Bay Area Market Snapshot: May 2026

May 2026 (Updated May 13)

Past Editions

SF Bay Area Market Snapshot title banner over the Golden Gate Bridge at dusk

Good morning! As we reach the peak of the spring market, it's worth noting that May is the National Home Remodeling month! While many might jump to high impact upgrades like shiny fixtures & lighting, new paint, flooring, or energy efficiency boosts, this is also the ideal time to tackle essential maintenance items such as HVAC tuning, landscaping, exterior cleaning, and any overdue repairs. Whether you are contemplating a move soon or simply want to increase your equity, these strategic improvements are key to staying ahead in today's market!

As expected with the season, sales volume continues to climb. Number of sales grew for both groups, increasing 22.6% for the Eastbay & Southbay side and 32.8% on the SF & Peninsula side since last month. While volume was up, average prices remained stable (0.2% for Eastbay & Southbay, 0% for SF & Peninsula). However, core Bay Area hubs remain incredibly competitive, such as: Oakland (18.5% over asking), SF (15.8% over), San Mateo & Sunnyvale (10% over). Notably the typical single family home in SF jumped from $2.6M in March to now $3.05M (a 17.2% gain)! Interesting to see some areas like that booming, while others are more stagnant and leaning towards a buyer's market. Top movers for price include: Hillsborough & Campbell at +7.2%, Oakland +6.8%, SF +6.4%, while some were dipping like Los Altos -4.2%, Union City -4.7%, Morgan Hill -4.9%, and Atherton at -5.4%.

Sales for the condos & townhomes market showed mixed results, as the 2 bedroom group had healthy gains, while the 3 bedroom side made less traction. Price for a typical 2 bedroom home increased 1.7% to $793K, while sold $ / sq ft increased 2.2% to $643 / sq ft. For the 3 bedroom market, average price fell 2.2% to $1.06M, while sold $ / sq ft gained 0.4% to land at $641 / sq ft. Compared to last month's figure for 2 beds, most counties saw their average price increase except for San Mateo and Napa counties, with the largest moves being Napa -7.1%, Marin +5.3%, and SF +5.7%. The price action was much more drastic for the 3 bedroom market, seeing -24% for Sonoma, -12.7% for Marin, and +12.8% for Contra Costa!

Action for the luxury homes sector was similar to the broader single family seasonal trends, seeing sales volume surge (27.1% increase for our 3 month figure) but with homes selling for relatively the same amount. Price wise, we dipped 1.3% to a $5.83M average, while average sold $ / sq ft dipped 1.8% to land at $1021 / sq ft. Movements compared to last month's price figures were quite large in some pockets like Solano +7.8%, Sonoma +9.9%, Contra Costa +11.1%, Marin +28.1%, and Napa -36% (low sample size).

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to do a thorough / personalized analysis beyond this data. You can also check out my website for more resources & guides (www.joshuy.com).

Talk soon,

Josh Uy

Table of detached single-family home sales by city in the East Bay and South Bay over the last 3 months: average sold price, percent over asking, price per square foot, number of sales, and price change versus last month

Bar chart of the average sold price of detached homes by city in the East Bay and South Bay over the last 3 months

Bar chart of the average sold price per square foot of detached homes by city in the East Bay and South Bay over the last 3 months

Table of detached single-family home sales by city in San Francisco and the Peninsula over the last 3 months: average sold price, percent over asking, price per square foot, number of sales, and price change versus last month

Bar chart of the average sold price of detached homes by city in San Francisco and the Peninsula over the last 3 months

Bar chart of the average sold price per square foot of detached homes by city in San Francisco and the Peninsula over the last 3 months

Table of the average home size and average lot size, in square feet, of detached single-family homes sold by city in the East Bay and South Bay over the last 6 months

Table of the average home size and average lot size, in square feet, of detached single-family homes sold by city in San Francisco and the Peninsula over the last 6 months

Table of condo and townhome sales by county over the last 3 months, for 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units: average sold price, percent over asking, price per square foot, and price change versus last month

Table of large home sales by county (4+ bedrooms, 4+ bathrooms, 4,000+ square feet) over the last 3 months: average sold price, percent over asking, average square feet, average lot size, price per square foot, average year built, number of sales, and price change versus last month

For more information on how these trends might affect your home values and/or the timing of your real estate moves, please reach out anytime. Note if your city is not listed here, a personalized analysis can be created upon request. You can also visit my website (www.JoshUy.com) which has additional resources for home buyers and home sellers. This sales data was provided by the Bayeast MLS Association and collected through 5/12/26. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed and is subject to revision.

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Contact Josh Uy, REALTOR, DRE #01952401. Phone 510.449.7280. Email Josh@EverhomeRE.com. Website and QR code both link to www.JoshUy.com. Buying, selling, new homes, and investments.