San Jose Real Estate Market Update: What I'm Seeing Right Now

Introduction

I've had a lot of conversations lately with folks asking whether San Jose has cooled off or is still as competitive as everyone remembers it being a couple of years ago. The honest answer is a bit of both, and it's worth walking through the actual numbers so you can see what I mean, rather than just taking my word for it.

Prices Have Actually Softened a Bit, Not Spiked

This might surprise you if you've been away from the market for a while. According to Redfin's San Jose housing data, home prices over the three months ending May 2026 were down 1.4% from the same period last year, with a median of $1.5 million. Price per square foot did tick up slightly, about 0.7% year over year, to $889.

Zillow's home value index shows a similar trend. The average San Jose home value is $1,413,804, down 1.8% over the past year, with homes going pending in about 17 days.

So no, prices haven't been climbing the way they were a few years ago. If you've been holding off waiting for the market to soften even a little, this is genuinely that moment, at least in the broader numbers.

Homes Are Still Selling Fast, Even With Prices Cooling

Here's the part that catches people off guard. Even with prices essentially flat to slightly down, homes are still moving quickly. That same Redfin data shows homes sell in about 13 days on average, just barely up from 12 days a year ago, and receive about 3 offers over a three-month window. There were actually 1,632 homes sold in May 2026, up from 1,529 the year before, so more transactions are happening even in a market that looks softer on paper.

What I take from this is that cooling prices and a genuinely slow market are two different things. San Jose has the first, not really the second. Buyers still need to move decisively when they find something they like.

It's Not a Uniform Market. Not Even Close.

I want to be really direct about this because it's the single most useful thing in this whole post. San Jose is not one market; it's dozens of smaller ones layered together, and the neighborhood you're looking at matters enormously.

For example, Almaden Valley has been genuinely hot, with home prices up 5.3% over a recent year and homes there typically staying on the market for just eight days, with the most desirable ones gone in six, according to neighborhood data compiled by SoFi's San Jose housing overview. Meanwhile, Downtown San Jose is described as very competitive, too, but average homes there are pending in about 20 days and selling around 1% above list price, a noticeably slower and less aggressive pace than what's happening in Almaden Valley.

That's a real gap, and it shows that a citywide median price doesn't capture what's actually happening on your specific street or in your neighborhood.

Some Premium Segments Are Genuinely Seeing More Room to Negotiate

I think this is worth being honest about, too. Zillow's most recent data show a slightly different trajectory across different time windows, with average home values ranging from around 1.8% to 2.8% lower year over year, depending on the exact period measured. Redfin has separately shown steeper year-over-year drops in certain months, including one snapshot showing prices down 7.3% in December 2025 compared to the year before.

What that tells me is that some pockets of the market, especially in higher price bands where sellers still expect top dollar, are seeing real softening. That can show up as price reductions, sellers offering credits toward closing costs, or buyers keeping their contingencies in place instead of waiving everything to compete, something that would have been almost unheard of a couple of years ago.

If you're a buyer in a premium price bracket, this is worth paying attention to. You may have more leverage than you think, particularly on a home that's sat for a bit or needs some updating.

Where This Leaves You

If you're selling in a strong, in-demand neighborhood like Almaden Valley, this remains a solid window. Well-presented homes are still moving fast, and competition is real. If you're selling in a slower pocket or a home that needs some work, I'd encourage realistic pricing from the start rather than testing the market high, since buyers today have more patience and leverage than they used to.

If you're buying, don't assume every corner of San Jose behaves the same way. Some neighborhoods are still genuinely hot. Others are giving buyers real room to negotiate for the first time in a while, especially at higher price points. Knowing which one you're in changes your entire strategy.

👉I'd love to look at your specific neighborhood and give you a read that's actually built around your situation, not just a citywide average pulled from an article. Reach out and let's talk through it.