Santa Clara County Real Estate Market - Month Ending March 2026 - By Charm Hartland
Charm Hartland
Saturday, April 4, 2026
Santa Clara County - Real Estate Market Report - As of end of March, 2026
March 2026 | Single-Family Homes | Data: MLSListings (produced 4/4/2026)Prepared by Charm Hartland, SRES® | Realty World Homes & Estates | 408-712-3932 | charm@hartlandteam.com
CITY-BY-CITY MEDIAN PRICE COMPARISON
The table below compares median sale price to median list price across eight Santa Clara County cities, ranked from highest to lowest sale price. Green indicates homes sold above list; red indicates homes sold below list.| City | Median Sale Price | Median List Price | Spread | vs. List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | $4,575,000 | $4,600,000 | $25,000 | -0.5% |
| Palo Alto | $3,714,400 | $3,988,000 | $273,600 | -6.9% |
| Cupertino | $3,679,000 | $3,350,000 | +$329,000 | +9.8% |
| Sunnyvale | $2,854,000 | $2,468,000 | +$386,000 | +15.6% |
| Mountain View | $2,700,000 | $2,950,000 | $250,000 | -8.5% |
| Santa Clara | $2,035,000 | $1,948,000 | +$87,000 | +4.5% |
| San Jose | $1,745,250 | $1,676,500 | +$68,750 | +4.1% |
| Milpitas | $1,620,000 | $1,608,444 | +$11,556 | +0.7% |
Key Insight: Cupertino (+9.8%) and Sunnyvale (+15.6%) posted the most aggressive overbidding in the county, reflecting intense competition in the tech corridor. Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Mountain View sold below list price, typical of the luxury segment where aspirational pricing is common.
SAN JOSE MARKET DEEP DIVE
San Jose Key Statistics| Metric | San Jose (March 2026) | Santa Clara County (Feb. 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $1,745,250 | $2,000,000 |
| Homes sold | 359 (+8% YoY) | 512 (+17.4% YoY) |
| Median days on market | 8 days | 8 days |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 106% | 105% |
| Months of inventory | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| Avg. price per sq. ft. | $1,059 (-3% YoY) | $1,136 |
March 2026 Sales by Price Quartile
All four quartiles recorded an identical median of 8 days on market, a striking indicator of uniform demand across every price tier.| Quartile | Homes Sold | Median Sale Price | Median DOM | Avg. $/Sq. Ft. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top quartile | 90 | $2,682,750 | 8 days | $1,130 |
| Second quartile | 90 | $1,977,500 | 8 days | $1,078 |
| Third quartile | 90 | $1,525,000 | 8 days | $988 |
| Bottom quartile | 89 | $1,110,000 | 8 days | $846 |
NOTABLE MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Spring momentum is accelerating:
- 359 homes sold in San Jose in March, up 42% from 253 in February. Median sale price rose 5% month over month, from $1,660,000 to $1,745,250.
- Across Santa Clara County, single-family home sales surged 17.4% year over year in February, with a sale-to-list ratio of 105% and just 8 days median on market.
- $5M+ home sales countywide hit their highest month-of-February count on record, confirming outsized activity from affluent buyers.
Inventory is rising but still very tight:
- New listings in San Jose rose 20% year over year to 572 in March. Months of inventory increased from 1.4 to 2.0, a notable shift, though still firmly in seller's market territory.
- Countywide, SFH active listings were up 13.4% year over year. At 1.8 months of inventory, available supply remains far below the 6-month balanced-market threshold.
- Condo and townhome inventory rose 27.4% year over year, with a median price decline of 17.1% YoY, creating genuine buyer opportunity in the attached-home segment.
Mortgage rate environment:
- The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.18% through January and February 2026, a meaningful improvement from the 7%+ range seen a year ago.
- In late March, rates reversed sharply, climbing to 6.46% (Freddie Mac, 4/2/2026), driven by rising oil prices related to the Iran conflict and the Federal Reserve holding its benchmark rate at 3.50% to 3.75% on March 18.
- Forecasters, including Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association, project the 30-year rate will stabilize in the 6.0% to 6.3% range for the remainder of 2026.
Charm Hartland, SRES® | Realty World Homes & Estates | 408-712-3932 | charm@hartlandteam.com | www.hartlandteam.com
Sources: MLSListings / Aculist (San Jose SFH March 2026, Santa Clara County SFH February 2026, produced 4/4/2026); SCC Real Estate Report; Freddie Mac PMMS (4/2/2026); Bankrate. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or real estate advice.
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