Blog > Homes With a Basement in Silicon Valley: Where They Are and What They Sell For (2026)
Homes With a Basement in Silicon Valley: Where They Are and What They Sell For (2026)
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Basements are rare in Silicon Valley, where most houses sit on slabs or crawl spaces. How rare? Of the 21,737 houses sold in 31 Silicon Valley cities in the two years to October 27, 2026, 346 (2%) had listings that mention a full, finished, partial, walk-out or daylight basement. Here’s where they are and what they sold for.
The short answer
- Most basement sales: San Jose (148), Los Gatos (22), Palo Alto (22) and Daly City (18).
- Median price: $1.85M, 2% more per square foot than the typical house in the same city; median size 1,770 sq ft.
- Bidding: 59% sold over asking.
- Neighborhoods with the most: Naglee Park & University, San Jose (17), Luna Park & Northside, San Jose (16) and North Willow Glen & Gardner, San Jose (15).
Next steps
- Search homes for sale, then use Save Search with “basement” as a keyword.
- What’s my home worth? A starting estimate, then a real one from a Property Nerd.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about the streets where basements are common.
City by city
Cities with at least 3 basement sales; “share” is of all the city’s house sales.
| City | Basement sales | Share | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 148 | 2% | $1.57M |
| Los Gatos | 22 | 3% | $2.77M |
| Palo Alto | 22 | 3% | $4.7M |
| Daly City | 18 | 3% | $1.18M |
| Redwood City | 14 | 2% | $2.56M |
| San Mateo | 13 | 1% | $2.4M |
| Santa Clara | 13 | 2% | $1.69M |
| San Bruno | 11 | 3% | $1.3M |
| Burlingame | 8 | 2% | $3.27M |
| South San Francisco | 8 | 2% | $1.27M |
| Sunnyvale | 8 | 1% | $1.99M |
| San Carlos | 7 | 1% | $2.55M |
| Belmont | 6 | 2% | $2.39M |
| Gilroy | 6 | 1% | $813K |
| Millbrae | 6 | 3% | $2.25M |
| Saratoga | 6 | 1% | $3.4M |
| Mountain View | 5 | 1% | $3.08M |
| Menlo Park | 4 | 1% | $3.75M |
| Los Altos | 3 | 1% | $6.16M |
| Los Altos Hills | 3 | 2% | $5.4M |
| Morgan Hill | 3 | under 1% | $1.46M |
| Woodside | 3 | 2% | $7.5M |
Neighborhood by neighborhood
Our neighborhood guides with at least 3 basement sales, placed by map position.
| Neighborhood | City | Sales | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naglee Park & University | San Jose | 17 | $1.42M |
| Luna Park & Northside | San Jose | 16 | $1.15M |
| North Willow Glen & Gardner | San Jose | 15 | $2.75M |
| Old Quad | Santa Clara | 12 | $1.71M |
| Downtown Willow Glen | San Jose | 10 | $1.91M |
| Rose Garden | San Jose | 9 | $2.3M |
| River Glen & The Willows | San Jose | 8 | $1.87M |
| Horace Mann & Julian-St. James | San Jose | 6 | $1.14M |
| Washington-Guadalupe & Tamien | San Jose | 6 | $928K |
| Downtown Gilroy | Gilroy | 5 | $850K |
| Hanchett & Hester Park | San Jose | 5 | $1.8M |
| Monastery Gardens | Santa Clara | 5 | $2.05M |
| Palm Haven | San Jose | 5 | $2.28M |
| Willow Glen West | San Jose | 5 | $1.93M |
| Burbank | San Jose | 4 | $1.12M |
| Easton Addition | Burlingame | 4 | $3.6M |
| Edgewood Park | Redwood City | 4 | $4.18M |
| Farm Hill & Canyon | Redwood City | 4 | $2.33M |
| Huntington Park & Lomita Park | San Bruno | 4 | $1.05M |
| Old Palo Alto | Palo Alto | 4 | $6.09M |
| San Mateo Park | San Mateo | 4 | $4.17M |
| Southern Hills & Bayshore | Daly City | 4 | $1.22M |
| Vendome & Hyde Park | San Jose | 4 | $1.23M |
| Community Center | Palo Alto | 3 | $6M |
| Cory & Bascom Gardens | San Jose | 3 | $1.7M |
Before you buy a house with a basement
- Water is the big question. Ask about sump pumps, drainage and any past water intrusion, and read the disclosures closely.
- Is the space permitted as living area? A finished basement may or may not be counted in the official square footage; ask how the listing counted it.
- Exits and ceiling height decide whether a basement room can be a legal bedroom.
- Hillside houses often have a daylight or walk-out lower level, which can feel like another floor rather than a basement.
How we counted
Closed sales of houses (MLS property type “single family home”) between October 28, 2024 and October 27, 2026 in 31 cities of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records from different feeds removed. A house counts when its listing description mentions a full, finished, partial, walk-out, daylight or unfinished basement or a basement level or room, so there are more than these counts show. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.
Go deeper
See what Silicon Valley buyers pay more for, the Inspection Decoder and the Disclosure Decoder, and every home-type post on Silicon Valley home types by the numbers.
Want a house with a basement?
A Property Nerd will point you to the streets where they’re most common and watch for new listings. 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.