Blog > What $1.5 Million Buys in the South Bay: Six Cities Compared (2026)
What does $1.5 million buy in the South Bay? It depends on the city more than you’d think. We took every house that sold for $1.25M to $1.75M in the last 24 months in six Santa Clara County cities, San Jose, Mountain View, Campbell, Milpitas, Morgan Hill and Gilroy. In Gilroy, that budget bought a median 2,940 square feet; in Mountain View, 1,110. Below are the same numbers at $1 million, $2 million, $2.5 million and $3 million, with “too few sales” wherever a city had fewer than 10 houses in the range. We’re the Property Nerds, so the numbers come from real sales.
The short answer
- Gilroy: 2,940 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a 7,460 sq ft lot (195 sales, typical sale at asking).
- Morgan Hill: 2,330 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, an 8,090 sq ft lot (245 sales, typical sale at asking).
- San Jose: 1,540 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 6,090 sq ft lot (2,638 sales, typical sale 1.5% over asking).
- Milpitas: 1,430 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 5,780 sq ft lot (185 sales, typical sale 0.4% over asking).
- Campbell: 1,360 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 6,440 sq ft lot (66 sales, typical sale at asking).
- Mountain View: 1,110 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 5,000 sq ft lot (23 sales, typical sale 1.2% under asking).
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$1 million ($750K–$1.25M)
House sales in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026). Mountain View and Campbell had fewer than 10 house sales in this range (Mountain View 1, Campbell 1), too few to summarize.
| City | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Lot | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 1,363 | 1,230 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 5,500 sq ft | 0.1% over asking |
| Mountain View | 1 | too few sales | — | — | — | — |
| Campbell | 1 | too few sales | — | — | — | — |
| Milpitas | 23 | 1,190 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 4,520 sq ft | 4.7% over asking |
| Morgan Hill | 163 | 1,500 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 5,400 sq ft | at asking |
| Gilroy | 393 | 1,930 sq ft | 4 | 2.5 | 6,300 sq ft | at asking |
$1.5 million ($1.25M–$1.75M)
House sales in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026). Every city had at least 10 sales in this range.
| City | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Lot | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 2,638 | 1,540 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 6,090 sq ft | 1.5% over asking |
| Mountain View | 23 | 1,110 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 5,000 sq ft | 1.2% under asking |
| Campbell | 66 | 1,360 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 6,440 sq ft | at asking |
| Milpitas | 185 | 1,430 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 5,780 sq ft | 0.4% over asking |
| Morgan Hill | 245 | 2,330 sq ft | 4 | 2.5 | 8,090 sq ft | at asking |
| Gilroy | 195 | 2,940 sq ft | 4 | 3 | 7,460 sq ft | at asking |
$2 million ($1.75M–$2.25M)
House sales in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026). Every city had at least 10 sales in this range.
| City | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Lot | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 1,694 | 1,840 sq ft | 4 | 2 | 6,530 sq ft | 3.5% over asking |
| Mountain View | 82 | 1,400 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 5,000 sq ft | 6.2% over asking |
| Campbell | 146 | 1,520 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 6,600 sq ft | 3.3% over asking |
| Milpitas | 103 | 1,900 sq ft | 4 | 2.5 | 5,700 sq ft | 4.3% over asking |
| Morgan Hill | 120 | 2,990 sq ft | 4 | 3 | 9,740 sq ft | at asking |
| Gilroy | 45 | 3,350 sq ft | 4 | 3.5 | 30,840 sq ft | 1.4% under asking |
$2.5 million ($2.25M–$2.75M)
House sales in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026). Every city had at least 10 sales in this range. In Gilroy, half the houses in this range sit on more than an acre.
| City | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Lot | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 872 | 2,180 sq ft | 4 | 2.5 | 7,430 sq ft | 4.2% over asking |
| Mountain View | 111 | 1,510 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 5,000 sq ft | 8.1% over asking |
| Campbell | 98 | 1,970 sq ft | 4 | 2.5 | 7,340 sq ft | 5% over asking |
| Milpitas | 29 | 2,480 sq ft | 4 | 3 | 6,300 sq ft | 6.1% over asking |
| Morgan Hill | 49 | 3,400 sq ft | 4 | 3.5 | 31,800 sq ft | at asking |
| Gilroy | 13 | 3,700 sq ft | 4 | 3.5 | 256,570 sq ft | 1% under asking |
$3 million ($2.75M–$3.25M)
House sales in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026). Gilroy had fewer than 10 house sales in this range (Gilroy 9), too few to summarize.
| City | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Lot | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 402 | 2,630 sq ft | 4 | 3 | 8,030 sq ft | 3.8% over asking |
| Mountain View | 74 | 1,740 sq ft | 3 | 2 | 6,350 sq ft | 3.8% over asking |
| Campbell | 40 | 2,430 sq ft | 4 | 3 | 9,880 sq ft | 1.3% over asking |
| Milpitas | 13 | 3,060 sq ft | 4 | 3 | 6,970 sq ft | 4.4% over asking |
| Morgan Hill | 40 | 4,390 sq ft | 5 | 4.5 | 22,710 sq ft | at asking |
| Gilroy | 9 | too few sales | — | — | — | — |
Why the same budget buys so differently
Price per square foot. The median house sold for $527 a square foot in Gilroy and $1,671 in Mountain View over the last 12 months, so the same budget buys a very different amount of house. Part of every house price is the lot and the address, and the lots differ too: at $1.5 million, the median lot ran from 5,000 square feet in Mountain View to 8,090 in Morgan Hill.
Each city in detail
- What your budget buys in San Jose
- What your budget buys in Mountain View
- What your budget buys in Campbell
- What your budget buys in Milpitas
- What your budget buys in Morgan Hill
- What your budget buys in Gilroy
Condos and townhomes, city by city
Medians, the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026). Gilroy had only 28 condo and townhome sales in the last 12 months, under the 30 a year we use for a city-wide condo figure.
| City | Median condo or townhome | Living area | Per sq ft | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | $776K | 1,230 sq ft | $634 | 1,447 |
| Morgan Hill | $882K | 1,720 sq ft | $522 | 105 |
| Campbell | $1.05M | 1,410 sq ft | $756 | 88 |
| Milpitas | $1.11M | 1,450 sq ft | $720 | 177 |
| Mountain View | $1.43M | 1,400 sq ft | $979 | 269 |
| Gilroy | too few sales | — | — | 28 |
Questions we get
Where does $1 million buy a house in the South Bay?
Of these six cities, San Jose (1,363 sales, a median 1,230 sq ft), Milpitas (23 sales, a median 1,190 sq ft), Morgan Hill (163 sales, a median 1,500 sq ft) and Gilroy (393 sales, a median 1,930 sq ft) had at least 10 house sales between $750K and $1.25M in the last 24 months. Mountain View and Campbell had too few (Mountain View 1, Campbell 1).
Which city gives the most house for $1.5 million?
Gilroy: a median 2,940 square feet at $1.25M to $1.75M. In Mountain View, the same budget bought 1,110.
What’s the least expensive way into these cities?
Condos and townhomes. The medians run from $776K in San Jose to $1.43M in Mountain View. Gilroy had only 28 condo and townhome sales in the last 12 months, under the 30 a year we use for a city-wide condo figure.
For Palo Alto, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Los Gatos and Saratoga at $2 million to $5 million, see what $3 million buys in Silicon Valley.
How we counted
Medians of 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. The window is the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026) for the budgets and the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026) for condos. Each budget is a $500,000 range centered on the round number; a city with fewer than 10 sales in a range shows “too few sales.” Lot is the lot size the listing reports. “Typical sale” is the median of sale price against list price. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
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.