Blog > Which Home Features Start Bidding Wars in Silicon Valley? (2026)
Which home features and styles start bidding wars in Silicon Valley? We took the 21,761 houses sold in 31 Silicon Valley cities in the two years to October 27, 2026, sorted them by what their listings said, and compared how often each kind of house sold over asking with what you’d expect from where they sold. Across all houses, 63% sold over asking, at a median 102.5% of the list price.
The short answer
- Most likely to sell over asking, against their cities: remodeled (73%, 9 points more), ranch (70%, 7 points more), single-story (68%, 7 points more) and mid-century modern (74%, 7 points more).
- Least likely: creekside (46%, 11 points less), wine cellar or wine room (45%, 11 points less), Victorian or Edwardian (47%, 12 points less) and elevator (33%, 21 points less).
- Every feature and style, with its median sale-to-list price, is below.
Next steps
- Search homes for sale, then use Save Search to get new listings by email.
- What’s my home worth? A starting estimate, then a real one from a Property Nerd.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about what you’re weighing.
Every feature and style
“vs. expected” compares the share that sold over asking with the share for all houses in the same cities, in percentage points; the last column is the median sale price as a share of the final list price.
| # | Feature or style | Sales | Sold over asking | vs. expected | Median sale-to-list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remodeled (fully or recently) | 2,768 | 73% | 9 points more | 104.8% |
| 2 | Ranch (style named) | 632 | 70% | 7 points more | 104.7% |
| 3 | Single-story | 3,063 | 68% | 7 points more | 103.7% |
| 4 | Mid-century modern | 818 | 74% | 7 points more | 105.3% |
| 5 | Eichler | 263 | 76% | 7 points more | 106.3% |
| 6 | EV charging | 1,600 | 67% | 5 points more | 103.2% |
| 7 | Cul-de-sac | 1,764 | 67% | 5 points more | 103.4% |
| 8 | Air conditioning | 4,229 | 67% | 5 points more | 103.3% |
| 9 | Modern or contemporary | 1,062 | 66% | 3 points more | 103.6% |
| 10 | Corner lot | 1,050 | 66% | 2 points more | 103.2% |
| 11 | Home office | 3,279 | 65% | 2 points more | 102.9% |
| 12 | Solar | 2,338 | 62% | 1 point more | 101.8% |
| 13 | Tudor, storybook or traditional | 277 | 62% | 1 point more | 102.4% |
| 14 | Craftsman or bungalow | 472 | 61% | about the same | 102.1% |
| 15 | Pool | 2,809 | 57% | about the same | 100.8% |
| 16 | Main-floor bedroom (two-story houses) | 1,909 | 60% | 1 point less | 101.5% |
| 17 | Fixer-upper | 695 | 62% | 1 point less | 102.8% |
| 18 | RV or boat parking | 514 | 59% | 1 point less | 101.5% |
| 19 | View | 1,804 | 57% | 2 points less | 100.7% |
| 20 | Three-car garage or bigger | 1,096 | 52% | 3 points less | 100.0% |
| 21 | Gated entry | 483 | 52% | 3 points less | 100.0% |
| 22 | Basement | 347 | 59% | 4 points less | 102.0% |
| 23 | Waterfront or water views | 121 | 62% | 5 points less | 102.2% |
| 24 | Modern farmhouse or new construction | 812 | 56% | 5 points less | 100.8% |
| 25 | Spanish or Mediterranean | 314 | 54% | 6 points less | 100.6% |
| 26 | ADU, in-law unit or guest house | 1,945 | 54% | 6 points less | 100.3% |
| 27 | Creekside | 138 | 46% | 11 points less | 100.0% |
| 28 | Wine cellar or wine room | 480 | 45% | 11 points less | 100.0% |
| 29 | Victorian or Edwardian | 81 | 47% | 12 points less | 100.0% |
| 30 | Elevator | 72 | 33% | 21 points less | 98.2% |
Reading it right
- Over asking depends on the asking price. Many Silicon Valley sellers list below what they expect, to draw offers; some kinds of houses are priced that way more often. A high over-asking share isn’t the same as a higher price; see what buyers pay more for for price per square foot.
- The list price is the final one, after any price cuts.
- It’s what listings say. A house counts when its description mentions the feature or style.
How we counted
Closed sales of houses (MLS property type “single family home”) between October 28, 2024 and October 27, 2026, reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records from different feeds removed (normalized address plus sale date). 31 cities of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Sales with a sale price between half and twice the final list price; the expected share for each feature is the average over-asking share of the cities its sales were in (cities with at least 30 sales). Features and styles with fewer than 50 sales are left out. Past sales aren’t a forecast.
Go deeper
Bidding Wars by Price splits sale-to-list by price band, How Much Over Asking shows it by city, and sale vs. asking by neighborhood goes street by street. The Offer Lab helps you write a winning offer.
Getting ready to write an offer, or to list?
A Property Nerd will pull the recent sales closest to the home you’re weighing and show you what buyers paid. 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.