Markets › California
In the Golden State, part of the Census Bureau's Pacific division, Pecan Street tracks 25 markets. Median sale prices run from $374K in Hanford to $1.52M in San Jose over Jul–Sep 2026. 17 of 25 are higher than a year earlier and eight are lower; Santa Maria leads at +8.6% and Napa trails at -8.5%.
Homes sit longest in Napa (87 median days on market) and sell fastest in San Jose (37 days). The share of active listings with a price cut runs from 22% in Napa to 41% in Vallejo. Price-to-rent ratios run from about 14 in Bakersfield to 29 in San Jose, measured as years of HUD Fair Market Rent per median sale price. Among the 383 U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks, the Napa metro has the slowest year-over-year price growth and the San Jose metro the 8th-fewest median days on market. California's unemployment rate was 5.1% in Sep 2026 (BLS via FRED), above the national rate of 4.2%.
| Market | Median sale price | YoY | Days on market | Price-cut share | Price-to-rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | $389K | +1.0% | 64 | 29% | ≈ 14 |
| Chico | $411K | -0.5% | 68 | 34% | ≈ 16 |
| El Centro | $410K | +1.5% | 72 | 25% | ≈ 19 |
| Fresno | $424K | -2.3% | 61 | 32% | ≈ 15 |
| Hanford | $374K | +2.2% | 58 | 41% | ≈ 15 |
| Los Angeles | $1.01M | +1.2% | 57 | 29% | ≈ 22 |
| Merced | $422K | -2.4% | 58 | 32% | ≈ 17 |
| Modesto | $482K | +1.3% | 50 | 40% | ≈ 17 |
| Napa | $850K | -8.5% | 87 | 22% | ≈ 17 |
| Oxnard / Thousand Oaks | $873K | +1.4% | 59 | 35% | ≈ 22 |
| Redding | $384K | +3.6% | 56 | 37% | ≈ 15 |
| Riverside / San Bernardino | $583K | +0.2% | 62 | 29% | ≈ 18 |
| Sacramento | $594K | +1.2% | 52 | 38% | ≈ 17 |
| Salinas | $906K | -4.2% | 68 | 30% | ≈ 23 |
| San Diego | $938K | +3.2% | 48 | 35% | ≈ 21 |
| San Francisco | $1.20M | +6.1% | 38 | 28% | ≈ 21 |
| San Jose | $1.52M | -3.3% | 37 | 33% | ≈ 29 |
| San Luis Obispo | $906K | +1.7% | 73 | 31% | ≈ 21 |
| Santa Cruz | $1.14M | -7.0% | 58 | 37% | ≈ 17 |
| Santa Maria | $1.03M | +8.6% | 58 | 29% | ≈ 22 |
| Santa Rosa | $794K | +1.1% | 54 | 35% | ≈ 17 |
| Stockton | $541K | +0.9% | 54 | 35% | ≈ 16 |
| Vallejo | $572K | -3.9% | 50 | 41% | ≈ 16 |
| Visalia | $392K | +3.6% | 66 | 31% | ≈ 16 |
| Yuba City | $448K | +2.7% | 64 | 36% | ≈ 17 |
Median sale price and year-over-year change from Redfin (rolling three months); median days on market and the share of active listings with a price cut from Realtor.com; price-to-rent is each market page's figure (its median sale price over a year of HUD Fair Market Rent). Figures are per metro market, not statewide.
Strength 4 / 5
$979K
San Diego median sale price fell back under $1M — now $979K
Dropping back below $1M re-opens a buyer pool that had been priced out — and puts sellers on notice that the last few months' comps are no longer defensible.
Source: Redfin, city figures, Jul–Sep 2026