What a Silicon Valley agent helps you decide
Silicon Valley is not one housing market. It is a string of cities from Palo Alto and Los Altos in the north to San Jose, Los Gatos and the south county towns, with prices that differ by millions of dollars from one exit on Interstate 280 to the next. Redfin's median sale price in the three months to September 2026 was $1,349,357 in San Jose, $1,884,103 in Sunnyvale, $3,608,282 in Palo Alto and $4,617,801 in Los Altos. In Gilroy, at the south end of Santa Clara County, it was $1,073,989.
An agent who works this region every week helps with three decisions. The first is which city and school district fit your budget and commute, because the same money buys a four-bedroom house in Evergreen or a two-bedroom condo near downtown Mountain View. The second is the home type: detached house, townhouse or condo, which behave very differently here. In September 2026, Redfin's Santa Clara County median for a single-family home was $1,868,636 and for a condo $667,393. The third is pricing. Detached homes in the north county still sell above the asking price, while condos often sell slightly under it, and an offer strategy that wins in Sunnyvale can overpay in Morgan Hill.
Zillow's typical home value for its San Jose metro series, which is how Zillow tracks the Silicon Valley market, was $1,523,615 in September 2026. That is 0.2% higher than a year earlier, 77.6% higher than ten years earlier, and about 4.3% below the January 2025 peak of $1,591,642. Our Silicon Valley housing market report tracks these figures month by month.
Buying a home in Silicon Valley
Buying here is mostly a question of preparation. Homes in the north county move in days, and sellers often set a date to review all offers at once.
Step 1 for Silicon Valley buyers: set the budget at today's rate
The Freddie Mac 30-year average was 7.24% in the week of October 29, 2026. On Zillow's typical value of $1,523,615, a 20% down payment leaves a loan of about $1,218,892, and principal and interest come to about $8,307 a month. Property tax adds roughly $1,522 a month at a 1.204% rate, the rate in San Jose's tax rate area 017-090. The Federal Housing Finance Agency's 2026 ceiling for a one-unit conforming loan in high-cost areas is $1,249,125, so with 20% down, prices above about $1.56 million usually need a jumbo loan. Check the FHFA's county list for the exact Santa Clara County limit. Get a written pre-approval that states the loan type before you tour.
Step 2 for Silicon Valley buyers: choose the city before the house
Start with commute and schools, then price. Compare Redfin's three-month medians for the cities you are weighing, and look at the school district boundaries with the district's own address tool, not a listing description. Our Silicon Valley schools guide compares district results on the California School Dashboard.
Step 3 for Silicon Valley buyers: read the seller's reports before offer day
Ask the listing agent whether the seller has ordered a pre-listing inspection and pest report, and read the disclosure package before you write. Read it closely, have your own inspector look at anything unclear, and ask your agent for the price and sale-to-list ratio of the last three comparable sales on the same street. Redfin's figures show homes in Los Altos sold at 106.3% of list in the three months to September 2026 and in Palo Alto at 107.1%, so the asking price is often a starting point, not a ceiling.
Step 4 for Silicon Valley buyers: decide on contingencies
Competitive offers here frequently shorten or waive inspection and loan contingencies. Only do that if you have read the reports and your lender has underwritten the file. Our California home buying guide explains each contingency and the deposit rules.
Selling a home in Silicon Valley
Sellers in Silicon Valley often own homes bought decades ago, and that shapes the plan more than the listing photos do.
Step 1 for Silicon Valley sellers: price from your own block
Countywide figures hide a wide spread. In September 2026 Santa Clara County had 2,303 homes for sale, 34.6% more than a year earlier, and a 2.2-month supply. Supply was tighter in Sunnyvale (1.5 months) and Los Altos (1.6) than in Campbell or Los Gatos (3.5 each). Ask for a comparable-sales analysis built from your own neighborhood and home type.
Step 2 for Silicon Valley sellers: prepare reports and disclosures early
Ordering the home inspection, pest report and any roof or sewer lateral report before listing lets buyers bid with confidence. California's seller disclosure forms are explained in our seller disclosure guide.
Step 3 for Silicon Valley sellers: plan for the tax on a long-held gain
A home bought in the 1990s can carry a gain far above the federal exclusion for a primary home. Talk to a tax adviser before you list, and read our guide to capital gains on a California home sale. Owners 55 and over who are buying again should also read the Prop 19 guide on moving a Prop 13 base to the next home.
Silicon Valley areas at a glance
Prices below are Redfin's median sale prices for the three months to September 2026, with the share of homes that sold above the asking price.
San Jose: the largest market in the valley
San Jose had 1,489 sales in the three months to September 2026 at a median of $1,349,357, 5.0% lower than a year earlier, and 42.6% of homes sold above list. It ranges from downtown condos to Almaden Valley and Evergreen houses. See our San Jose real estate guide.
Palo Alto: Stanford's neighbor
Palo Alto's median was $3,608,282 on 135 sales, and homes sold at 107.1% of list on average. See the Palo Alto guide.
Mountain View and Sunnyvale: the middle of the valley
Mountain View's median was $1,836,625 (up 9.7% on a year earlier) and Sunnyvale's $1,884,103 (up 4.1%), with more townhouses and condos than the cities around them. See the Mountain View guide and the Sunnyvale guide.
Cupertino: west valley houses
Cupertino's median was $2,848,643, 6.9% lower than a year earlier, with homes going under contract in a median 13 days. See the Cupertino guide.
Los Altos and Los Altos Hills: large lots
Los Altos had the valley's fastest sales, at a median nine days, and a median price of $4,617,801. Los Altos Hills, with 27 sales, had a median of $6,746,787. See the Los Altos guide and the Los Altos Hills guide.
Saratoga and Los Gatos: the foothill towns
Saratoga's median was $3,863,160 and Los Gatos's $2,438,839, both slightly lower than a year earlier. Los Gatos had a 3.5-month supply, one of the higher figures in the county. See the Saratoga guide and the Los Gatos guide.
Santa Clara, Milpitas and Campbell: between the big names
The city of Santa Clara's median was $1,643,717, Campbell's $1,827,740 and Milpitas's $1,287,887. Milpitas fell 9.4% on a year earlier, the largest drop among the larger cities.
Morgan Hill and Gilroy: south county
Morgan Hill's median was $1,281,890 and Gilroy's $1,073,989, the lowest prices among the county's cities with 100 or more sales. Homes there took longer to sell: a median 41 days in Morgan Hill.
Local property checks before you buy in Silicon Valley
Run these checks on every address, whatever the city.
- Property tax rate. The Santa Clara County 2025-26 rate book lists 816 tax rate areas. Totals include 1.20400% in San Jose area 017-090, 1.19745% in Palo Alto 006-001, 1.16910% in Sunnyvale 009-002, 1.15970% in Cupertino 013-001 and 1.14200% in Los Gatos 003-000. School parcel taxes are billed on top. Our Santa Clara County property tax guide shows the full table.
- Flood zone. Look up the parcel on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Valley Water runs flood protection work along creeks such as Coyote Creek in San Jose; ask the seller about any flood history.
- Earthquake and fire. Check the address on Cal OES MyHazards, price earthquake cover through the California Earthquake Authority's participating insurers, and read our wildfire zone guide if you are buying in the hills above Los Gatos, Saratoga or Los Altos Hills.
- Insurance quotes. Get a homeowners quote before you remove your contingencies. Our California homeowners insurance guide covers the current market and the FAIR Plan.
- HOA documents. For a townhouse or condo, read the budget, reserve study and minutes. See our Silicon Valley condos guide.
- Transfer tax. Some cities add their own transfer tax to the county's. Our transfer tax guide lists them.
How to choose a real estate agent in Silicon Valley
Interview at least two agents and ask the same questions of each. How many homes have you sold in this city in the last 12 months, and at what sale-to-list ratio? Which school districts and tax rate areas do you know well? Who prepares the pre-listing inspections, and who pays for them? How will you price an offer when a seller sets an offer date?
Check the license on the California Department of Real Estate public lookup, which shows whether the agent is a salesperson or a broker, the responsible brokerage and any discipline. Since the 2024 changes to commission practices, buyers who work with an agent sign a written buyer agreement, which NAR describes as a nationwide requirement for many agents. The National Association of Realtors' consumer guide says that compensation in that agreement is negotiable and not set by law, and must be stated clearly, for example as a flat fee or a percentage. Our California real estate commission guide explains who pays what.
If you want a starting point, our featured local agent page explains who we feature for Silicon Valley and why. Interview more than one agent either way.
What buyers and sellers ask about Silicon Valley real estate
The questions below come up most often for this region. For the data behind them, see our Santa Clara County market data, and for prices by city and ZIP, our Silicon Valley ZIP code guide. Living costs beyond the mortgage are on our Silicon Valley cost of living page.