The 20 most competitive housing markets in California
Alena Mozhjer // Shutterstock
Across much of the U.S., people are struggling 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. Student loan debt is adding even more pressure on younger buyers. As such, houses are selling at a historically slow rate, especially in the Sun Belt—even as mortgage rates 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—but this list can help. Redfin Real Estate 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 recent Redfin article.
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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%
– See homes for sale in Alameda on Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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%
– See homes for sale in Palo Alto on Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
#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 Redfin.com
This story was
produced by
Redfin Real Estate and reviewed and
distributed by Stacker.
