Blog > Silicon Valley Homes With a Home Office, Solar or EV Charging (2026)
Silicon Valley invented a lot of the tech in today’s homes. How many houses here actually sell with a home office, solar panels or EV charging, and do they bring more? From the listing descriptions of all 21,761 houses sold in 31 Silicon Valley cities in the two years to October 27, 2026:
The short answer
- A home office: 3,280 sales (15% of all), median $2.15M, 3% less per square foot than the typical house in the same city; 65% sold over asking.
- Solar panels: 2,338 sales (11% of all), median $2.11M, about the same per square foot as the typical house in the same city; 62% sold over asking.
- EV charging: 1,600 sales (7% of all), median $2.38M, 2% more per square foot than the typical house in the same city; 67% sold over asking.
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.
How common they are, city by city
Share of each city’s house sales whose listings mention each feature, cities with the most sales first.
| City | House sales | Home office | Solar | EV charging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 7,720 | 13% | 13% | 8% |
| San Mateo | 1,011 | 19% | 7% | 8% |
| Sunnyvale | 980 | 12% | 11% | 8% |
| Redwood City | 931 | 19% | 9% | 8% |
| Santa Clara | 841 | 13% | 5% | 7% |
| Palo Alto | 777 | 15% | 4% | 6% |
| Los Gatos | 744 | 14% | 14% | 9% |
| Gilroy | 714 | 16% | 25% | 7% |
| Morgan Hill | 689 | 15% | 19% | 9% |
| Daly City | 640 | 21% | 4% | 4% |
| Los Altos | 554 | 17% | 12% | 8% |
| Menlo Park | 551 | 18% | 6% | 8% |
| Mountain View | 479 | 18% | 11% | 6% |
| San Carlos | 474 | 18% | 9% | 8% |
| Saratoga | 462 | 11% | 8% | 6% |
| South San Francisco | 434 | 16% | 3% | 5% |
| Cupertino | 416 | 13% | 9% | 8% |
| Campbell | 399 | 13% | 14% | 9% |
| San Bruno | 386 | 19% | 4% | 3% |
| Milpitas | 374 | 12% | 11% | 6% |
| Burlingame | 362 | 19% | 4% | 9% |
| Belmont | 336 | 17% | 11% | 10% |
| Hillsborough | 232 | 12% | 6% | 2% |
| Millbrae | 222 | 18% | 4% | 6% |
| Los Altos Hills | 192 | 13% | 9% | 6% |
| Foster City | 177 | 18% | 5% | 6% |
| East Palo Alto | 157 | 13% | 8% | 3% |
| Portola Valley | 145 | 22% | 10% | 6% |
| Atherton | 142 | 11% | 4% | 9% |
| Woodside | 142 | 18% | 6% | 8% |
| Monte Sereno | 78 | 12% | 10% | 18% |
A home office
Median $2.15M, $1,127 per sq ft. Median $2.17M in the year to Oct 27, 2026 (1,885 sales), $2.14M the year before (1,395 sales). Where they sold most: San Jose (1039, median $1.78M, 3% less per sq ft vs. the city), San Mateo (191, median $2.34M, 1% more per sq ft vs. the city), Redwood City (180, median $2.39M, 3% more per sq ft vs. the city), Daly City (133, median $1.27M, 1% more per sq ft vs. the city), Palo Alto (120, median $4.2M, 2% less per sq ft vs. the city), Sunnyvale (118, median $2.85M, 8% less per sq ft vs. the city), Gilroy (115, median $1.15M, 4% less per sq ft vs. the city) and Santa Clara (109, median $2.02M, 5% less per sq ft vs. the city).
Solar panels
Median $2.11M, $1,067 per sq ft. Median $2.12M in the year to Oct 27, 2026 (1,202 sales), $2.11M the year before (1,136 sales). Where they sold most: San Jose (1024, median $1.88M, 2% more per sq ft vs. the city), Gilroy (181, median $1.25M, 3% less per sq ft vs. the city), Morgan Hill (131, median $1.71M, 1% less per sq ft vs. the city), Sunnyvale (104, median $2.97M, 2% less per sq ft vs. the city), Los Gatos (102, median $2.72M, 3% less per sq ft vs. the city), Redwood City (85, median $2.42M, 3% less per sq ft vs. the city), San Mateo (70, median $2.45M, 5% more per sq ft vs. the city) and Los Altos (67, median $5.56M, 4% less per sq ft vs. the city).
EV charging
Median $2.38M, $1,181 per sq ft. Median $2.33M in the year to Oct 27, 2026 (853 sales), $2.4M the year before (747 sales). Where they sold most: San Jose (601, median $1.99M, 5% more per sq ft vs. the city), Sunnyvale (82, median $2.81M, 1% less per sq ft vs. the city), San Mateo (80, median $2.4M, 2% more per sq ft vs. the city), Redwood City (75, median $2.7M, 5% more per sq ft vs. the city), Los Gatos (64, median $2.88M, 4% less per sq ft vs. the city), Santa Clara (63, median $2.31M, about the same per sq ft vs. the city), Morgan Hill (59, median $1.8M, about the same per sq ft vs. the city) and Gilroy (50, median $1.18M, 2% less per sq ft vs. the city).
Reading it right
- Solar can be owned or leased. A leased system or a power purchase agreement transfers with the house and needs the buyer’s approval; ask which it is before you write an offer.
- “Home office” is a description, not a room type. Some are a converted bedroom; the bedroom count may or may not include it.
- EV charging ranges from a 240-volt outlet to a wall charger; check the panel capacity if you’ll want two.
- These homes differ in other ways too: size, age and condition. The “vs. its city” comparison takes location out, not the rest.
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 (normalized address plus sale date). A house counts when its listing description says so, so the true share is a little higher than shown. Price per square foot uses sales with 400 sq ft or more; “vs. its city” compares each sale’s price per square foot with the median for all houses in its own city (cities with at least 30 such sales). Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.
Go deeper
The Solar Lab covers owned vs. leased systems and the numbers behind them, Buying a home with solar explains what transfers, and who supplies electricity in your city sets the rates. More from the same sales: single-story homes, homes with an ADU, with a pool, with a view, and what each home style sells for.
Want a home that’s ready for how you work?
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.