Blog > How Old Are the Homes for Sale in Silicon Valley? Year Built, City by City
How Old Are the Homes for Sale in Silicon Valley? Year Built, City by City
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How old is the house you’re about to buy? We sorted every house for sale in the 32 cities we cover by the year it was built, using the year built in each MLS listing on October 19, 2026: 1,833 houses with a year built on record, plus 1,490 condos and townhomes.
The short answer
- The typical house for sale was built in 1962 (the median across all 1,833).
- 46% of them were built before 1960 and 69% before 1978; 13% were built in 2010 or later.
- Oldest housing stock for sale: San Francisco (median 1923), San Carlos (median 1950) and Daly City (median 1952).
- Newest: Cupertino (median 2004), Gilroy (median 1996) and Atherton (median 1995).
- Condos and townhomes run newer: their median year built is 1992.
City by city: houses for sale by year built
Cities with at least 15 houses for sale with a year built, oldest median first. The four shares add to 100% for each city, give or take rounding. Tap a city to open it in Homes by Decade.
| City | Houses | Median year built | Before 1960 | 1960–79 | 1980–2009 | 2010 or later |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 296 | 1923 | 88% | 4% | 6% | 2% |
| San Carlos | 16 | 1950 | 63% | 19% | 6% | 13% |
| Daly City | 43 | 1952 | 63% | 23% | 2% | 12% |
| South San Francisco | 23 | 1953 | 70% | 22% | 4% | 4% |
| Santa Clara | 52 | 1954 | 75% | 15% | 4% | 6% |
| San Mateo | 41 | 1955 | 68% | 24% | 2% | 5% |
| Belmont | 16 | 1956 | 63% | 19% | 19% | 0% |
| Palo Alto | 33 | 1956 | 55% | 3% | 12% | 30% |
| Redwood City | 57 | 1956 | 56% | 11% | 18% | 16% |
| San Bruno | 19 | 1956 | 79% | 21% | 0% | 0% |
| Sunnyvale | 48 | 1964 | 38% | 38% | 15% | 10% |
| Menlo Park | 36 | 1965 | 42% | 14% | 6% | 39% |
| Mountain View | 20 | 1966 | 50% | 5% | 20% | 25% |
| San Jose | 569 | 1967 | 36% | 38% | 17% | 9% |
| Milpitas | 26 | 1970 | 8% | 50% | 27% | 15% |
| Saratoga | 35 | 1970 | 23% | 46% | 20% | 11% |
| Campbell | 37 | 1973 | 32% | 24% | 16% | 27% |
| Portola Valley | 16 | 1976 | 31% | 25% | 31% | 13% |
| Woodside | 27 | 1977 | 33% | 30% | 26% | 11% |
| Los Gatos | 106 | 1978 | 30% | 25% | 30% | 14% |
| Morgan Hill | 85 | 1990 | 13% | 27% | 35% | 25% |
| Los Altos Hills | 15 | 1991 | 7% | 27% | 40% | 27% |
| Los Altos | 15 | 1993 | 27% | 13% | 27% | 33% |
| Atherton | 18 | 1995 | 22% | 22% | 17% | 39% |
| Gilroy | 89 | 1996 | 12% | 19% | 47% | 21% |
| Cupertino | 33 | 2004 | 12% | 12% | 36% | 39% |
Fewer than 15 houses for sale with a year built: Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Millbrae and Monte Sereno.
Condos and townhomes
Across the 1,490 condos and townhomes for sale, the median year built is 1992. The newest condo and townhome stock for sale is in Morgan Hill (median 2016), Milpitas (median 2013) and Sunnyvale (median 2008).
Why year built matters
- Before 1960: for 1–4 unit wood-frame homes, the seller delivers the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety and an earthquake-weakness disclosure (California Government Code 8897.1–8897.2).
- Before 1978: the federal lead-based paint disclosure and pamphlet, with a 10-day window for a lead inspection. That covers 69% of the houses for sale here.
- Before 1980: wood-frame houses on raised foundations may qualify for an Earthquake Brace + Bolt retrofit grant, by ZIP code.
- Before 2010, in High or Very High fire hazard severity zones: a home-hardening notice listing vulnerable features (Civil Code 1102.6f).
Reading it right
- Year built is as listed. A rebuilt or heavily remodeled home may still show its original year; permits tell what changed.
- These are homes for sale on one day, not every home in each city, so a few listings can move a small city’s figures.
- Left out: listings without a year built (20 houses and 36 condos and townhomes), land, multi-unit buildings and mobile homes.
- San Jose: the first 1,200 listings read.
Go deeper
Homes by Decade shows every city’s homes for sale decade by decade, with asking price per square foot and the house styles of each era. The Home Styles Field Guide shows how to read each era from the sidewalk, and Builder Files covers who built which tracts.
Drawn to a particular era?
Tell us the decade or the style you love and a Property Nerd will watch for it. 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.