The Hidden Truth: It’s Still a Sellers’ Market in Santa Clara
Timothy Alston | Broker
Aegis Luxury Real Estate · DRE# 01328224
Published
August 04, 2022
Sports, tech, and community
Despite ongoing talk of a cooling market, Santa Clara real estate remains in sellers’ market territory. Inventory is still well below the threshold needed to shift negotiating power toward buyers, which means sellers in the area continue to hold the advantage. If you are thinking about listing, the window has not closed. It’s still a meaningful opportunity.
You know how it can feel like the news is pulling you in two directions at once? One headline says the market is slowing. The next says buyers are still competing. If you are thinking about selling your home in Santa Clara, that kind of noise can make it hard to know what is actually true about your situation right now.
And here is the part most people have not stopped to think about yet: the market “cooling” does not automatically mean sellers have lost their edge. So before you decide to wait, or move forward, it might be worth asking yourself a few questions.
Where Does Your Housing Situation Actually Stand?
What does your current housing situation look like? Are you sitting on equity you have built over the last several years, waiting for the “right time” that never quite arrives? Or have you already made the decision to move, but you are not sure whether now still works in your favor?
Have you ever stopped to think about what it actually costs you to wait? Not in a vague, general way, but specifically, in terms of the equity you are not capturing, the next home you are not locking in, and the life you are putting on hold?
That is not a push to act. It is a genuine question worth sitting with.
It’s Still a Sellers’ Market: Here’s What That Actually Means
Let’s make sure we are working from the same definition, because “sellers’ market” gets used loosely.
A buyers’ market exists when there are more homes available than there are buyers looking to purchase. In that environment, buyers hold the negotiating power. Sellers feel pressure to lower prices, offer concessions, and accept terms they would rather not.
A sellers’ market is the opposite. When the number of available homes falls short of buyer demand, sellers have the leverage. Buyers compete. Sellers choose. Pricing power stays on the listing side of the table.
A neutral market sits in the middle, where supply and demand are roughly balanced.
For the past several years, inventory across most of the country, including Santa Clara homes for sale, has sat well below neutral market levels. It’s the kind of imbalance that does not simply disappear because mortgage rates rise or buyer sentiment softens.
Through most of the 2010s, the Santa Clara market steadily shed available inventory as new construction failed to keep pace with job growth from the tech sector. What looked like a gradual tightening eventually became structural. By the time the pandemic hit, the region had nearly a decade of undersupply already baked in. That foundation is a big part of why it’s still a competitive environment for buyers today, even as overall activity has moderated.
What the Inventory Numbers Are Actually Telling You
Yes, inventory has been rising compared to the pandemic lows. That part is true. But rising from historic lows does not mean the market has reached balance. The number of homes available relative to buyer demand is still well short of what economists consider a neutral market.
Ed Pinto, Director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center, put it plainly: the market is shifting from an extreme sellers’ market to a modest one, not from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market.
That is a meaningful distinction. Can you see how that changes the way you might think about your timing?
Remote work, low mortgage rates, and a sudden reassessment of living situations drove buyer demand to levels the Santa Clara market had rarely seen. Homes in Santa Clara regularly received multiple offers within days of listing, often well above asking price. While that intensity has moderated, the underlying supply shortage that made those conditions possible has not been resolved. Sellers entering the market today are still benefiting from that structural imbalance.
It’s Still Working for Sellers Who Price Correctly
Here is where it gets specific. Because “it’s still a sellers’ market” does not mean every home sells regardless of how it is priced. That was the pandemic era, and that particular window has narrowed.
What is true now: homes in Santa Clara that are priced at or near market value are still moving quickly. Homes that are overpriced are sitting. Buyer demand has softened as mortgage rates have risen, and that has made buyers more selective, not absent.
So the question worth asking yourself is this: if you priced your home accurately and worked with someone who knows how to position it, what would a successful sale actually make possible for you on the other side of this transaction?
What would you do with that equity? What does the next chapter look like?
As mortgage rates climbed, buyer pools in Santa Clara tightened but did not evaporate. What changed was buyer tolerance for overpriced listings. Properties with strong pricing strategy, good condition, and accurate market positioning continued to generate competitive offers and move through escrow at a healthy pace. Sellers who leaned on pandemic-era assumptions about automatic bidding wars struggled. Those who priced strategically found the market still responsive and favorable.
What Happens If You Keep Waiting?
This is the question most people avoid, but it might be the most important one.
If you stay on the sidelines for another year or two, what does that actually look like for you? Does inventory rise enough that buyers gain real negotiating power? Do home values in your neighborhood adjust enough to change your net proceeds in a meaningful way? Does your situation get easier, or just more familiar?
None of those answers are certain. What is certain is that it’s still a favorable environment for sellers right now, and that balance can shift without much warning when it does move.
Does that change how you are thinking about your timeline?
A Straightforward Next Step
If you have been quietly wondering whether now is actually a good time to sell your home in Santa Clara, the honest answer is that it depends on your specific situation, your pricing, and what you are trying to accomplish.
Timothy Alston, Broker at Aegis Luxury Real Estate (DRE# 01328224), works with sellers who want a clear-eyed look at the numbers before they commit to anything. No pressure, no pitch. Just a straightforward conversation about where you are and what the market looks like from your specific position.
If that sounds like the kind of conversation you have been looking for, you can reach Timothy directly at (408) 207-4593. The next step is yours to take whenever it makes sense for you.
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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 June 12, 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 11, 2026 | Data reflects July 2026 MLS statistics
