What a local Lafayette agent helps you decide
Lafayette is a city of about 15 square miles in central Contra Costa County, between Orinda, Moraga and Walnut Creek, with one main ZIP code, 94549. It is a small, fast market. Redfin counted 67 sales in the city in the three months to September 2026, a median of 17 days on market and an average sale at 101.4% of list price. With so few sales, every comparable matters, and a local agent's main job is to find the right ones and read them correctly.
In practice that means three decisions. First, which part of town: the hillside neighborhoods, the streets near downtown and the BART station off Highway 24, or the condo buildings along Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Second, which kind of home: three out of four Lafayette homes are detached houses (ACS 2020-2024), and the median home was built in 1960, so age, updates and lot conditions vary a great deal from house to house. Third, how to price an offer or a listing when 42.4% of homes sold above list but the median price per square foot fell 2.4% over the year.
Buying a home in Lafayette
Redfin's median sale price in Lafayette was $1,926,583 for the three months to September 2026, and there were 40 homes for sale at the end of that period, 23.7% fewer than a year before. That is 1.9 months of supply, a seller's market by most definitions. Here is how a purchase usually runs.
Step 1 for Lafayette buyers: set a budget at today's rate
At Freddie Mac's 30-year average of 7.24% (week of October 29, 2026), a buyer putting 20% down ($385,317) on the Redfin median pays about $10,504 a month in principal and interest on a $1,541,266 loan. Add about $1,605 a month for the 1% base property tax on the purchase price, then voter-approved bonds, school parcel taxes and insurance. A loan that size is likely above the conforming limit, so ask lenders early about jumbo reserve and down payment rules.
Step 2 for Lafayette buyers: choose the price band and home type
Zillow's typical values inside Lafayette run from $1.44 million to $2.85 million by neighborhood. Condos and townhomes are the lower-priced route, but there are few of them: Redfin recorded five condo sales in ZIP 94549 in the three months to September 2026, at a median of $934,972. See our Lafayette condo guide and Lafayette ZIP code guide.
Step 3 for Lafayette buyers: write the offer
Nearly half of Lafayette homes (46.7%) went under contract within two weeks in the latest Redfin period. Ask your agent for the last six closed sales within your price band, how far each sold over or under list, and how many offers the listing agent received. In a market this thin, two or three recent sales can move the right price by six figures.
Step 4 for Lafayette buyers: inspections and contingencies
Many Lafayette homes sit on slopes, and many date from the 1950s and 1960s. Budget for a general inspection plus sewer lateral, roof, foundation and drainage checks, and a geotechnical review on steep lots. Get an insurance quote before you remove contingencies. Our guide to buying a house in California covers the contract steps.
Selling a home in Lafayette
Sellers in Lafayette are listing into a market with more sales and fewer listings than a year ago. Redfin counted 84 new listings and 70 pending sales in the three months to September 2026, with homes sold up 9.9% on the year.
Step 1 for Lafayette sellers: price from the right comparables
Redfin's median was $865.84 a square foot in Lafayette over the three months to September 2026, down 2.4% on the year, while the median price rose 1.9%. The mix of homes that sold changed, not just values. Ask for a comparative market analysis built from your own neighborhood, lot type and home size, not a citywide average.
Step 2 for Lafayette sellers: prepare disclosures and reports
California sellers give buyers a Transfer Disclosure Statement and a Natural Hazard Disclosure, which states whether the home is in a mapped fire hazard zone, flood zone or seismic hazard zone. Consider ordering home and pest inspection reports before listing, so buyers can price repairs into their offers instead of renegotiating in escrow. See our California seller disclosure guide.
Step 3 for Lafayette sellers: work out your net
Closing costs include escrow, title, the county documentary transfer tax and any commission you agree to pay. Our California closing costs guide and transfer tax guide list each item, and our capital gains guide covers long-held homes, which are common in a city where Zillow's typical value rose 50.5% in ten years.
Lafayette areas at a glance
Zillow publishes typical values for ten Lafayette neighborhoods. All figures below are September 2026, with the one-year change.
Top of the Lafayette market: Silver Springs and Spring Hill Valley
Silver Springs had the highest Zillow typical value in the city at $2,848,485, up 6.3% in a year. Spring Hill Valley was $2,461,360, up 2.2%.
Lafayette's upper middle: Happy Valley Highlands, Tanglewood and Pleasant Hills and Valleys
Happy Valley Highlands was $2,223,032 (up 6.4%), Tanglewood $2,078,204 (up 2.7%) and Pleasant Hills and Valleys $2,000,532 (up 2.5%). All three sit above the citywide typical value of $1,907,310.
Near the Lafayette median: Acalanes Valley, Circle Creek and Saint Mary's Orchard
Acalanes Valley was $1,889,813 (up 3.2%) and Saint Mary's Orchard $1,793,435 (up 4.1%). Circle Creek, at $1,842,022, was the only Lafayette neighborhood where Zillow's value fell over the year, by 1.0%.
Lafayette's lower-priced neighborhoods: Lafayette Valley Estates and Springbrook
Lafayette Valley Estates was $1,558,830 (up 5.6%) and Springbrook $1,440,590 (up 3.4%), the lowest typical value of the ten.
Downtown Lafayette and Mt. Diablo Boulevard condos
Several of the city's condo buildings line Mt. Diablo Boulevard near downtown, a short trip from the BART station at 3601 Deer Hill Road. Lennar's The Brant, at 3664 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, listed single-level condos from $822,880 when we checked on October 30, 2026. Our Lafayette condos page covers this part of town.
Local property checks before you buy in Lafayette
These checks catch most of the costs that are specific to a Lafayette address.
- Fire hazard zone. Lafayette has oak woodland and open hillsides, and Briones Regional Park reaches into the north of the city. Look up the parcel on Cal OES MyHazards or the CAL FIRE hazard map, and ask the seller for the Natural Hazard Disclosure. A very high zone brings defensible-space rules and affects insurance. Our California wildfire zones guide explains each tier.
- Slope, drainage and creeks. Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center for parcels near Lafayette Creek and its tributaries, and ask whether past landslide or drainage repairs were permitted.
- Insurance. Get at least two quotes early. Some owners use the California FAIR Plan with a separate policy for the rest of the cover; see our California homeowners insurance guide.
- Taxes, parcel taxes and HOA dues. Prop 13 sets the base levy at 1% of the purchase price. Lafayette bills also carry voter-approved items such as school parcel taxes. Ask for the last tax bill and, for condos, the HOA budget and reserve study. See our Contra Costa County property tax guide and California HOA laws guide.
How to choose a real estate agent in Lafayette
Interview at least two agents and ask each the same questions. Check every license on the California Department of Real Estate's public lookup before you sign.
- How many Lafayette or Lamorinda sales have you closed in the last 12 months, and at what prices?
- How did those homes sell against list price, and how many offers did each draw?
- Which three recent sales support your price for this home?
- Who prepares the disclosures and pre-sale reports, and who attends inspections?
- What is your fee, what does it cover, and is any part of it negotiable?
Commission rules changed on August 17, 2024, after the National Association of Realtors settlement. Buyers now sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes, and that agreement states what the agent is paid. Offers of buyer-agent pay no longer appear on MLS listings, so buyers and sellers negotiate them directly. Our California real estate commission guide has the details.
For a starting point, see our featured local agent for Lafayette. How we choose featured agents explains the process.
What buyers and sellers ask about Lafayette real estate
Are prices dropping? Not on the latest figures. Zillow's typical Lafayette value rose 3.5% in the year to September 2026, though it was still 8.4% below its June 2022 peak of $2,081,830. Redfin's three-month median was up 1.9%. Do people move away? Most owners stay: 77.1% of occupied homes in Lafayette are owner-occupied (ACS 2020-2024), and turnover is low: Redfin has recorded no more than 100 sales in ZIP 94549 in any three-month period since mid-2023. Renters pay a Zillow observed rent of $3,372 a month (September 2026). For the wider area, browse the Contra Costa County market data and ZIP 94549 data, or read about schools on our Lafayette schools page and official crime figures on the Lafayette crime data page.