Updated October 27, 2026.
What’s Driving the Bay Area’s Housing Market Right Now
Bay Area Market at a Glance:
- Single-family prices held up across most of the Bay Area in September, led by San Francisco at $2,054,000 (up 18.39% year over year) and San Mateo County at $2,129,000 (up 6.50%), while Solano County was the region's only meaningful decliner at $575,000, down 5.74%.
- Condos are the clear dividing line. San Francisco condos surged 18.87% year over year to $1,316,500 and Alameda County edged up 2.28%, but the other eight counties all posted annual declines, including drops of 17% or more in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Napa.
- Inventory has thinned across the board, with roughly 7,700 single-family homes for sale region-wide against about 9,700 a year ago, a decline of nearly 21%, and condo supply off a comparable 18%.
- Homes are selling faster nearly everywhere, with San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, and Marin all clearing in two weeks or less and Napa cutting its single-family marketing time nearly in half.
Bay Area Housing Market Snapshot
Homes for Sale by Region
Region | Single-family homes for sale | vs. last year | Condos for sale | vs. last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco | 229 | 25.16% lower | 428 | 33.54% lower |
East Bay | 2,648 | 18.75% lower | 894 | 18.36% lower |
Silicon Valley | 2,007 | 9.72% lower | 808 | 8.49% lower |
North Bay | 2,803 | 28.15% lower | 383 | 13.54% lower |
Single-Family Homes by County
County | Median sale price | Days on market | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco | $2,054,000 | 12 | 1.2 |
San Mateo | $2,129,000 | 12 | 1.3 |
Santa Clara | $1,900,000 | 12 | 1.7 |
Alameda | $1,250,000 | 13 | 2.0 |
Contra Costa | $850,500 | 19 | 2.3 |
Marin | $1,750,000 | 14 | 2.0 |
Sonoma | $865,000 | 39 | 3.4 |
Napa | $918,000 | 48 | 6.4 |
Solano | $575,000 | 38 | 2.9 |
Santa Cruz | $1,250,000 | 29 | 3.7 |
Condos by County
County | Median sale price | Price change vs. last year | Days on market | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco | $1,316,500 | +18.87% | 14 | 2.0 |
San Mateo | $740,000 | -3.77% | 25 | 3.0 |
Santa Clara | $627,500 | -17.05% | 38 | 3.8 |
Alameda | $560,000 | +2.28% | 37 | 3.9 |
Contra Costa | $480,000 | -5.42% | 36 | 3.9 |
Marin | $575,000 | -4.88% | 41 | 3.2 |
Sonoma | $497,500 | -1.49% | 54 | 5.0 |
Napa | $705,000 | -17.54% | 53 | 7.2 |
Solano | $341,000 | -3.13% | 77 | 4.3 |
Santa Cruz | $585,000 | -20.95% | 39 | 4.0 |
*National Association of REALTORS® data is released two months behind, so we estimate the most recent month's data when possible and appropriate.
Home Prices in the Bay Area: Median Sale Prices by County
The headline from September is that detached housing across the Bay Area is still finding buyers at or above last year's prices, while attached housing outside of San Francisco and Alameda County is absorbing the pressure. San Francisco delivered the most dramatic single-family move, recovering from a soft August to post a median of $2,054,000, an 11.03% monthly jump and 18.39% above last September. San Mateo County remains the region's priciest market at $2,129,000, up 6.50% year over year, and Sonoma County turned in the strongest percentage gain in the North Bay at $865,000, a 7.79% annual increase and a 9.08% rebound from August. Marin County held at $1,750,000, Napa reached $918,000, and Santa Cruz County posted $1,250,000, all modestly higher than a year ago.
The flat-to-lower group is smaller but worth noting: Santa Clara County slipped 2.56% to $1,900,000, Alameda County was essentially unchanged at $1,250,000, Contra Costa County was flat at $850,500, and Solano County gave back 5.74% to $575,000.
Condos are where the divergence becomes stark. San Francisco condos climbed to a median of $1,316,500, their third consecutive monthly gain and an 18.87% year-over-year increase, while Alameda County condos rose 2.28% to $560,000. Everywhere else the direction was down. Santa Cruz County condos fell 20.95% to $585,000, Napa County dropped 17.54% to $705,000, and Santa Clara County declined 17.05% to $627,500, its lowest reading in three years of data. Milder declines showed up in Contra Costa (down 5.42% to $480,000), Marin (down 4.88% to $575,000), San Mateo (down 3.77% to $740,000), Solano (down 3.13% to $341,000), and Sonoma (down 1.49% to $497,500). The regional story, then, is not a weakening market so much as a market where buyers are paying up for detached homes and for the urban core, and negotiating hard for almost everything else.
Bay Area Housing Inventory and New Listings
If one number explains September, it is the inventory count. Single-family homes for sale fell in every corner of the region, with the North Bay leading the contraction at 2,803 units, down 28.15% from 3,901 a year ago and down nearly 15% from August alone. San Francisco's 229 listings were off 25.16% year over year despite a healthy seasonal rebound from August's 164. The East Bay carried 2,648 single-family listings, an 18.75% annual decline, and Silicon Valley's 2,007 listings were down 9.72%. Add it up and the region offered roughly 2,000 fewer detached homes than it did last September.
Condo supply followed the same path. San Francisco posted the steepest drop at 428 units, down 33.54% from 644, with the East Bay down 18.36% to 894, the North Bay down 13.54% to 383, and Silicon Valley down 8.49% to 808. The driver is sellers, not buyers. New single-family listings fell 24.05% in the North Bay, 12.06% in the East Bay, 9.65% in San Francisco, and 4.88% in Silicon Valley, while closed sales held far steadier, off just 4.96% in the North Bay, 6.67% in the East Bay, 7.13% in Silicon Valley, and essentially flat in San Francisco at 184 versus 181. When listings contract faster than sales, prices tend to hold, and that is precisely what the September medians show. The one bright spot for buyers is that fall restocking did arrive, with for-sale counts rising month over month in both San Francisco and Silicon Valley and new listing activity picking up in both markets.
How Fast Homes Sell in the Bay Area: Days on Market
Marketing times tightened almost everywhere. San Francisco, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County all averaged 12 days for single-family homes, Alameda County came in at 13 days, and Marin County posted just 14 days, a 36.36% improvement over last September and the fastest pace Marin has recorded in two years. Contra Costa County followed at 19 days, down 17.39% year over year. The slower markets are the ones you would expect given geography and price point: Santa Cruz County at 29 days, Solano at 38, Sonoma at 39, and Napa at 48, though Napa's figure represents the single most dramatic improvement in the region, down 47.83% from 92 days a year ago.
The condo picture is far more varied, and it maps closely to the pricing story. San Francisco condos sold in an average of 14 days, a 46.15% improvement from 26 days last September and one of the fastest readings in that market's history, essentially closing the gap with detached homes. San Mateo County condos improved 37.50% to 25 days. From there the pace lengthens considerably: Contra Costa at 36 days, Alameda at 37 (up 12.12% year over year), Santa Clara at 38 (up 35.71%), Santa Cruz at 39, Marin at 41, Napa at 53, Sonoma at 54, and Solano at 77 days, more than double last September's 36. Buyers shopping for attached homes outside the city still have the luxury of time that detached-home buyers simply do not.
Is the Bay Area a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market?
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.
By that standard, the Bay Area's single-family market is overwhelmingly a seller's market this fall. San Francisco leads at 1.2 months of supply, followed closely by San Mateo County at 1.3 months, Santa Clara County at 1.7 months, Alameda County and Marin County both at 2.0 months, Contra Costa County at 2.3 months, and Solano County at 2.9 months. Marin's reading is especially striking, down 53.49% from 4.3 months last September. Sonoma County has moved into balanced territory at 3.4 months, improving from 4.8 months a year ago, while Santa Cruz County sits at 3.7 months and Napa County remains the region's lone pronounced buyer's market at 6.4 months, though even that figure is down 30.43% from last September's 9.2 months.
Condos are looser but moving the same direction, with San Francisco at 2.0 months (down 42.86% year over year), San Mateo right at the 3.0 month balance point, and Marin at 3.2 months, while Santa Clara (3.8), Alameda and Contra Costa (3.9 each), Santa Cruz (4.0), Solano (4.3), Sonoma (5.0), and Napa (7.2) all still favor buyers. The practical takeaway heading into the final months of 2026 is a market of two speeds. Anyone pursuing a detached home in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, the East Bay, or Marin should be prepared to compete, move quickly, and in San Francisco's case pay well above asking, where single-family homes closed at an average of 31% over original list price in September. Condo shoppers outside the urban core, meanwhile, retain more negotiating room than they have had in years.
Thinking about selling? Find out what your home is worth with a free home valuation or read our guide for sellers. Planning to buy? Start with our buyer resources and explore our Bay Area neighborhood and city guides, including San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and Marin County, to see how conditions differ town by town. For a closer look at individual markets, see our San Francisco and North Bay market updates.
Bay Area Housing Market Data: 12-Month Trends
Frequently Asked Questions About the Bay Area Housing Market
What is the median home price in the Bay Area?
It depends heavily on the county. The median single-family sale price ranges from $575,000 in Solano County to $2,129,000 in San Mateo County, with San Francisco at $2,054,000 and Santa Clara County at $1,900,000. Median condo prices range from $341,000 in Solano County to $1,316,500 in San Francisco.
Is the Bay Area a buyer's or seller's market?
For single-family homes, most of the Bay Area is a seller's market. A market with about three months of supply is considered balanced, and fewer months favors sellers. San Francisco (1.2 months), San Mateo (1.3), Santa Clara (1.7), Alameda and Marin (2.0), Contra Costa (2.3) and Solano (2.9) are all below that line, Sonoma (3.4) is in balanced territory, Santa Cruz sits at 3.7 months, and Napa (6.4) remains a buyer's market. Condos are looser: San Francisco is at 2.0 months, San Mateo is at the 3.0-month balance point, and Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Napa still favor buyers.
How long does it take to sell a home in the Bay Area?
Single-family homes average 12 days in San Francisco, San Mateo County and Santa Clara County, 13 days in Alameda County and 14 days in Marin County, while Napa County is the slowest at 48 days. Condos range from 14 days in San Francisco to 77 days in Solano County.
Are condo prices falling in the Bay Area?
In most counties, yes. Condo prices rose from a year earlier only in San Francisco (up 18.87%) and Alameda County (up 2.28%). The other eight counties posted annual declines, led by Santa Cruz (down 20.95%), Napa (down 17.54%) and Santa Clara (down 17.05%).
How many homes are for sale in the Bay Area?
There are roughly 7,700 single-family homes for sale across the Bay Area, compared with about 9,700 a year ago, a decline of nearly 21%. Condo supply is down about 18%.
Is now a good time to sell a home in the Bay Area?
Low inventory and fast sales favor sellers of detached homes, especially in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, the East Bay and Marin, where buyers should be prepared to compete. Condo buyers outside the urban core still have more negotiating room. Pricing a home correctly for your specific area matters most, so ask Kinoko for a custom valuation based on recent sales near you.
Kevin Gueco | CA DRE #01461677