Sacramento’s median home sale price reached $514,742 in the three months ending July 2026, up 3.0% from $500,000 a year earlier, according to newly released data from Redfin. That modest gain distinguishes the state capital from many neighboring markets, where prices held flat or slipped over the same period. For a city of nearly 540,000 residents — a population that grew 1.3% over the past year — the increase points to steady, if unspectacular, demand.

Prices rise, but the per-square-foot picture differs

While the headline median climbed 3.0% year over year, the median price per square foot moved in the opposite direction, falling 1.8% to $335 from $341 a year earlier. That divergence suggests buyers shifted toward larger homes over the past year, pushing up the overall median even as the price paid for each square foot eased slightly.

Prices have moved little over a longer horizon. The current median sits just below the $515,000 recorded in the three months ending July 2024, and it is up 6.1% from the $485,000 median of five years ago. On a monthly basis, the median rose 0.9% from $510,000 in the three months ending June 2026 — a small uptick consistent with the summer buying season.

Nationally, home prices continued to rise modestly, with the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index up year over year.

A market that still favors sellers

Sacramento remained a seller-leaning market this summer. With 2,304 active listings against 1,112 homes sold, the city carried 2.1 months of supply — well below the four-to-six months typically considered balanced, meaning buyers faced limited choice.

Homes changed hands quickly. The median time on market was 20 days, down slightly from 21 days a year earlier, so properties sold at roughly the same brisk pace. That figure did tick up from 18 days in the prior three-month period, a seasonal easing rather than a sign of a cooling market. For longer-term context, homes sold in a median of 13 days two years ago and just 7 days at the height of the pandemic-era rush five years back, so today’s pace, while fast, is more measured than in recent peaks.

Competition stayed firm. The typical home sold for 100.2% of its asking price, and 38.4% of homes sold above list — up from 35.8% a year earlier. Sales volume also strengthened, with 1,112 homes sold, up 4.3% from 1,066 a year ago. Inventory rose a more modest 2.2% year over year, and 1,483 new listings came to market, roughly in line with the 1,469 posted a year earlier.

Affordability and borrowing costs

Mortgage rates provided a small tailwind for buyers. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.54% in July 2026, down from 6.72% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac figures compiled by the Federal Reserve. At today’s median price with 20% down, the monthly principal-and-interest payment on a median-priced home works out to about $2,614 — only $27 more per month than a year ago, as the lower rate offset most of the 3.0% price increase.

Affordability remains stretched. A median-priced Sacramento home costs about 5.9 times the median household income of $87,321, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — above the level generally considered affordable. The estimated monthly payment consumes roughly 36% of median monthly household income, a burden the National Association of Realtors would classify as stretched but not out of reach.

What the numbers add up to

Taken together, Sacramento’s summer data describes a market that is holding its ground rather than shifting direction. Prices are up modestly, sales are running slightly ahead of last year, homes are selling in about three weeks, and inventory remains tight enough to keep sellers in a favorable position. The 3.0% annual price gain, though small in absolute terms, sets the city apart from softer conditions seen elsewhere in the region this season.