Hayward Real Estate Market Report, September 2026: The Median Slipped to $860,000, and Months of Supply Fell to 2.0

Hayward's median sale price slipped in September 2026. The median single-family home closed at $860,000, down 8% from August's $935,000, the lowest monthly median on the report's chart since December 2025. Read on its own, that sounds like Hayward prices sliding into the fall.

The rest of the report points somewhere else. In the same month, the median price per square foot on closed sales rose 2.3% to $622, and the homes that sold still went over asking: 102.75% of list on average, after a median of 16 days on market. Supply tightened too. Active listings fell 11.3% to 86, new contracts rose to 46, and months of supply dropped to 2.0, its second straight monthly decline.

Here is the complete picture, recreated from the Bay East Association of REALTORS® and RPR market-trends data for Hayward as a whole, with a free branded PDF you can download and keep at the end.

September 2026 at a glance

Hayward, CA, Single Family Residence, citywide. Median sold price $860,000, Sold-to-list 102.75%, Median 16 days on market, 2.0 months of inventory, 44 closed sales, Median estimated value $916,850

The interactive dashboard below walks through every number: the median sold price, the months-of-supply dial, how price and value moved apart, where buyers signed against what is still waiting, the full metric grid, and this month's supply and demand by stage.

The median fell and price per foot rose, August's story in reverse

The median sold price fell to $860,000, down 8% from August. Read on its own, that sounds like Hayward prices sliding.

The median sold price per square foot rose to $622, up 2.3%. Read on its own, that sounds like the opposite.

Both are correct, and last month's Hayward report showed the same split pointing the other way: in August the median rose 5.6% while price per foot fell 8.2%. The median sold price reports the middle sale of the month, so it moves whenever the kind of home selling changes. Smaller homes usually sell for less in total but more per square foot. A month in which more of them close tends to pull the median down and push the median price per foot up at the same time, which is September's pattern. The most likely explanation is that September's closings skewed toward smaller homes. The report does not break out home size, so that is a reading of the figures, not a measurement.

A third number from the same report is consistent with that reading. RPR's median estimated value for Hayward single-family homes was $916,850, down 0.3% from August and down 0.3% from a year ago. That is a model estimate, not an appraisal, but it covers Hayward's single-family homes as a whole rather than only the 44 that happened to close, and it barely moved. September's median close landed about $57,000 below that estimate.

On the report's five-year chart, September's $860,000 is the lowest monthly median since December 2025, and it sits about 1% above September 2025's roughly $850,000. With price per foot up and the model value nearly flat, I read it as a month in which smaller homes closed, not an 8% drop in what a given Hayward home is worth.

This is why I never quote one month's median as the value of your home. It describes what sold, not what yours is worth.

Homes still sold over asking, and just as fast

The homes that closed in September had spent a median of 16 days on market before going under contract, the same as August. They closed at 102.75% of list price on average, up from 102.2% in August. On the report's chart, Hayward has averaged over asking every month since February 2023. That is an average across 44 closed sales, so it does not mean every home sold over list.

The contracts written during September came together faster. The homes that went into contract during the month did it in a median of 13 days, down 18.8% from August. Even the homes still waiting had been listed for less time. The homes active at month end had been listed a median of 26 days, down 21.2%.

Escrow usually runs about a month, so many of the homes that closed in September went into contract in August. The closed figures lean toward August's contracts, and the new-contract figures describe September's.

More homes came on, fewer sat, and buyers kept signing

The pipeline tells its own story this month:

• 75 new listings came on the market, up 13.6% from August
• 86 homes were active at the end of the month, down 11.3%
• 46 homes went into contract during September, up 2.2%
• 44 homes were pending at month end, up 4.8%
• 44 homes closed, up 2.3%

New listings rose, contracts rose a little, and the pool of homes for sale still shrank by 11. The report does not count homes taken off the market without a sale, so these counts do not reconcile on their own. What they do show is that buyers had fewer homes to choose from at the end of September than at the end of August.

One more detail is worth knowing. The new listings came on at a median list price of $949,000, up 3.8%, well above the list prices of homes going into contract. The homes that went into contract during September carry a median list price of $875,000, and the homes in contract at month end $872,500. Those are list prices, not sale prices, and both are close to September's $860,000 closed median.

Months of supply fell for a second straight month

Months of inventory finished September at 2.0, down 11.5% from August and up 1% from September 2025. On the report's chart, it peaked this summer at about 2.41 in July and has now dropped two months in a row, back about where it stood in May.

One note on that comparison. Last month's report published August at 2.38 months of supply, and RPR has since revised August as later records arrived. This report's 11.5% drop implies a revised August of about 2.26 months, and the report's own chart shows the same. RPR also revised August's active listings from 100 to 97, its new listings from 67 to 66, its new contracts from 44 to 45 and its month-end pendings from 43 to 42, along with the active listings' median days (32 to 33) and median price per square foot ($606 to about $603), the new contracts' median days (15 to 16), and the median list prices of new listings, active listings and month-end pendings (to about $915,000, $975,500 and $888,000). August's closed prices, closed sales count, days on market for closed sales and sold to list did not change. Every change in this post is measured against RPR's revised August, not the figures first published.

Photo by Alfred Twu, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

That leaves Hayward well inside seller's territory. The long-standing convention holds that roughly six months of supply marks a balanced market, and 2.0 months is nowhere near it. The summer's rise in supply gave buyers a little more room, and September took some of it back.

Homes went into contract listed at $875,000, while the homes still waiting list at $980,000

This is the most useful thing in the September data, and it takes two groups of homes to see it.

The homes that went into contract in September carried a median list price of $875,000 and took a median of 13 days to get there.

The homes still on the market at month end carried a median list price of $980,000 and had been listed a median of 26 days.

That is a gap of $105,000 in median list price, with twice the time on market. On RPR's revised August figures the same gap was about $77,000 (August's report first published it as $90,950), so it widened this month. The two groups differ in more than price, so the gap is not proof that price alone explains the wait. Size, location and condition all vary between them. But the pattern runs across the pipeline: new contracts at $875,000, month-end pendings at $872,500, closings at $860,000. Three medians within about $15,000 of each other mark the price band where Hayward homes are going into contract and closing, while fresh listings came on at $949,000 and the homes still waiting sit at $980,000.

For a concrete example, the 31967 Albany St open house I am hosting on October 17 and 18, listed by Steve Dhillon of REALTY EXPERTS®, is listed at $898,000, close to the list prices of homes that went into contract in September.

A year ago, Hayward had more sales and the same balance

Set against September 2025, read from the report's five-year charts:

• Closed sales: 44 in September, against about 56 a year earlier
• New contracts: 46 during September, against about 52
• Active listings: 86 at month end, against about 93
• New listings: 75, against about 76, close to flat
• Sold to list price: 102.75% on average, against about 101%
• Median sold price: $860,000, against about $850,000

Buyers slowed more than sellers did. Over the past twelve months, sellers listed about 5% fewer homes than in the twelve months before, roughly 737 against 779, and buyers wrote about 9% fewer new contracts, roughly 510 against 559. Active listings at month end are down about 8% on the year, close to the drop in contracts. Because months of supply divides the homes for sale by the pace of contracts, and those two shrank together, supply is about level with a year ago, up 1%. Meanwhile the homes that did sell went a little further over asking than they did a year ago.

The year-ago figures and the twelve-month totals are approximate, read from the plotted series. The current figures, and the 1% and 0.3% year-over-year changes, are exact from the report.

In the five-year view, the median sits near the bottom of its range

Context matters more than any single month. Measured against the plotted five-year trend in the source report, from September 2021 through September 2026:

• Median sold price has ranged from roughly $845,000 to $1,131,000, high in May 2022 and low in early 2023. September's $860,000 sits close to the bottom of that range.
• Sold price per square foot has ranged from roughly $582 to $732, high in spring 2022. The lows, all near $582 to $584, came in December 2022, March 2023 and again in January 2026. September's $622 sits in the lower third.
• Sold to list price has ranged from roughly 98.0% to 119.4%, high in March 2022 and low in January 2023. September's 102.75% is above asking and far below the bidding-war highs of early 2022.
• Months of supply has ranged from roughly 0.48 to 2.67, low in January 2022 and high in June 2025. September's 2.0 sits about two thirds of the way up, below this summer's level.

Those band edges are approximate, read from the plotted five-year series in the source report. Each current value is exact.

What this means if you are selling in Hayward

Price close to the homes going into contract. In September, the homes that went into contract carried a median list price of $875,000, while new listings came on at a median of $949,000. Every home is different, and your number comes from the homes that sold on your street, not from a citywide median. But in my experience, a list price well above the list prices of comparable homes going into contract is what the 26-day column looks like. I laid out why in the overpricing trap.

Your first two weeks matter most. Homes that went into contract did it in a median of 13 days. In my experience, that first stretch is when every active buyer with a saved search sees your home for the first time. Coming out overpriced spends it, and you rarely get it back.

Sellers still have the edge. At 2.0 months of supply and 102.75% of list on average, Hayward favors sellers, and there are fewer homes for buyers to compare yours against than at the end of August. A well prepared home, priced in line with its neighbors, is in a strong position.

What this means if you are buying in Hayward

Homes are still closing over asking on average. The homes that closed in September averaged 102.75% of list after a median of 16 days on market. If a home is priced in line with the homes going into contract near it and it shows well, expect other buyers to notice it too, and be ready to move.

There is less to choose from than this summer. Active listings fell to 86 at the end of September, down 11.3% in a month, and months of supply is back to 2.0. That still leaves real choice, but less than in July and August.

The homes that have been sitting deserve a look. The homes still active at month end carry a median list price of $980,000 and had been listed a median of 26 days. In my experience, a home listed for a month or more has a seller who is recalculating. Some are sitting because of price, and price is negotiable. Some may have a condition issue an inspection would surface. Sorting one from the other is where walking them with someone local pays off.

How Hayward compares with Newark this month

Newark showed the same shape in the same month. Its September median fell 11.4% while its price per foot rose 15.4%. My read of each city's own figures is the same, a change in which homes sold. With small monthly samples, the parallel is a match in direction, not evidence of a regional trend. The two also sit at very different price points: Newark's $1,298,000 September median is about $438,000 above Hayward's $860,000. Neighborhoods, lot sizes and housing stock differ a great deal across that line, so the comparison is about direction and price point, not like-for-like homes. For more on the city itself, from the hills to the shoreline, see my Hayward city guide.

Photo by Mercurywoodrose, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped; the cropped version is also CC BY-SA 3.0.

One note on scope. Every figure in this report covers single-family homes across the whole city of Hayward. The 31967 Albany St write-up I published quotes figures for ZIP code 94544 only, a smaller area with its own supply picture, so its numbers will not match these, and they are not meant to.

Thinking about a move in Hayward?

A market report tells the story of the whole city. To know what it means for your specific home or your next purchase, let's talk. I will put together a true, address-specific opinion of value based on the homes actually selling near you, with no pressure and no obligation. Call or text me at (510) 600-3425, or email homes@HarvRealtor.com.

Harv Balu, REALTOR®

• Cell / Text: (510) 600-3425
• Email: homes@HarvRealtor.com
• Web: HarvRealtor.com
• REALTY EXPERTS® · 41051 Mission Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539 · DRE #02195792

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Disclosures & Disclaimers

Based on information from the Bay East Association of REALTORS® and Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) market-trends report for Hayward, California, Single Family Residence, citywide, generated October 12, 2026 (its pages carry RPR's October 13, 2026 date stamp), with data through September 2026. All figures describe the Hayward single-family market as a whole at every size and condition, not condominiums or townhomes, and not any individual property. Properties may or may not be listed by the office or agent presenting this information.

Figures are deemed reliable but not guaranteed, are subject to revision by the source, and are not a prediction of future value. RPR revises prior months as late data arrives, so the August baselines inside this report can differ from the figures the August report published; every month-over-month change here is the one this report calculated, and the revised August figures quoted above are implied by those changes and match the report's own charts. RPR prints September's months of inventory as a whole 2; its own chart reads 2.0. Year-ago figures, twelve-month totals, five-year ranges, and every comparison with earlier months on the five-year chart are approximate, read from the plotted trend charts in the source report; each current value, and each year-over-year change the report prints, is exact. The median estimated value is an automated model estimate, not a formal appraisal. Nothing here is an appraisal or a valuation of any specific property. Harv Balu, REALTOR®, is a California real estate licensee (DRE #02195792), not a lender, attorney, or CPA, and does not provide legal, tax, or lending advice. This is not intended as a solicitation if your property is currently listed with another broker.

31967 Albany St is listed by Steve Dhillon of REALTY EXPERTS®. Harv Balu is hosting its October 17 and 18 open house and is not the listing agent.

About the images: the header image is an AI illustration of a typical Hayward hillside view toward the bay and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, first used on the August 2026 report. It is not a photograph of any specific home, and no property shown is a listing. Aerial photo: "Aerial view of Hayward in 2021" by Alfred Twu, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, looking north across Hayward toward the East Bay hills and Mount Diablo. Cropped and color adjusted. Garden photo: "Japanese Gardens trail Hayward" by Mercurywoodrose, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Equal Housing Opportunity. Harv Balu, CA DRE #02195792. REALTY EXPERTS® (CA DRE #00414413) is independently owned and operated. © 2026 Harv Balu, REALTY EXPERTS®.