Blog > Downsizing in Sunnyvale: Trading a House for a Condo or Townhome, by the Numbers (2026)
Downsizing in Sunnyvale: Trading a House for a Condo or Townhome, by the Numbers (2026)
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Trading a Sunnyvale house for a condo or townhome is one of the biggest money moves a longtime owner makes. In the last 12 months the median Sunnyvale house sold for $2.63M at about 1,640 square feet, and the median condo or townhome sold for $1.35M at about 1,460 square feet. That’s a gap of about $1.28M before selling costs. Here’s what condos and townhomes cost and offer, what happens to your property tax, and the rule that lets owners 55 and older keep their tax base. We’re the Property Nerds, so the numbers come from real sales.
The short answer
- The gap: about $1.28M between the median house ($2.63M) and the median condo or townhome ($1.35M), before selling costs and taxes.
- The space: from about 1,640 sq ft and a 6,290 sq ft lot to about 1,460 sq ft, usually with shared grounds instead of a yard.
- Price per foot: $873 for condos and townhomes against $1,549 for houses, because the house price includes the land.
- Property tax at the new price: about $15,800 a year on the median condo or townhome. If you’re 55 or older, Prop 19 can let you carry your current assessed value instead.
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Buying or selling in Sunnyvale?
- What’s my home worth? Ask for the recent sales on your street.
- Selling a home in Sunnyvale: pricing, prep and what’s selling now.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about your plans.
What you’d sell, and what you’d buy
Medians of the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026):
| Home type | Sales | Median price | Living area | Beds | Baths | Per sq ft | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houses | 466 | $2.63M | 1,640 | 4 | 2 | $1,549 | 7.4% over asking |
| Condos and townhomes | 339 | $1.35M | 1,460 | 3 | 2.5 | $873 | 0.1% over asking |
| Townhomes only | 233 | $1.43M | 1,590 | 3 | 2.5 | $898 | 1.3% over asking |
| Condos only | 106 | $825K | 1,090 | 2 | 2 | $761 | at asking |
Condos and townhomes by price
Condo and townhome sales in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026), by price range; ranges with fewer than 10 sales are left out:
| Price range | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500K–$750K | 61 | 870 | 2 | 1 | 1% under asking |
| $750K–$1M | 107 | 1,070 | 2 | 2 | at asking |
| $1M–$1.25M | 87 | 1,220 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.7% over asking |
| $1.25M–$1.5M | 184 | 1,520 | 3 | 2.5 | 0.3% over asking |
| $1.5M–$1.75M | 152 | 1,720 | 3 | 3 | 2.3% over asking |
| $1.75M and up | 78 | 1,950 | 4 | 3.5 | 3% over asking |
Your property tax, before and after
Prop 13 lets a home’s assessed value rise at most 2% a year while you own it, so a longtime owner’s tax is far below what a buyer pays. Buy a condo, and its assessed value starts at the price you pay: about $15,800 a year on the median Sunnyvale condo or townhome at the city’s 1.173% rate, after the homeowners’ exemption. Here’s where owners who bought the median house in past years stand on the 2025–26 roll:
| Owner | Paid | Assessed value now | Tax now, before the homeowners’ exemption | Assessed value below the median condo’s price? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bought the median house in 2012 | $875K | at most $1.13M | at most $13,300 | yes |
| Bought the median house in 2016 | $1.5M | at most $1.79M | at most $21,000 | no |
| Bought the median house in 2020 | $1.91M | at most $2.11M | at most $24,700 | no |
Prop 19: keep your tax base when you move
If you’re 55 or older, severely disabled, or lost your home to a wildfire or natural disaster, Prop 19 lets you move your assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California: up to three times if you’re 55 or older or severely disabled, with no set limit after a wildfire or natural disaster. Buy or build within two years of selling. If the new home costs more than the one you sold, the difference is added to the value you carry over; buying a less expensive condo avoids that. It helps most when your current assessed value is well below the new home’s price, so compare the two before you count on it. Our Prop 19 guide and the State Board of Equalization’s Prop 19 page have the details.
Before you count the gap
- Selling costs come off the top: transfer tax (by city), commissions, prep and staging.
- Capital gains: a longtime owner’s gain can be well above the home-sale exclusion. See the home-sale tax exclusion and ask your tax advisor.
- HOA dues replace some of a house’s upkeep and insurance, but they’re a monthly cost of their own, and buildings vary in their reserves and rules.
- Timing: selling first gives you cash and certainty; buying first keeps you from moving twice. Prop 19’s value limits change with which you do first.
Sunnyvale against nearby cities
Medians, the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026).
| City | Median house | Median condo or townhome | Gap | House sq ft | Condo sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | $4.9M | $1.77M | $3.13M | 2,490 | 1,330 |
| Palo Alto | $4M | $1.5M | $2.5M | 1,910 | 1,390 |
| Sunnyvale | $2.63M | $1.35M | $1.28M | 1,640 | 1,460 |
| Cupertino | $3.33M | $1.26M | $2.08M | 2,100 | 1,260 |
| Santa Clara | $1.97M | $883K | $1.08M | 1,540 | 1,290 |
| Los Gatos | $2.67M | $1.45M | $1.22M | 2,300 | 1,450 |
| Saratoga | $4.28M | $1.43M | $2.86M | 2,780 | 1,560 |
Questions we get
How much does a condo cost in Sunnyvale?
The median Sunnyvale condo or townhome sold for $1.35M in the last 12 months, at about 1,460 square feet (339 sales).
Will my property tax go up if I downsize?
It depends. At the new price, the median Sunnyvale condo or townhome carries about $15,800 a year. If you’ve owned your house for years, that can be more or less than you pay now; the table above shows where past buyers stand. Prop 19 may let owners 55 and older keep their current value.
Can I use Prop 19 more than once?
Yes. Prop 19 allows up to three transfers for owners 55 and older, to a replacement home anywhere in California bought within two years of the sale.
How we counted
Prices are medians of closed sales reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, one record per sale with a usable living area and map position, the same rules as our city price posts. Houses are MLS property type “single family home”; condos include townhomes. The window is the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026), and the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026) for the price-range table. Owners’ assessed values start from the median house price in each year and grow at the 2% Prop 13 cap through the 2025–26 roll, so they’re upper bounds. Tax uses Sunnyvale’s typical 2025–26 rate from the county’s rate book, after the homeowners’ exemption. Prop 19 rules are from the State Board of Equalization. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
Go deeper
Sunnyvale condo and townhome prices since 2012, Sunnyvale property tax rate, townhomes in Sunnyvale, condos in Sunnyvale and what your home is worth.
More Sunnyvale numbers from the Property Nerds
Talk to a Property Nerd
We’re the Property Nerds at Compass, recognized as NextGenAgents by a national real estate portal. We’ll pull the sales that matter for your home and your plans, and walk you through what they mean. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.