and Cox Ave to the south, with 85 and Saratoga Creek at the southern corners. To the west, Scully Ave and to the east Titus Ave border what makes up the majority of the neighborhood, although they are not exact boundaries (the map paints a better picture). Miller Ave is the main thoroughfare through the community with a brick and brass sign marking it’s entrance at it’s intersection with Cox Ave.
While not technically part of Prides Crossing, I did include a corner of the Summerplace subdivision (built 1973) in the neighborhood map as it might easily be mistaken as such. There are 46 homes in this part of the Summerplace tract (5233), but 37 are only accessible through the Prides Crossing neighborhood, touching the south end of Kevin Moran Park, while the other 9 are on the opposite side of highway 85 and are attached to the Greenbrier neighborhood.
The Santa Clara County real estate market has been in a cooling trend, but it warmed slightly in October and appears to be warming again with the January sales so far. Prices are certainly down significantly from the peak pricing a few months back, but sellers will welcome the fact that sales prices are moving upward again. If this continues, we may be revisiting the normal seasonal patterns – which many economists have predicted would be the case.
The average sale price to list price ratio is still at 100.1% for the county, but is under 100% in many areas now. (And when I pulled that from the MLS just now for the first 15 days in January, I see that it has sunk to 99.6%. Days on market, though, shrank from 35 in December to 34 so far in January, interestingly.)
Home Prices in Santa Clara County:
The numbers themselves point to a general movement of values sliding – at least until October, when it ticked up a little, and again here in the first half of January, when we also see upward pricing from sales that went under contract in December. I’ll jot the median sale price for the county here – it’s a large enough pool of sales to be pretty reliable as a gauge of the real estate market in the San Jose area. I pulled this data directly from the MLS:
January 1 – 15 2019 $1,200,000 prices up (so far) 5% from last month December 2018 $1,145,625 November 2018 $1,250,000 October 2018 $1,290,000 prices up a hair September 2018 $1,238,000 August 2018 $1,280,000 July 2018 $1,350,000 June 2018 $1,385,000 May 2018 $1,400,000 April 2018 $1,420,000 March 2018 $1,454,000 – PEAK February 2018 $1,381,000 January 2018 $1,170,000
Between March and July, the median sale price dropped $100,000, or 6.89%. As you can see, it had also jumped considerably between January and March, and even at today’s lower median sales price, it’s still higher than January. It will be interesting to see where it ends up in January of 2019.
Median and Average sale prices in recent years
I think this is really interesting. Most years, both the median and average sale price are lowest in January (I have drawn in the pink or red lines at January for each year), but some years the lowest has been December for the average. This year, though, it looks like both the median and average will be lower in December 2018 than in January 2019. Have a look:
What does that mean? I’m not sure – most years both the median and average hit a low point in January. In a few years, the average hits a low in December while the median is still lower in January. Right now, it looks like both median and average will be lower in December than in January. Are we starting an early spring climb? Maybe so. We’ll have to watch and see.
Bottom line, I still think we need to see what happens in February before we’ll know if we are returning to seasonal patterns or not. Right now, I don’t see anything that makes me think we are going into a correction right now.
Photo courtesy of the Gilroy Garlic Festival press kit
Greet the morning with the sweet smell of fresh Garlic in the air – the Gilroy Garlic Festival is back!
If you’ve ever caught the vivid aroma of the stinking rose early in the day it’s likely a breeze coming over the southern Santa Clara County city of Gilroy, the Garlic capital of the world. Whether you love or hate the pungent allium, this herb is a favorite for many foodies in Silicon Valley and around the world.
Gilroy celebrates their favorite bulb one weekend of the year during the Gilroy Garlic Festival, the last weekend in July. This year it’s back for the 38th annual event held on July 29, 30, and 31, 2016. So what to should you expect from “summer’s ultimate food fair?” Food, food, food, fun, shopping, music, and more!
Gourmet Alley is “all about the food” – classics like garlic bread, garlic fries, calamari, scampi, and sausage are available at the booths, and at the end aisle, watch the Pyro-Chefs stoke up five foot tall blazes from their frying pans. Weird food lovers will enjoy a plenitude of flavors from other booths around the festival, including free samples of garlic ice-cream, alligator and buffalo meat, or ice cream in a half cantaloupe. There’s also the range of standard festival food stalls, beer, wine, coolers, and non-alcoholic chilled drinks.
Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor ABR, CIPS, CRS, SRES
Christie's International Real Estate Sereno, Los Gatos, CA 95030 408 204-7673 Mary@PopeHandy.com License# 01153805
Clair Handy, Realtor
GREEN
Christie's International Real Estate Sereno 214 Los Gatos-Saratoga Rd Los Gatos, CA 95030 ClairHandy@sereno.com License# 02153633
Mary & Clair sell homes throughout Silicon Valley: Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and Santa Cruz County. with a special focus on: San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park.
The real estate search
Use this link to browse properties which are for sale, under contract (pending) or sold. Want to view only homes which are available now?
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor ABR, AHWD, CIPS, CRS, SRES Christie's International Real Estate Sereno DRE License #01153805 408-204-7673 mary@popehandy.com “Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley since 1993”
Clair Handy, Realtor, GREEN Christie's International Real Estate Sereno DRE License #02153633 408-721-6160 clairhandy@sereno.com “Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley”
This is the Valley of Heart's Delight blog , covering Silicon Valley real estate - Santa Clara County, San Jose, Los Gatos, Cupertino, and nearby communities in the South Bay Area and lower Peninsula. Find info on neighborhoods, disclosure issues, buyer and seller tips, and housing market conditions in the west valley and most of the county.Please also see my other websites and real estate market statistics site, which are listed in the sidebar, above.
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Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor ABR, CIPS, CRS, SRES Sereno DRE License #01153805 408-204-7673 mary@popehandy.com
“Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley since 1993”
1296 Dentwood Drive, San Jose 95118 
