- Lisa M. Lum, REALTOR®
- Posts
- Lisa's Market Minute
Hello, June
The May numbers are out. And the headline everyone will repeat is that Silicon Valley prices fell.
Don't believe the easy version.
Yes, Santa Clara's median slipped. But it slipped against a May last year that was wildly hot. Buyers still paid over asking. The good homes were gone in a week. The market didn't cool. It got pickier. And those are two very different things.
Here's what's actually moving the Peninsula right now: money you can't see yet.
The biggest pile of it got a ticker on Friday. SpaceX went public, the largest IPO ever priced, and its cap table is thick with Peninsula money. Those shares start unlocking this summer, not in December the way lockups used to work.
A seller in the city listed a three million dollar home and said they'd happily take OpenAI or Anthropic stock instead of cash. The inbox filled up within a day. Up here, a brand-new Atherton house just traded for thirty-one million. And a lot of the real action at the very top never touches the public record at all.
I tend to hear about those anyway. People talk to me. It's half the fun of this job.
-Lisa
THE MAY REPORT
San Mateo County - Market Housing Statistics
Single Family Residential | May 2026
San Mateo County Area Report
Santa Clara County - Market Housing Statistics
Single Family Residential | May 2026
Santa Clara County Area Report
IN THE NEWS
 Image source: Images 2.0 / Lisa Lum | The Bay Area's K-Shaped Housing MarketSince ChatGPT launched, luxury Bay Area ZIP codes have pulled away while the most affordable homes have actually lost value. The two halves of our market are drifting apart, and this is what it means if you own on either side of the line. … |
 Image source: Images 2.0 / Lisa Lum | The Peninsula Lock-In IndexWhy so many owners with sub-4% mortgages simply will not sell, how much that is choking supply, and what it takes to actually pry a great home loose in this market.... |
 Image source: Images 2.0 / Lisa Lum | A San Francisco seller wants OpenAI or Anthropic stock for their $3 million homeA homeowner offered to take shares of OpenAI or Anthropic instead of cash, aimed at the many AI employees who are millionaires on paper but cannot touch the money until their company goes public. The listing reportedly drew a flood of interest within a day. ... |
 Image source: Images 2.0 / Lisa Lum | New Atherton home sells for $31MA newly built Atherton home traded for $31 million, the priciest Midpeninsula sale of the week. A quiet reminder of just how high the top of our market sits, even as the rest of the county debates affordability. … |
 Image source: Images 2.0 / Lisa Lum | San Francisco's soaring apartment rents spill into other parts of the Bay Area, with no signs of coolingSan Francisco's record rent in May spilled over into nearby cities, with no signs of a cooling on the horizon, according to the latest data from rental marketplace Zumper. … |
A NOTE OF THANKS
 | A little something for your home this summer. I'm inviting you to enter our Spruce Up Your Space Giveaway, with up to $5,500 in Wayfair gift cards available. Whether it's fresh pillows or a new reading chair, I hope this helps make your space feel even more like yours. |
SCHEDULE A CALL
Lisa M. Lum
DRE #02005150
Mobile: +1 (650) 668-1868 | Email: [email protected]
Coldwell Banker Realty
1706 El Camino Real, Suite 220, Menlo Park, CA 94027
