Stockton, California Housing Market

What stands out in Stockton?

• Homes for sale are down 12% on last year: among the sharpest inventory declines of 765 tracked cities. Supply is shrinking, which shifts leverage to sellers.

What moves the numbers in Stockton?

Stockton asking prices per square foot were above the year before in 77% of months since the data starts. Within a year, the cheapest and priciest months differ by about 8.0%. That is bigger than the yearly trend, so timing your purchase matters here. Nothing in Stockton's numbers is far from its own normal. Your return comes from the property and the price you negotiate.

Is now a good time to buy in Stockton?

The median asking price is 7.9% below its May 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices stopped falling about a year ago. They are flat now. Waiting will not get you a cheaper house. It might still get you a more motivated seller. Stockton prices have risen in 86 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.

How does Stockton compare with other California markets?

Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:

• Asking price: 11th cheapest of 141. Stockton is at $442,353. Closest: Desert Hot Springs and Citrus Heights.
• Buyer competition: 42nd most competitive of 138. Stockton is at 0.45 buyers per home. Closest: San Clemente and Rancho Cucamonga.
• Time on market: 41st longest time on market of 141. Stockton is at a median of 56 days on market. Closest: Irvine and Davis.
• Price cuts: 37th most price cuts of 141. Stockton is at 22% of sellers cutting. Closest: Morgan Hill and Diamond Bar.

Who will rent from you in Stockton?

In Stockton, 44 out of every 100 households rent. That is nearly half. The renter share is shrinking. Five years ago it was 49 in 100. Stockton lost about 4,400 renter households in five years. Renter households here average 3.1 people. Families rent here. Buy bedrooms. Studios will sit.

Households grew 3% in five years. The housing stock grew 2%. Demand is outrunning supply. 6.2% of homes sit empty. That is normal for a healthy market.

The median Stockton household earns $81,465 a year. Incomes here have grown 7.4% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 5.4 times the median income. That is the national middle. Neither cash flow nor appreciation is free here. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $2,037 a month.

To see what one Stockton address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

How much can you negotiate in Stockton?

For every 100 homes still for sale, 45 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 83. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. About 1 in 4 sellers has already dropped their price. Each one has learned their first price was too high. Start your offer below their new price.

The typical Stockton listing has been on the market 56 days. There are 557 homes for sale in Stockton. That is 3.4 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 739. Supply is shrinking against last year.

What to do about it

• Start in 95212, 95219, and 95203, where sellers are weakest: in 95212, 25% of sellers have cut and the typical listing has been up 81 days.
• Look for listings older than 60 days with a price cut.

What numbers should you underwrite a Stockton deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +1.2%/yr. Stockton grew 5.8% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Stockton grows about 1.2% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices were flat over the last year.
• Competition when you exit — -12%. Homes for sale in Stockton are down 12% on last year, so your resale faces less competition than today's comps did.

Read how rent-to-price works and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Stockton?

The median asking price in Stockton is about $442,000 as of Sep 2026, about the same as 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 Stockton figures cover the 17 ZIP codes with a Stockton mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Stockton a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Neither side has the upper hand in Stockton right now. We compare Stockton with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 45 pending sales per 100 listings, against 83 then; the typical listing has been up 36% more days; there are 13% fewer homes for sale.

Are Stockton home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 7.9% below its May 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices stopped falling about a year ago. They are flat now. Waiting will not get you a cheaper house. It might still get you a more motivated seller.

Which Stockton ZIP code has the most negotiating room?

95212. Only 30 homes under contract for every 100 still for sale. 25% of sellers there have cut their price, and the typical listing has been up 81 days.

What is the best month to buy a house in Stockton?

Across 9 full years, Stockton asking prices ran lowest in February, about 4.6% below the year's average. They peaked in July. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 18% above the yearly average.

What price growth should I assume for Stockton?

Assume +1.2% a year. Stockton grew 5.8% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Stockton grows about 1.2% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices were flat over the last year.

What is the fair market rent in Stockton?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for San Joaquin County is $1,742 a month for 2 bedrooms and $2,423 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.