Is Now the Right Time To Sell Your San Jose Home?
Timothy Alston | Broker
Aegis Luxury Real Estate · DRE# 01328224
Published
August 16, 2020
Capital of Silicon Valley
Is now the right time to sell your home in San Jose? For many homeowners in Santa Clara County, the answer is closer to yes than it has been in years. Housing inventory remains well below historical norms, buyer demand continues to outpace available listings, and homeowners who have stayed put for a decade or more are sitting on significant built-up equity. If you are thinking about selling, the conditions around you deserve a hard look.
You know how it feels when you have been living in a house longer than you expected, and somewhere in the back of your mind you keep wondering if now is finally the right time to make a move? Maybe you have outgrown the space. Maybe you have been watching your neighborhood change. Maybe you just want something different. A lot of homeowners in San Jose are sitting with exactly that quiet tension right now. But here is the part most people have not stopped to think about yet: the longer you wait, the more that decision gets made for you by the market.
What Does Your Housing Situation Actually Look Like Right Now?
Take a moment and think honestly about where you are. How long have you been in your current home? Five years? Ten? More? What would you change about your living situation if you could change it today, without worrying about timing or logistics?
If you have been in your home for close to a decade, you are actually part of a pattern worth understanding. The National Association of Realtors found that average seller tenure reached ten years and has stayed near that mark for several years running. That is a significant shift from the historical norm of five to seven years. People stopped moving, and a shortage of homes quietly built up around that decision.
Have you ever stopped to think about what that shortage means for you specifically, as someone who owns a home right now?
The Inventory Problem Is Real, and It Is Working in Your Favor
Total housing inventory is down roughly 19 percent compared to one year ago, according to the latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors. That is not a small dip. That is a structural imbalance between the number of buyers actively searching and the number of sellers willing to list.
Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, has described the situation plainly: the housing market is undersupplied by an estimated 3.3 million units, and that gap grows by about 300,000 units every year.
Homes in San Jose that are priced well and presented cleanly are moving quickly in this kind of environment. When demand is high and supply is constrained, sellers hold a level of negotiating leverage that simply does not exist in a balanced market. Can you see how that changes the conversation if you are on the selling side?
Is This the Right Time to Break the Ten-Year Pattern?
Here is the question worth sitting with. If you have been staying put partly because you were waiting to recover equity lost during the 2008 downturn, is that still the reason today? Or has the reason quietly shifted to habit, uncertainty, or just not knowing where you would go next?
For homeowners who purchased in San Jose even five years ago, home equity gains have been substantial. That equity is not just a number on a statement. It is purchasing power. It is a down payment on a larger home, a different neighborhood, or a property that finally fits the life you are actually living now rather than the one you were living when you bought.
What would it mean for your family if you converted that equity into the space or the features you have been telling yourself you would get to eventually?
What Happens If Nothing Changes?
This is the question that does not get asked enough when people are thinking about selling. If you stay in your current home for another three to five years, what does that look like? Does the equity keep building, or does the market shift in a way that changes your position? Do the renovation costs you have been deferring keep stacking up? Does the space that feels a little tight right now get tighter?
Doing nothing is still a decision. It just rarely gets treated like one.
With new construction expected to add more supply to the market over the coming months, the current imbalance between buyers and sellers may not hold at this level indefinitely. For homeowners who have been on the fence, that is worth considering without pressure, but with clear eyes.
A Closer Look at What the Numbers Suggest
Here is what the data points toward for someone who is thinking about selling in the near term. Buyer demand in Santa Clara County continues to absorb available listings faster than new inventory enters the market. The average days-on-market for well-priced homes in San Jose remains compressed compared to pre-2020 baselines. Sellers who list during periods of low inventory typically see stronger offer activity and fewer concessions at closing.
None of that means every home sells instantly or above asking. Pricing strategy, property condition, and timing within the local market all shape outcomes. But the structural backdrop right now is more favorable for sellers than it has been in a typical year.
If you are curious about what San Jose homes for sale are actually trading for in your specific neighborhood, that comparison is the starting point for any honest conversation about whether selling makes sense for you.
Does that make sense as a first step? Not a commitment, just information.
What Would the Right Next Step Look Like for You?
If any part of this has surfaced a question you have been carrying for a while, that is worth paying attention to. The right time to sell is rarely a single perfect moment. It is more often a window, and the window right now is one of the more favorable ones for sellers in recent memory.
Timothy Alston, licensed Broker with Aegis Luxury Real Estate (DRE# 01328224), works with homeowners in San Jose and across Santa Clara County to think through exactly this kind of decision without pressure. Not a pitch. Not a sales call. Just a straightforward look at your equity position, your options, and whether the numbers actually work for your situation.
If that conversation sounds like something worth having, reach out at (408) 207-4593. How would you like to proceed from here?
Schools in San Jose
Aegis School Excellence Index · 2024-25 performance data
Serving districts: San Jose Unified SD, Alum Rock Union Elementary SD, Berryessa Union SD, Cambrian SD, Campbell Union SD (partial), East Side Union High SD, Evergreen Elementary SD, Franklin-McKinley SD, Luther Burbank SD, Moreland SD, Mount Pleasant SD, Oak Grove SD, Orchard SD, Union SD. School district boundaries can change; please verify current enrollment boundaries and program offerings directly with the school district.
Consider This
What if you could trade your current home for a Los Gatos property without a gap in housing? Ask about our bridge strategy for Los Gatos buyers and sellers.
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Schedule a Call →When selling in San Jose, do not overlook the international buyer pool. San Jose’s tech industry attracts global talent, many of whom want to buy rather than rent.
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Broker · DRE# 01328224
Aegis Luxury Real Estate
Harvard Business School Online, Certified Master Negotiation
23+ Years Silicon Valley Real Estate Experience
Retired Military Veteran
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The data relating to real estate for sale on this display comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the MLSListings™ MLS system. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Aegis Luxury Real Estate are marked with the Internet Data Exchange icon and detailed information about them includes the names of the listing brokers and listing agents.
Based on information from the MLSListings MLS as of July 3, 2026. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.
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Aegis Luxury Real Estate · Timothy Alston, Broker, DRE# 01328224 · 10080 N. Wolfe Rd Ste SW3-200, Cupertino CA 95014 · (408) 207-4593
Last updated: July 04, 2026 | Data reflects July 2026 MLS statistics
