Blog > San Carlos Home Appreciation: What the Same Houses Resold For (2026)
What did San Carlos houses actually gain? Not a city average, but the same house, sold twice. We matched 153 San Carlos house resales from the last 24 months to the previous sale of the same house since 2012. Of those, 105 were about the same size both times, so the gain isn’t from an addition. The median one sold for 38% more than its owner paid, after about 7.2 years: about 4.5% a year. Here’s the breakdown by purchase year, the houses that grew, and how often owners sold for less. We’re the Property Nerds, so the numbers come from real sales.
The short answer
- The typical same-size house resold for 38% more than its last price, about 4.5% a year over a median 7.2 years.
- Bought in 2014–2016: up 71%. Bought in 2023–2024: up 9%.
- Sold for less than paid: 2 of 105 same-size houses.
- Expanded or rebuilt: 29 houses came back at least 25% bigger and sold for a median 111% more than their earlier price.
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- What’s my home worth? Ask for the recent sales on your street.
- Selling a home in San Carlos: pricing, prep and what’s selling now.
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By the year the seller bought
Same-size houses resold in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026), by when the seller had bought:
| Bought | Houses | Median price paid | Median resale | Median gain | Per year | Years held | Sold for less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | 25 | $1.66M | $2.92M | +71% | 5% | 10.5 | 0 |
| 2017–2019 | 37 | $2.01M | $2.77M | +30% | 3.6% | 7.6 | 0 |
| 2020–2022 | 26 | $2.03M | $2.63M | +27% | 4.4% | 4.6 | 1 |
| 2023–2024 | 11 | $2.15M | $2.3M | +9% | 3.9% | 2.3 | 1 |
Small groups swing more, so read a row with only a dozen or so houses as a rough guide. Purchase years with fewer than 8 same-size resales are left out.
Houses that came back bigger
29 of the resold houses had at least 25% more living area the second time, from a median 1,230 to 2,460 square feet: additions, second stories and rebuilds. They sold for a median 111% more than their earlier price. That gain includes the cost of the work, which these sales don’t show, so it isn’t profit.
Reading it right
- These are prices, not profits. Selling costs, the cost of any updates, and the mortgage interest and taxes paid along the way all come out of the gain.
- Not adjusted for inflation. A dollar in 2012 bought more than a dollar today.
- Same size isn’t same condition. Many owners remodel inside the same footprint, and a dated house resold as-is can trail its neighbors.
- Sellers choose when to sell. Owners who would have sold at a loss often wait, so resales lean toward gains.
What it means for you
- Selling: same-size houses bought in 2014–2016 resold for a median 71% more. Check the home-sale tax exclusion before you list, and if you’re 55 or older, Prop 19 for your next home.
- Buying: houses bought in 2020–2022 and resold at the same size gained a median 27%, against 71% for 2014–2016 buyers, and 1 of the 26 sold for less than they paid. Plan to stay long enough for the costs of buying and selling to wash out.
- Your own house: the home appreciation calculator runs your purchase year and price.
San Carlos against eight other San Mateo County cities
Same-size houses resold in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026), matched to their previous sale since 2012. In Daly City, South San Francisco and San Bruno, older purchases are under-counted in our data, so their resales lean toward recent buyers; compare the per-year column and the years held.
| City | Same-size resales | Median gain | Per year | Years held | Sold for less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo | 243 | +29% | 4.2% | 6.5 | 14 |
| Redwood City | 263 | +29% | 4.3% | 6.7 | 12 |
| Daly City | 87 | +14% | 2.6% | 4.9 | 10 |
| Menlo Park | 131 | +27% | 4% | 6.6 | 4 |
| San Carlos | 105 | +38% | 4.5% | 7.2 | 2 |
| South San Francisco | 56 | +19% | 3.5% | 6.4 | 8 |
| San Bruno | 65 | +23% | 3.9% | 6.0 | 4 |
| Burlingame | 77 | +38% | 4.8% | 6.3 | 3 |
| Belmont | 72 | +42% | 4.6% | 7.6 | 5 |
The long run and the last year
Repeat sales show what owners gained over years. The year-to-year medians show the short run: the median San Carlos house sold for $2.6M in the 12 months before last and $2.75M in the last 12 months, up 5.8%. A change in the median also reflects which houses happened to sell, so it swings more than any one house does.
Recent buyers are the ones to watch. The 26 same-size houses bought in 2020 to 2022 and resold in the last 24 months gained a median 27% over about 4.6 years, 4.4% a year, and 1 sold for less than the owner paid. Buying and selling costs come out of that gain.
Questions we get
How much have San Carlos homes appreciated?
Houses that resold in the last 24 months at about the same size gained a median 38% over their earlier price, about 4.5% a year over 7.2 years.
Do San Carlos homes ever sell for less than the owner paid?
Rarely in this window: 2 of 105 same-size resales.
How long do owners keep a house before selling?
Among these resales, a median of 7.2 years. That counts only houses that sold twice since 2012, so longtime owners aren’t in it.
How we counted
Every San Carlos house sale in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026) matched to its previous sale by address (house number, street and unit), where the earlier sale was in 2012 or later and at least a year before. Both are closed sales reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, one record per sale with a usable living area and map position, the same rules as our city price posts. Houses are MLS property type “single family home”; condos include townhomes. “About the same size” means living area within 5% both times; “bigger” means at least 25% more. Gains are the median of each house’s own price change; “per year” is the median annualized rate. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
Go deeper
San Carlos home prices by neighborhood, ten years, San Carlos housing market by the numbers and what adds value to a San Carlos house.
More San Carlos numbers from the Property Nerds
Talk to a Property Nerd
We’re the Property Nerds at Compass, recognized as NextGenAgents by a national real estate portal. We’ll pull the sales that matter for your home and your plans, and walk you through what they mean. 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.