You now need $2 million to buy a home in these California counties

For most Americans, the idea of spending $1 million on a home is simply too far out of reach— not to mention $2 million. In two California counties, however, that’s the new reality.

Based on the latest sales figures from the California Association of Realtors, median single-family home prices have reached $2 million in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, home to Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Mateo County, where the median price was $2.15 million in April, surpassed the $2 million mark during the COVID-19 pandemic before falling below it in late 2023. Homes in neighboring Santa Clara County reached a median price of $2 million for the very first time last month, the data shows.

San Francisco City and County and Marin County aren’t too far behind, with median home prices of $1.8 million and $1.7 million, respectively.

In all, 10 California counties are north of $1 million and with a perpetual housing shortage, experts say there is no reason to expect prices to fall significantly in the short or long term.

Yet, sales are also climbing: up more than 4% year over year, according to CAR, and homes are staying on the market for fewer average days than a year ago.

Jordan Levine, chief economist at the realtor’s association, says house hunters have come to accept that historically low mortgage rates of 2% to 3% seen during the COVID-19 pandemic are firmly in the rear-view mirror.

“I think folks are starting to realize that 6% is actually a pretty normal rate by historical standards. Those 3% [rates] were really the outlier, and given that prices continue to rise, I think that’s motivating a lot of buyers to get off the sidelines,” Levine said.

Statewide, the median home price exceeded $900,000 for the first time in April.

California Median Home Prices by County

Worth noting: A “median” is a middle value similar to an average, so each county has homes selling at prices below and above the median.