The 20 most competitive housing markets in California
Across much of the U.S., people are to buy and sell homes. Homebuyers are scared off by high prices and economic uncertainty, while home sellers are staying put until they can earn more profit from the sale. is adding even more on younger buyers. As such, houses are selling at a slow rate, especially in the Sun Belt鈥攅ven as fall.
That's not the case everywhere, though. In today's market, understanding your local level of competition can help you make smarter decisions. It affects everything from how quickly homes sell to how much negotiating power buyers and sellers have.
Conditions vary widely across California鈥攂ut this list can help. ranked the most competitive cities in California based on their combined months of supply (lower is better), average sale to list ratio (higher is better), and median days on market (lower is better). All data is an average for the January-October 2025 period. To see the most competitive cities in the country, read this .
#1. Sunnyvale, California
- Days on market: 9.51 days
- Sale to list ratio: 110.4%
- Months of supply: 0.78 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 80.9%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 66.0%
- See homes for sale in Sunnyvale on
#2. Santa Clara, California
- Days on market: 9.88 days
- Sale to list ratio: 108.3%
- Months of supply: 0.76 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 75.1%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 59.2%
- See homes for sale in Santa Clara on
#3. Mountain View, California
- Days on market: 9.79 days
- Sale to list ratio: 107.1%
- Months of supply: 0.96 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 74.9%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 62.8%
- See homes for sale in Mountain View on
#4. Cupertino, California
- Days on market: 13.5 days
- Sale to list ratio: 108.5%
- Months of supply: 1.08 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 72.6%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 56.8%
- See homes for sale in Cupertino on
#5. Berkeley, California
- Days on market: 15.64 days
- Sale to list ratio: 123.5%
- Months of supply: 1.25 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 81.1%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 43.6%
- See homes for sale in Berkeley on
#5. San Mateo, California
- Days on market: 12.05 days
- Sale to list ratio: 106.1%
- Months of supply: 1.02 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 69.4%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 62.5%
- See homes for sale in San Mateo on
#7. Alameda, California
- Days on market: 15.97 days
- Sale to list ratio: 112.9%
- Months of supply: 1.26 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 77.4%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 52.7%
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#8. South San Francisco, California
- Days on market: 15.79 days
- Sale to list ratio: 107.8%
- Months of supply: 1.26 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 77.7%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 48.3%
- See homes for sale in South San Francisco on
#9. Palo Alto, California
- Days on market: 13.56 days
- Sale to list ratio: 106.0%
- Months of supply: 1.3 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 64.0%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 57.9%
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#10. San Jose, California
- Days on market: 14.44 days
- Sale to list ratio: 104.4%
- Months of supply: 1.26 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 64.3%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 49.5%
- See homes for sale in San Jose on
#11. Milpitas, California
- Days on market: 16.13 days
- Sale to list ratio: 103.9%
- Months of supply: 1.25 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 62.6%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 47.4%
- See homes for sale in Milpitas on
#12. Daly City, California
- Days on market: 18.38 days
- Sale to list ratio: 108.6%
- Months of supply: 1.25 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 78.0%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 45.9%
- See homes for sale in Daly City on
#12. Union City, California
- Days on market: 14.86 days
- Sale to list ratio: 104.1%
- Months of supply: 1.38 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 64.7%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 48.8%
- See homes for sale in Union City on
#14. Fremont, California
- Days on market: 14.21 days
- Sale to list ratio: 103.9%
- Months of supply: 1.42 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 66.0%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 54.9%
- See homes for sale in Fremont on
#14. Redwood City, California
- Days on market: 16.32 days
- Sale to list ratio: 103.6%
- Months of supply: 1.21 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 61.9%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 48.8%
- See homes for sale in Redwood City on
#16. San Francisco, California
- Days on market: 17.23 days
- Sale to list ratio: 111.8%
- Months of supply: 1.59 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 71.9%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 51.6%
- See homes for sale in San Francisco on
#17. San Leandro, California
- Days on market: 16.44 days
- Sale to list ratio: 103.6%
- Months of supply: 1.49 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 63.5%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 45.6%
- See homes for sale in San Leandro on
#18. Castro Valley, California
- Days on market: 19.63 days
- Sale to list ratio: 102.0%
- Months of supply: 1.45 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 55.0%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 46.6%
- See homes for sale in Castro Valley on
#19. Hayward, California
- Days on market: 18.1 days
- Sale to list ratio: 102.4%
- Months of supply: 1.82 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 60.9%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 44.3%
- See homes for sale in Hayward on
#20. Livermore, California
- Days on market: 17.13 days
- Sale to list ratio: 100.9%
- Months of supply: 1.53 months
- Share of homes sold above list price: 47.2%
- Share of homes that went off market in two weeks: 48.3%
- See homes for sale in Livermore on
