In one, sellers still set the terms. In the other, buyers are quietly getting their market back. Which one you’re standing in depends on your city — here are the three numbers that prove it.
The typical single-family home sold for $2,050,000 — up 17.4% from last September — with only 1.6 months of homes for sale. A balanced market runs 5–6 months.
In plain English: up there, sellers still set the terms.
About a fifth more homes are listed than a year ago — roughly 2 months of choice, the most breathing room buyers have had in a while. And yet the best homes still move fast: Sunnyvale averaged 11 days on market at 106.8% of asking.
More doors to open — and still no time to hesitate on the good ones.
The typical home eased to $1,570,000 — one softer month in one of the East Bay’s priciest cities, on a small number of sales.
An opening for buyers, on a trend worth watching — not a collapse.
Up 1.9% from last September — the region as a whole is steady, even while individual cities swing hard in both directions.
Against a balanced market’s 5–6 months, the region still leans seller — just less than it did.
The typical home went pending in under three weeks — priced right, it still moves.
On average, homes sold for a hair over asking — negotiation cuts both ways again, city by city.
The Front Porch is researched and written by me personally — no content team, no syndicated filler. Fourteen Bay Area cities, plus a look beyond the Bay, with every number carrying its context and its “what it means.” No naked numbers, no scary headlines.
One figure that tells the week’s story — with the comparison, the level, and the plain-English translation.
Tracy, Modesto, Stockton, and Manteca — where Bay Area money moves when it wants room to breathe.
The one trend, deadline, or data release that could change next month’s story — named sources, ranged expectations, no promises.
What it all means if you’re buying, selling, or holding — in two sentences, every week.
San Francisco · San Jose · Oakland · Fremont · Sunnyvale · Santa Clara · Palo Alto · Mountain View · Berkeley · Walnut Creek · Livermore · Pleasanton · Dublin · San Ramon — plus Beyond the Bay.
Every figure in The Front Porch is labeled with its source, its month, and its basis — closed-sale, listing, or modeled — and the bases are never mixed silently. Primary sources: the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), MLSListings, SCCAOR, REreport, Realtor.com research data, Zillow (ZHVI), and Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for rates.
When sources disagree, the paper says so and tells you which one it’s standing on. That’s the whole method: show the work.
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