Best Time to Buy by City

Best Time of Year to Buy a House in Oakland

Updated November 2, 2026

By Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Reviewed by:

Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Kevin Kretzmer

Head Agent, California · CalDRE #01997822

The best time to buy a house in Oakland is December. Buyers who went under contract in December paid a median 0.9% below the original asking price, and 51% of homes sold below asking, compared with 7.5% above in May, the most expensive month. That gap is 8.5 percentage points, or about $68,526 on the $810,000 median home in Oakland. The trade-off is choice: September brings about 385 new listings a month, December only about 103. Here is the month-by-month data from 4,341 closings in Oakland in our MLS feed.

TurboHome Market Analysis · Oakland, CA · Contracts signed November 2024 through September 2026 · Published November 2026

Key findings

Best month: December. Oakland homes that went under contract in December sold for a median 0.9% below original asking, and 51% sold below the original asking price.
Most expensive month: May, at a median 7.5% above original asking, with 30% of homes selling below asking.
Best vs firmest season: Winter (1.2% above original asking) versus spring (6.2% above original asking).
New listings: September brings about 385 new listings a month; December only about 103.
Price cuts: 36.0% of homes that went under contract in December had taken a price cut first, versus 16.6% in May.
Days on market: the typical winter listing sat 24 days, versus 15 in spring.

Oakland home prices by month: what buyers actually paid

"Contract month" is the month the buyer's offer was accepted, not the month the sale closed. That is the date a buyer can actually time. The chart shows how the median sale in Oakland compared with the original asking price in each contract month, and the table below it has every figure.

Above original asking
Below original asking

Median close vs original asking, by month. Every figure is in the table below.

Oakland home prices by month: what buyers actually paid, data table
Contract month	Closings	Median close vs original asking	Sold below original asking	Price cut before sale	Median $/sq ft	Median days on market	Median sale price	Avg new listings per month
January	256	0.1% above original asking	40.6%	24.2%	$531	15	$712,500	305
February	344	4.5% above original asking	30.2%	11.9%	$565	14	$794,000	316
March	456	6.4% above original asking	25.9%	16.4%	$590	15	$902,000	368
April	429	4.8% above original asking	27.0%	15.9%	$573	14	$858,000	358
May	409	7.5% above original asking	29.6%	16.6%	$583	17	$898,000	341
June	429	2.3% above original asking	34.7%	23.5%	$555	18	$770,000	313
July	365	4.0% above original asking	32.6%	23.3%	$552	21	$760,000	277
August	385	4.8% above original asking	32.5%	17.9%	$557	17	$820,000	293
September	390	6.2% above original asking	29.0%	19.7%	$547	15	$842,500	385
October	239	2.8% above original asking	34.3%	23.4%	$562	20	$770,000	315
November	386	1.8% above original asking	41.2%	29.3%	$546	27	$789,500	165
December	253	0.9% below original asking	51.0%	36.0%	$512	44	$695,000	103

New listings swing just as hard. September averages about 385 new listings in Oakland, while December averages about 103.

Avg new listings per month

Average new listings per calendar month over two years. Hover a point for its value; every figure is in the table above.

Best season to buy a house in Oakland

Best season to buy a house in Oakland, data table
Season	Median close vs original asking	Sold below original asking	Price cut before sale	Median days on market	Avg new listings per month
Winter	1.2% above original asking	40.6%	24.0%	24	241
Spring	6.2% above original asking	27.5%	16.3%	15	356
Summer	3.7% above original asking	33.3%	21.6%	19	294
Fall	3.6% above original asking	34.8%	24.1%	21	288

Winter was the best season to buy in Oakland: the median home closed 1.2% above original asking, and 40.6% of homes sold below asking. Spring was the firmest, at 6.2% above original asking with 27.5% below asking. Listings sat a median 24 days in winter versus 15 in spring.

Winter is December to February, spring March to May, summer June to August and fall September to November.

Which neighborhoods in Oakland get cheaper in the off-season

Median close vs original asking by season in the neighborhoods with the most closings in Oakland in our feed.

Which neighborhoods in Oakland get cheaper in the off-season, data table
Neighborhood	Closings	Median sale price	Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
Upper Rockridge	145	$1,764,000	7.4% above original asking	14.9% above original asking	11.8% above original asking	11.2% above original asking
Adams Point	122	$493,000	0.2% above original asking	2.6% below original asking	1.7% below original asking	1.4% below original asking
Redwood Heights	118	$1,185,000	24.0% above original asking	21.4% above original asking	13.6% above original asking	11.7% above original asking
Montclair	117	$1,450,000	14.4% above original asking	10.4% above original asking	8.6% above original asking	10.4% above original asking
Fairfax	116	$777,500	8.7% above original asking	8.5% above original asking	3.9% above original asking	2.5% above original asking
Sequoyah	105	$1,025,000	7.6% above original asking	0.9% above original asking	0.1% below original asking	0.8% above original asking

Adams Point was the softest of Oakland's busiest neighborhoods, with the median sale at 2.6% below original asking in summer. Redwood Heights moved the most with the seasons, from 24.0% above original asking in spring to 11.7% above original asking in winter. Neighborhood figures rest on fewer closings than the citywide numbers, so read them as direction rather than a price quote.

Why the season matters in Oakland

Oakland's spring premium is real: in May buyers paid a median 7.5% over the original list, driven by underpriced listings in Redwood Heights, Montclair and Upper Rockridge where spring offers landed 7% to 24% over the original asking price. By December the median sale slipped to just under asking, 51% of homes sold below the original price and the typical listing had been sitting 44 days, three times the spring pace. Adams Point condos are the softest sub-market year round and the best place to negotiate in any month.

Is winter a good time to buy a house in Oakland?

Yes, on price. Oakland contracts signed in winter (December to February) closed a median 1.2% above original asking, versus 6.2% above original asking in spring, and 40.6% of winter sales went below the original asking price. December on its own closed a median 0.9% below original asking, with 51.0% of homes selling below asking.

The trade-off is thin inventory. Winter brings about 241 new listings a month versus 356 in spring, and December only about 103. The typical winter listing in Oakland sits 24 days versus 15 in spring, so winter sellers have usually had time to rethink their price.

Does the season matter more than mortgage rates?

In Oakland, the spread between the best and worst month to sign a contract was 8.5 percentage points on price, about $68,526 on the $810,000 median home. A 0.5 point move in the 30-year mortgage rate changes the monthly payment on a $810,000 home with 20% down by roughly the same order of magnitude. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026.

Watch both. You can't control where rates go, but you can control when you shop and how hard you negotiate, and a flat-fee buyer's agent works the price side in any month.

How to time a purchase in Oakland

Get pre-approved before the slow season. In Oakland that is winter, and a pre-approval lets you move the day a stale listing gets interesting.
Target homes past the median of 18 days on market in Oakland. Sellers who have waited longer than the typical listing are the most open to an offer below asking.
In bidding-season months, shop the soft segments. In spring and May, use the neighborhood table above to find parts of Oakland, such as Adams Point, that still sell below asking.
In the slow months, ask for credits and repairs, not only price. In December, 36.0% of homes that sold had already taken a price cut, so sellers know where the market is.
Keep searching through the holidays. December brings the fewest new listings, about 103, and sellers in Oakland who list then are usually motivated.

Methodology

We looked at closings of single family homes, condos and townhouses in Oakland from our MLS feed, with contracts signed November 2024 through September 2026 and closed by October 31, 2026, and removed outlier ratios. "Median close vs original asking" is the median of close price divided by the original list price, so it includes price cuts made before the sale. Across all 4,341 closings, that ratio was 1.0368 (3.7% above original asking), 33.1% of homes sold below original asking, 20.9% had a price cut before selling, and the median home sold for $810,000 at $559 per square foot after 18 days on market.

New listings are the two-year average per calendar month. Figures are medians unless stated. Published November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest month to buy a house in Oakland?

December. Oakland homes that went under contract in December sold for a median 0.9% below original asking, and 51% sold below the original asking price. The median listing had been on the market 44 days.

What is the worst month to buy a house in Oakland?

May is the most expensive month. Oakland homes that went under contract in May sold for a median 7.5% above original asking, only 30% sold below asking, and the median listing sat 17 days.

Is winter a good time to buy in Oakland?

Yes, on price. Winter contracts closed a median 1.2% above original asking, 40.6% of homes sold below asking and the typical listing sat 24 days. The catch is choice: about 241 new listings a month, versus 356 in spring.

How much can I save by timing my purchase in Oakland?

The gap between the best and most expensive month was 8.5 percentage points, about $68,526 on the $810,000 median home in Oakland. That is a median across 4,341 closings, not a guarantee: the home, the neighborhood and your offer still matter more than the calendar.

When do the most homes come on the market in Oakland?

September brings the most new listings, about 385 a month. December brings the fewest, about 103.

Buy in Oakland with a flat-fee buyer's agent

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