San Clemente, California Housing Market

What stands out in San Clemente?

• The median asking price is $2,301,556: one of the priciest of 765 tracked cities. Entry costs are high, so cash flow is harder. Price growth has to do more of the work.
• Homes for sale are 52% below 2017–2019: among the tightest inventory against 2017–2019 of 765 tracked cities. Choice is still scarcer than before the pandemic.
• The median household earns $139,175 a year: among the highest incomes of 765 tracked cities. Tenants can carry higher rents.

Are San Clemente price gains broad or limited to a few ZIP codes?

Asking price per square foot in San Clemente is up 5.9% over the last year. Over five years the pace has been 5.5% a year. Underwrite closer to that than to the last twelve months.

How does San Clemente compare with other California markets?

Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:

• Asking price: 4th priciest of 141. San Clemente is at $2,301,556. Closest: Encinitas and Santa Barbara.
• Buyer competition: 41st most competitive of 138. San Clemente is at 0.45 buyers per home. Closest: Lincoln and Stockton.
• Time on market: 64th longest time on market of 141. San Clemente is at a median of 52 days on market. Closest: Yuba City and San Francisco.
• Price cuts: 25th fewest price cuts of 141. San Clemente is at 14% of sellers cutting. Closest: Pomona and Garden Grove.

Is now a good time to buy in San Clemente?

The median asking price is 11.7% below its Jul 2024 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 5.4% below the Apr 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. San Clemente prices have risen in 90 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

If you plan to sell in the next two years, move it up. This much buyer demand does not last. Right now it does your negotiating for you.

What is the fair market rent in San Clemente?

HUD sets one fair market rent for Orange County. For fiscal year 2026:

• 1 bedroom: $2,746 a month. Up 12% on last year, up 107% since FY2016.
• 2 bedrooms: $3,236 a month. Up 11% on last year, up 94% since FY2016.
• 3 bedrooms: $4,393 a month. Up 12% on last year, up 89% since FY2016.
• 4 bedrooms: $5,246 a month. Up 12% on last year, up 107% since FY2016.

The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Orange County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.

How much can you negotiate in San Clemente?

For every 100 homes still for sale, 45 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 35. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. Few sellers are dropping their price. Asking prices are holding firm. Your discount will come from one stale listing.

The typical San Clemente listing has been on the market 52 days. That is 8% shorter than a year ago. There are 124 homes for sale in San Clemente. That is 3.9 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 339. Supply is shrinking against last year.

What to do about it

• Get your financing approved before you look.
• Decide your maximum price before you bid.
• Bid the day a good home lists, or hunt the few that have sat 60+ days.
• Walk away when the price passes your number. Another buyer will overpay. Let them.

What numbers should you underwrite a San Clemente deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +5.5%/yr. San Clemente grew 7.8% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, San Clemente grows about 5.5% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices rose 5.9% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 7. 14% of San Clemente listings have cut their asking price. Underwrite your exit below asking.
• Competition when you exit — -11%. Homes for sale in San Clemente are down 11% on last year, so your resale faces less competition than today's comps did.

Read cash flow versus appreciation and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in San Clemente?

The median asking price in San Clemente is about $2,302,000 as of Sep 2026, up 2.9% from a year ago. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our San Clemente figures cover the 3 ZIP codes with a San Clemente mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is San Clemente a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Sellers have more pull in San Clemente than usual. We compare San Clemente with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 52% fewer homes for sale; 14% of sellers have cut their price, against 26% then; there are 45 pending sales per 100 listings, against 35 then.

Are San Clemente home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 11.7% below its Jul 2024 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 5.4% below the Apr 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.

What is the best month to buy a house in San Clemente?

Across 9 full years, San Clemente asking prices ran lowest in October, about 1.9% below the year's average. They peaked in April. The most homes for sale show up in July, about 19% above the yearly average.

What price growth should I assume for San Clemente?

Assume +5.5% a year. San Clemente grew 7.8% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, San Clemente grows about 5.5% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices rose 5.9% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.

What is the fair market rent in San Clemente?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Orange County is $3,236 a month for 2 bedrooms and $4,393 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.