“Summer’s slow, we’ll list in the fall.” I hear it every July. On the Peninsula, it usually costs the seller money.
Summer isn’t what’s slow. Mispricing is.
The numbers, this morning
I pulled inventory across the mid-Peninsula — San Bruno through Menlo Park. It’s still relatively limited: well under 300 single-family homes for sale, at a median ask around $2.2 million. This is not a market drowning in choices.
And about two-thirds of those listings have been on the market under a month. The homes piling up past 90 days aren’t victims of the season. They’re the overpriced ones.
The buyers still here in July are the serious ones
The people touring in July aren’t browsing. They’re relocating, pre-approved, and they need to be in before the school year starts. Fewer homes competing for motivated buyers is the exact setup sellers say they want.
It’s sitting right here in July.
“Slow market” and “selective market” are not the same thing — and they call for very different game plans.
So the real question isn’t “now or fall”
It’s whether your home is priced to the buyers who are actually shopping right now.
Wait until September and you list into the wave of everyone else who waited too. That means more competition, not less.
If you’re weighing now vs. later
It’s worth knowing what your home would actually do in today’s market — not in the version of the market everyone repeats at backyard barbecues. I live and work these mid-Peninsula towns, and I’m happy to share what I’m seeing in your neighborhood.
Just tell me the area you’re in.
