Timing the Silicon Valley Housing Market: What Sellers Should Know for 2026
Happy New Year!
If you are considering a home sale this year, chances are you have put some thought into market timing. I always get lots of questions and sometimes notice a few misconceptions about this. Of course, understanding the “normal” seasonal patterns is helpful, but these can all be disrupted, for better or for worse, by unexpected economic factors, and lately our news has been filled with unexpected headlines! That being said, the Silicon Valley housing market is strikingly resilient, so let’s review the basics.
Winter/Spring
Starting in January, Silicon Valley buyers are typically out in greater numbers than there are listings available. This results in multiple offers on the houses that are first out of the gate to list and prices begin their seasonal increase. In a normal pattern, inventory starts climbing reliably by the end of January, but because we are coming off the very low inventory levels of the holidays, there is still an imbalance of supply and demand which results in fast sales and overbidding.
This early spring “seller’s market” usually peaks in March and continues through the end of April and into May, making it a great time to sell your home, especially if you have a challenging property or desire a fast sale. I try to be strategic with launch schedules, avoiding ski week and spring break if possible, as many house hunting families might be traveling.
Late Spring/Summer
At some point in May or early June, we’ll notice a balancing of the market as inventory increases to yearly highs, and buyers start to get busy with summer plans, vacations, and kids being out of school. Suddenly, open houses aren’t quite as busy, the number of offers received on each home decreases, aggressive overbidding is not as common, but the general energy of the market is still healthy, and home sellers with well prepared and well priced homes still do fine.
During summer, agents will say that buyers seem “more price sensitive,” and what is happening is that buyers are realizing that they now have a bit more leverage and more homes to see, so they are scrutinizing both list prices and their choices more carefully. Sometimes, we will observe prices flattening or pulling back from the peak Spring prices during the late summer, which makes some sellers feel that they are losing money when they compare their results to their neighbors who sold in March. If this happens to you, don’t forget to look at your appreciation over the years and congratulate yourself on how well you have done, especially compared to other parts of the country!
Autumn
In autumn, we will often notice a surge in buyer interest again as sellers with unsold homes decide to adjust their prices, and buyers come back from summer vacations and are freshly motivated to get into their new home before the holiday season. We may continue to notice that buyers are resistant to overbidding, with more offers coming in at list price or a bit under. We also observe that fewer new listings are published in late autumn, and many sellers who call me during this time are wanting to discuss putting their home on the market next year. This results in the typical decline in inventory heading toward the New Year.
So, if you are able to choose your list date, now you have more information about the seasonality of the market. If you don’t have the flexibility to choose your timing, don’t worry! Here in the Silicon Valley, we are almost always experiencing some level of a “Seller’s Market,” even during our slower times of the year. Provided that we employ smart pricing and home preparation strategies, you WILL be successful!
Cheers, and here’s to a happy 2026!
Your Local Realtor,
Kirsten Reilly | Broker Associate
(408) 835-2962
