Santa Cruz County Market Stats
Published
I track Santa Cruz County market conditions every week. The numbers below come from Altos Research for the week ending September 21, 2026, the most current data available.
Data from Altos Research, week ending September 21, 2026. Single-family homes. Sponsored by Padraic Collins, Stewart Title. Data deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Contact me for neighborhood-specific breakdowns.
What the numbers mean
Santa Cruz Median List Price at $1,450,000. Inventory Climbs to 421
The Santa Cruz County median list price is $1,450,000, a thousand dollars above last week. Asking prices have held inside a narrow band since mid-August, when sellers stepped down from $1,499,000. Per square foot the county reads $737, up three dollars and the third straight weekly gain. Reductions now cover 40% of listings, down from 42%. That is the first retreat in that share since July.
Active single-family supply is 421 homes, an increase of 17 in a week. The three-week drawdown that took the count to 404 has ended, and 421 sits above the August peak of 419. Adding that much stock in September runs against the usual seasonal pattern, where new listings thin out after Labor Day. Buyers get more to choose from. Sellers face more competition than they did a month ago.
Market Action Index Holds at 37
Santa Cruz County reads 37 on the Market Action Index for a second week. Altos counts anything above 30 as a seller’s market and anything below 30 as a buyer’s market. At 37 the county keeps its seller tilt, with room to spare before it reaches neutral ground.
The index compares how fast homes go under contract against how many are for sale. Last month the reading was 38. Inventory jumped this week, which normally drags the number down, so holding at 37 means sales kept pace with the added supply. Spring topped out near 38 and the line since has been flat with one small step down. Another week at 37 or lower would confirm the softening. A return to 38 would say the September bump was noise.
Median Days on Market Stays at 70
Median days on market for active Santa Cruz County listings is 70, unchanged from last week. The figure covers homes currently for sale, not homes that closed, so it measures how long the standing pool has waited rather than how long a sale takes.
Steady at 70 while supply grew is worth noting. New arrivals enter at zero days and pull the middle down, so a flat reading means the older group aged by about as much as the fresh stock offset. A home priced to recent sales, in a location buyers want, still goes pending in roughly two weeks. The two month median belongs to spring listings that never adjusted. With 40% of the county already cutting, anything that passes thirty days without an offer needs a new price, not more patience.