Daly City has always been the answer Bay Area buyers reach for when San Francisco gets too expensive — and in 2026, "too expensive" has pushed the city's own median to $1,131,000 with homes pending in roughly 16 days (Redfin Daly City). That's the citywide number. The actual story is more interesting: Westlake — the post-war Henry Doelger tract famously parodied in Malvina Reynolds' Little Boxes — now closes at a $1,314,500 median, while Serramonte's condo stock pulls the city average down with sub-$700K transactions. One ZIP code, four very different markets.
If you're sitting on a Daly City house in 2026, you're sitting on a market that's still tight enough to clear in two-and-a-half weeks but soft enough at the edges (some sources show 23-day medians, others 50) that pricing strategy and exposure matter more than they did 18 months ago. This guide walks through the citywide data, the four neighborhoods that drive almost all of the variance, the schools, the commute economics, and what a 5-6% commission actually costs versus the LOQOL flat-fee alternative at this price point.
The 2026 Daly City Snapshot
| Metric | Daly City (Citywide) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $1,131,000 (early 2026) | Redfin |
| Single-family median | $1,177,000 (Feb 2026) | Houzeo |
| Days on market (typical) | 16 days (well-priced); 23 days median | Redfin / Houzeo |
| Average offers per listing | 3 offers | Redfin |
| YoY price direction | Up 2-4% forecast for 2026 | Zillow / Houzeo |
| Price-per-sqft trend | Mid-$800s to $900s in established neighborhoods | Redfin neighborhood data |
The headline you don't see in most market summaries: Daly City's median is now within $50K of San Francisco's citywide condo median (Redfin SF). The "more affordable than SF" framing is real but increasingly thin. What sellers should care about is which sub-market their house actually competes in.
Daly City by Neighborhood: One City, Four Markets
Daly City's neighborhoods don't blend together the way other Peninsula cities' do. Westlake and Serramonte are two miles apart and price like they're on different planets.
| Neighborhood | Median / Avg Price | Housing Stock | Why It Prices There |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake | $1,314,500 (median sale, 12-month) | Mid-century split-level Doelger tract houses, ~1,350 sq ft | Closest to SF, ocean side, walkable, Doelger pedigree |
| Original Daly City | $1,174,940 (avg) | Pre-war SFRs, Mission Street commercial corridor | Historic core, walkable to BART, mixed condition |
| Crocker | $956,940 (avg) | Single-family, smaller lots, wider price band | Mid-tier inventory, the city's relative entry point for SFRs |
| Serramonte | $688,000 (avg) / 1BR condos $475K, 2BR $668,900 | Condo-heavy, mall-adjacent | Condo product pulls average down; entry point for first-time buyers |
A seller in Westlake and a seller in Serramonte are both listing in "Daly City," but they're competing in completely different buyer pools. Westlake competes with Pacifica and Outer Sunset SFRs. Serramonte condos compete with South San Francisco and SF outer condos. Pricing the wrong comp set is the most common Daly City listing mistake we see.
What's Actually Selling Fast (and What Isn't)
The "16-day" median masks two distinct dynamics:
Selling in under 14 days: Updated Westlake homes priced at or just under $1.3M, single-family Crocker homes in turnkey condition under $1M, and Original Daly City Edwardians with parking. Three offers, multiple over-asking, the classic Bay Area pattern.
Sitting longer: Condos in Serramonte beyond $700K (where buyers can stretch to a townhome elsewhere), tear-downs and obvious deferred-maintenance houses, and anything north of $1.5M without a renovated kitchen. At those break points, even Daly City's tight inventory doesn't bail out a soft listing.
The market is forecast to rise 2-4% through 2026 (Houzeo Daly City). That's positive but not enough to absorb pricing mistakes the way the 2021-2022 market did.
The Schools Story: Jefferson Union High Is the Daly City Premium Driver
Daly City spans two main districts. Most of the city — including Westlake and Serramonte — is served by Jefferson Elementary School District (K-8) and Jefferson Union High School District (9-12). The high school district holds a Niche B+ overall grade and a 91% graduation rate, ranking #553 of California's 1,908 districts on combined math/reading proficiency (Public School Review).
That's solidly above-average for the Peninsula price band Daly City sits in, and it's a meaningful part of why Westlake doesn't trade at South SF prices despite being similar housing stock. Buyers with school-aged kids will pay several hundred thousand to land in Jefferson Union's catchment instead of South SF Unified or West Contra Costa.
The Commute Economics: Why Daly City Holds Premium Even When SF Wobbles
Daly City has two assets no other peripheral SF suburb has at the same combination:
- The Daly City BART station — direct ride to downtown SF (Embarcadero) in roughly 25 minutes
- I-280 access — peninsula-down commute to South Bay tech employers, often 40-50 minutes to Sunnyvale/Mountain View
That dual-direction commute optionality is rare. Pacifica only goes to SF. South SF locks you into the 101. Daly City buyers can pivot between SF financial-services jobs and Peninsula tech jobs without moving. When tech hiring softened in late 2024-2025, the SF/finance side of that hedge kept Daly City demand more stable than purely tech-dependent submarkets.
Inventory and Forecast: A "Tight But Loosening" 2026
Active listings in Daly City have crept up modestly compared to 2024 lows but remain well below 2018-2019 norms. Forecasters across Houzeo, Zillow, and Redfin consistently land on 2-4% citywide appreciation for 2026 — meaningfully positive, but a far cry from the 8-12% YoY runs of the early 2020s. The implication for sellers: pricing matters, exposure matters, and listings that go up sloppy don't get bailed out anymore.
What 5-6% Commission Actually Costs in Daly City
At Daly City's $1.13M median, traditional listing commission alone — before the 2.5% buyer-side rate that often gets layered on — eats deep into seller equity. Here's the math at the citywide median:
| Commission Model | Total Commission Paid | You Keep (of Sale Price) |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional 6% (3% list + 3% buyer) | $67,860 | $1,063,140 |
| "Discount" 5% (2.5% + 2.5%) | $56,550 | $1,074,450 |
| LOQOL flat fee (list-side flat, plus standard buyer-agent compensation) | $4,399 + buyer-agent comp | ~$30K-$50K more in your pocket vs. 5-6% list-side |
The flat-fee math gets more compelling the higher you go in Daly City's price band. A Westlake seller at $1.3M is leaving even more on the table at 5-6% — and the work the listing agent does on a 16-day, three-offer sale is the same regardless of price. That's the structural mismatch LOQOL was built to solve, with our AI agent Charlie handling the contract logistics, buyer follow-ups, and offer comparison work that traditional brokers price in as if it scaled with home value.
Run your own numbers on the LOQOL savings calculator.
Where Daly City Sits in the Peninsula Stack
Daly City is the soft floor for "real Peninsula" pricing in 2026. South of it, you're paying San Mateo County tier rates. North of it, you're paying SF. That positioning is durable — and it's why the 2-4% appreciation forecast is, if anything, conservative relative to what hill-side and BART-adjacent Westlake homes have actually done.
For sellers in 2026, the takeaway is straightforward: the Daly City market still rewards a clean, well-exposed listing, but it no longer rewards sloppy ones. Pick the right comp set, price within the right neighborhood band, and don't pay for the listing as if it's still 2021.
FAQ: Daly City Housing Market 2026
What is the median home price in Daly City in 2026?
The citywide median is approximately $1,131,000, with single-family homes at roughly $1,177,000 (Feb 2026 data, Houzeo / Redfin). Neighborhood medians range from ~$688K in Serramonte (condo-heavy) to ~$1.31M in Westlake.
How long do Daly City homes take to sell?
Well-priced listings go pending in around 16 days with an average of 3 offers (Redfin). Slower sources put the median at 23 days. Anything beyond 30 days typically signals a pricing or condition issue.
Which Daly City neighborhood has the highest home prices?
Westlake consistently leads, at roughly $1,314,500 median sale price over the trailing 12 months — driven by its proximity to SF, walkability, and the Doelger mid-century housing stock.
Is Daly City a good place to sell in 2026?
Yes — but only if you price right. The market is forecast to rise 2-4% in 2026 with continued buyer demand. Single-family homes with kitchen and bath updates in good neighborhoods are still moving in two to three weeks. Tear-downs and overpriced condos sit.
How much does commission cost on a typical Daly City sale?
At the $1.13M median, a 6% commission is $67,860. A 5% rate is $56,550. LOQOL's flat fee is $4,399 for the list-side work, with standard buyer-agent compensation handled separately.
Should I sell my Daly City home with a flat-fee broker?
If your home is priced above $700K (which most Daly City single-family homes are), the math on a percentage-based commission rarely works in your favor. Flat-fee structures keep the marketing, MLS exposure, and contract handling intact while removing the listing-side percentage. Compare side-by-side.