Blog > Do Bigger Homes Cost Less per Square Foot? Silicon Valley House Sales by Size (2026)
Do Bigger Homes Cost Less per Square Foot? Silicon Valley House Sales by Size (2026)
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Do bigger houses sell for less per square foot? We took the 5,981 houses sold in the 32 cities we cover over the 180 days to October 19, 2026 (every sale with a living area and a map position), sorted them into five size bands by living area, and took the median price per square foot in each band, city by city.
The short answer
- Inside a city, usually yes. In 22 of the 23 cities with at least 10 house sales in 3 or more size bands, the largest band sold for less per square foot than the smallest. In the middle city the drop was 24%.
- The biggest drop: Los Altos, from $2,804 per sq ft for 1,200–1,799 sq ft houses to $1,779 for 3,500+ sq ft (−37%).
- The exception: San Francisco, where under 1,200 sq ft houses sold for $1,151 per sq ft and 3,500+ sq ft houses for $1,328 (+15%).
- Across all 32 cities combined, it flips. Houses of 3,500 sq ft or more had the highest median of any band ($1,276 per sq ft against $1,158 for all houses), and 81% of those 508 sales were in cities whose overall median is above that $1,158. Comparing within one city avoids that mix.
City by city
Median price per square foot of houses by living area, with the number of sales in parentheses. A dash means fewer than 10 sales in that band. The last column compares the largest band shown with the smallest. Tap a city to see every sale on the map.
| City | Under 1,200 sq ft | 1,200–1,799 sq ft | 1,800–2,499 sq ft | 2,500–3,499 sq ft | 3,500+ sq ft | Largest vs. smallest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | — | $2,804 (17) | $1,974 (41) | $1,857 (36) | $1,779 (22) | −37% |
| South San Francisco | $1,101 (29) | $887 (39) | $728 (29) | — | — | −34% |
| Santa Clara | $1,493 (31) | $1,313 (102) | $1,003 (46) | — | — | −33% |
| Daly City | $1,022 (33) | $844 (59) | $698 (45) | — | — | −32% |
| Los Gatos | — | $1,452 (36) | $1,321 (47) | $1,093 (51) | $1,001 (26) | −31% |
| Cupertino | — | $1,890 (26) | $1,591 (34) | $1,316 (14) | — | −30% |
| Campbell | — | $1,317 (29) | $1,177 (26) | $948 (10) | — | −28% |
| Redwood City | $1,414 (36) | $1,482 (86) | $1,265 (45) | $1,145 (42) | $1,037 (15) | −27% |
| San Bruno | $1,111 (26) | $1,055 (28) | $826 (13) | — | — | −26% |
| Burlingame | — | $1,634 (21) | $1,569 (27) | $1,515 (31) | $1,219 (11) | −25% |
| Palo Alto | $2,517 (27) | $2,317 (52) | $2,060 (45) | $2,069 (34) | $1,886 (19) | −25% |
| Saratoga | — | $1,699 (11) | $1,606 (26) | $1,594 (36) | $1,297 (24) | −24% |
| Sunnyvale | $1,638 (29) | $1,694 (111) | $1,465 (69) | $1,271 (11) | — | −22% |
| San Carlos | — | $1,634 (34) | $1,442 (35) | $1,270 (22) | — | −22% |
| Gilroy | — | $607 (35) | $533 (56) | $470 (49) | $474 (13) | −22% |
| Morgan Hill | — | $759 (33) | $652 (35) | $638 (47) | $605 (28) | −20% |
| Mountain View | $1,819 (10) | $1,759 (43) | $1,601 (40) | $1,483 (12) | — | −18% |
| Milpitas | $1,154 (28) | $1,046 (23) | $954 (32) | — | — | −17% |
| Belmont | — | $1,349 (29) | $1,264 (34) | $1,176 (17) | — | −13% |
| San Mateo | $1,406 (31) | $1,339 (82) | $1,316 (58) | $1,233 (37) | — | −12% |
| San Jose | $1,091 (216) | $999 (690) | $897 (497) | $935 (195) | $981 (50) | −10% |
| Menlo Park | $1,887 (13) | $1,665 (33) | $1,673 (29) | $1,813 (36) | $1,767 (19) | −6% |
| San Francisco | $1,151 (195) | $1,189 (384) | $1,172 (321) | $1,260 (186) | $1,328 (122) | +15% |
Fewer than 3 size bands with 10 or more house sales: Atherton, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Los Altos Hills, Millbrae, Monte Sereno, Portola Valley and Woodside. All 32 cities are in the CSV.
All 32 cities combined
| Living area | Sales | Median $/sq ft | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,200 sq ft | 785 | $1,199 | $1.26M |
| 1,200–1,799 sq ft | 2,042 | $1,166 | $1.75M |
| 1,800–2,499 sq ft | 1,690 | $1,088 | $2.28M |
| 2,500–3,499 sq ft | 956 | $1,164 | $3.3M |
| 3,500+ sq ft | 508 | $1,276 | $5.73M |
Read this table with care: each band mixes cities, and the larger bands lean toward the higher-priced ones.
What it does and doesn’t say
- These are medians of what sold. Larger houses also differ in lot size, age, condition and location, so the table shows a pattern, not its cause. Our Lot Value Lab separates house size from lot size within a city.
- Compare price per foot within a size band. A 1,500 sq ft house’s price per foot isn’t a good yardstick for a 3,000 sq ft one on the same street, or the other way around.
- Small bands move. Cells with 10 to 20 sales can shift noticeably from one window to the next.
Reading it right
- Houses only (single-family homes); condos and townhomes are compared in Condos vs. Houses.
- Price per square foot is sale price divided by living area as listed, from the MLS through our IDX feeds; repeat records are removed, and sales without a living area or map position are left out.
- One window of time: April 22 to October 19, 2026.
Go deeper
Bedroom Math shows what each added bedroom sold for, the Neighborhood Ranking ranks any city’s neighborhoods by price per foot, and the figures here are in our Data Library as a CSV.
Sizing up a house?
A Property Nerd will pull the recent sales closest to its size, lot and street, so the price per foot you compare against is the right one. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.