Sep 2026
$410K
+1.5% year-over-year
How it’s calculated
Rolling 3-month median sale price vs. same 3 months one year prior.
El Centro, CA housing market
El Centro, CA metro median sale price $410K in Sep 2026, up 1.5% year over year. Also days on market, price cuts, affordability and ZIP-code figures.
The median sale price in the El Centro, CA metro is $410K as of Sep 2026, up 1.5% from a year earlier. That change sits near the middle of the 383 U.S. metros Pecan Street ranks on this measure. FHFA's repeat-sales index for the metro shows a larger change, up 3.8% through Q2 2026, 2.3 points apart; Price reconciliation below shows both.
On median sale price, El Centro ($410K) ranks 21st of the 25 California metros Pecan Street tracks, between Chico ($411K) and Visalia ($392K). On median days on market, El Centro (71 days) ranks 2nd of the 25 California metros, between Napa (81 days) and San Luis Obispo (71 days). El Centro has the lowest share of listings with a price cut of the 25 California metros (20%); Napa (26%) is next.
Listings spent a median 71 days on market in Sep 2026, more than in most of the 385 metros. 20% of active listings carry a price cut, 0.8 points fewer than a year earlier. That share is the 8th-lowest of the 385 metros. Median asking prices sit about 6% below the median sale price.
At the 7.29% 30-year fixed rate with 20% down, principal and interest on a median-priced home come to $2,245 a month; at 28% of gross income, that takes about $96K a year. The median sale price equals about 19 years of HUD Fair Market Rent, a ratio up 3.0% from a year earlier. That ratio is higher than in most of the 373 metros. Active listings ask a median $249 per square foot, up 5.2% from a year earlier.
In two of the three ZIP codes in the table below, median list prices are higher than a year earlier; one is lower.
Headline
Oct 15, 2026
7.29%
30-year fixed
Where it comes from
National benchmark: Optimal Blue OBMMI 30-year conforming, via FRED. An average of rates borrowers have actually locked, updated daily.
The same rate appears on every market page.
Principal & interest
$2,245/mo
$96K/yr income needed
How it’s calculated
Payment — this market’s median sale price with 20% down, on a 30-year fixed loan at the rate shown. Principal and interest only — no property tax, insurance, PMI or HOA.
Income needed — that payment at 28% of gross income. A rule of thumb, not a lending decision.
How El Centro compares to other U.S. metros
| Price cuts | ↓378th of 385 |
|---|---|
| Asking-vs-sale gap | ↓270th of 292 |
| Price-to-rent | ↑51st of 373 (top 14%) |
| Days on market | ↑74th of 385 (top 20%) |
| Home-price growth | 213th of 383 |
Rank across the U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks, on market data alone — a higher rank means more of that measure (more price cuts, faster price growth, a wider asking-vs-sale gap, a higher price-to-rent ratio, or more days on market). The bar shows where this metro sits within that metric’s own cohort (left is more, right is less); ↑ and ↓ mark the positions furthest from the middle, and rows are ordered the same way. Metrics without data for this metro are omitted.
Affordability
| Price-to-rent ratio | ≈ 19 +3.0% YoY ↑51st of 373 (top 14%) |
|---|---|
| Asking price / sq ft | $249 +5.2% YoY |
Price-to-rent divides the median sale price by the annual HUD Fair Market Rent (a 3-bedroom, 40th-percentile benchmark), so it is a directional rent-vs-buy read, not a cap rate; its year-over-year change is directional in the same way. Asking price per square foot is the median across active for-sale listings (Realtor.com), as of Sep 2026. The bar under a figure places this metro among the U.S. metros we track on that measure, highest first.
Market pressure
| Listings with a price cut | ≈ 20% -0.8 pts YoY ↓378th of 385 |
|---|
The median asking price $386K runs about 6% below the median sale price $410K.
Price-cut share is the portion of active for-sale listings that have taken a price reduction (Realtor.com), as of Sep 2026. Asking is the median list price of active listings (Realtor.com, this month); sale is the headline median of recent closings (Redfin, a rolling 3-month median) — distinct sources and windows, so the gap is a directional read, not a like-for-like difference. The bar under a figure places this metro among the U.S. metros we track on that measure, highest first.
Market facts
| ZIPs with listing data | 3 shown of 14 |
|---|---|
| MLS board of record | — |
| Price methodology | Redfin vs FHFA HPI |
| Data as of | Sep 2026 |
Recent signals
No signals flagged for this market right now.
Recent notable readings
- A median 71 days on market in September 2026: the most for any September in Realtor.com's El Centro data since 2016. It is one of 28 of the 385 U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks to set that record.
- The FHFA house price index for the metro fell 52% from Q1 2007 to Q2 2010: the 16th-deepest bust of the 385 U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks with FHFA data; it has risen 203% since Q2 2010: the 27th-largest rebound of the 382 metros whose prices fell. Q2 2026 is its highest reading on record.
Readings from the latest data that sit at one end of the U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks, from the nightly cross-metro comparison. They are not signal alerts.
Price reconciliation
amber · 2.3ppRedfin (metro) +1.5% | FHFA HPI · Q2 2026 +3.8% |
Year-over-year home-price change from two independent methods — Redfin (monthly sold price) and FHFA (quarterly repeat-sales index). When they diverge, the market is mid-shift; cite the figure with that in mind.
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Try it freeZIP-level data
| ZIP | Median list price | Active listings | New listings | Price reductions | Days on market | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92227 | $481K↑ | 36↑ | 14↑ | 4↓ | 73↓ | $361K↑ |
| 92243 | $410K↓ | 36↑ | 32↓ | 14↑ | 50↓ | $392K↑ |
| 92251 | $504K↑ | 34↑ | 10↓ | 4↓ | 83↑ | $446K↑ |
ZIP figures from Realtor.com listing data; home value from Zillow ZHVI. ZIP codes shown have the most complete listing-data history and active for-sale inventory in this metro; the latest available month is shown per ZIP. Arrows show the direction of each figure against the same three months a year earlier; no arrow means the change rounds to zero or the comparison isn't available.