Both sides of the hill, in numbers.
Single-family re-sale homes in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties — what sold, what it sold for, and how long it took. Updated once a month when the county figures publish. No spin, no “now is a great time to buy.”
Data month: August 2026 · published September 21, 2026 · source MLSListings, Inc. via rereport.com, single-family re-sale homes
Silicon Valley
| August 2026 | vs. prior month | vs. a year ago | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median price | $1,894,440 | -2.8% versus prior month | -0.3% versus a year ago |
| Average price | $2,350,290 | -3.9% versus prior month | +1.9% versus a year ago |
| Homes sold | 568 | -10.7% versus prior month | -12.9% versus a year ago |
| In contract (pending) | 549 | +11.6% versus prior month | -6.0% versus a year ago |
| Active listings | 917 | +2.2% versus prior month | +20.5% versus a year ago |
| Sale vs. list price | 102.9% | +0.5% versus prior month | +0.6% versus a year ago |
| Days on market | 25 | -7.4% versus prior month | 0.0% versus a year ago |
Over the hill
| August 2026 | vs. prior month | vs. a year ago | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median price | $1,350,000 | -3.6% versus prior month | -4.6% versus a year ago |
| Average price | $1,434,160 | -9.3% versus prior month | -8.5% versus a year ago |
| Homes sold | 106 | -15.2% versus prior month | -12.4% versus a year ago |
| In contract (pending) | 149 | +8.0% versus prior month | -12.4% versus a year ago |
| Active listings | 342 | +3.6% versus prior month | -9.3% versus a year ago |
| Sale vs. list price | 100.0% | +0.6% versus prior month | +1.9% versus a year ago |
| Days on market | 39 | -11.4% versus prior month | -18.8% versus a year ago |
Three things worth noticing this month
Inventory went opposite directions
Santa Clara County finished August 2026 with 917 homes active, +20.5% against the same month last year. Santa Cruz County finished with 342, -9.3%. Same month, same state, opposite directions — which is the clearest argument I can make that these are two markets and not one region with a hill in the middle.
Sales fell about equally on both sides
568 closings in Santa Clara (-12.9% year over year) and 106 in Santa Cruz (-12.4%). Volume is down roughly the same amount in both counties even though inventory is not, so the buyer pullback looks regional while the supply story is local.
Pricing power did not fall equally
Santa Clara homes still closed at 102.9% of list in 25 days, with the median essentially flat against last year (-0.3%). Santa Cruz closed at 100.0% of list in 39 days, median -4.6%. If you are selling in Santa Cruz County and pricing off a Silicon Valley headline, that gap is the whole problem.
One forward indicator: homes in contract rose month over month in both counties — +11.6% in Santa Clara, +8.0% in Santa Cruz. Pending sales close in the following month or two, so next month’s volume may read better than this one. That is a reading of one month’s data, not a forecast.
Percentages are computed from the figures in the tables above. Single-family re-sale homes only — condominiums, townhomes and new construction are excluded, and a county median mixes very different submarkets. A median is not an estimate of your house.
City-level numbers for 22 communities
County medians are too coarse to price a house. The area pages carry the same August 2026 data broken out by city, alongside housing stock, terrain, and the city transfer taxes that change what you actually net.
See your city Get a real number for your home
Numbers are only half of it. Notes from the Hill covers the rules that decide what you keep — transfer tax cliffs, Prop 19 sequencing, the inherited-home deadlines.
In Santa Clara County the seller customarily pays escrow, the owner’s title policy and the county transfer tax. Over the hill, escrow splits fifty-fifty. Neither is law.
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