Clearlake, CA Housing Market
AI-powered market intelligence for the Clearlake, CA metro area.
PropertyIQ Scores
Clearlake, CA Market Analysis
Market Overview
Clearlake, CA’s housing market reads as weak, with a PropertyIQ Score of 9/100. The score’s top drivers help explain why: 12-month home value momentum is 0.24%, 3-month home value momentum is -0.55%, median days on market is 82 days, and 22.7% of listings have a price cut. The median home value is $307,753, well below California’s average of $764,158—roughly 40% of the state benchmark. But lower prices do not automatically mean a strong market; the near-flat year-over-year home value change of -$1 and the negative recent momentum reinforce the weak score.
Compared with state benchmarks, Clearlake’s rent index of $1,781 is below the state average of $2,036, and median household income of $60,621 is below the state average of $99,122. Unemployment is 5.1%, matching the state average. With 497 homes for sale and median days on market at 82, the area shows a slow, buyer-friendly sales environment, but weak price momentum points to limited near-term upside.
Key Trends
Home value movement is essentially flat to slightly negative. The median home value changed by -$1 year over year, 12-month momentum was 0.24%, and 3-month momentum was -0.55%. This combination suggests prices are not crashing, but they are not gaining either; the most recent three months show more softness than the 12-month average.
Sales conditions are sluggish. Median days on market is 82 days, and 22.7% of listings have a price cut. Both are top score drivers. There are 497 homes for sale, though no state or historical inventory benchmark was provided. The price-cut share and time on market suggest sellers are waiting longer and adjusting expectations to attract offers.
Affordability is split. The median home value in Clearlake is much lower than the state average, while median household income is closer to the state average in percentage terms: home values are about 40% of the state figure, while income is about 61%. That suggests purchase prices are relatively more reachable for local incomes than in the state overall. However, rent is a different story: the rent index of $1,781 is only about 12.5% below the state average of $2,036, while incomes are about 39% below the state average. That means rental costs may be a heavier relative burden for local renters than the raw rent gap would suggest.
The labor market appears stable but not a catalyst. Unemployment is 5.1%, equal to the state average. While that stability may support housing demand, it has not translated into positive home value momentum. Population growth data is not available, so the demand-side picture remains incomplete.
Who Is This Market For
This market may be most suitable for price-conscious first-time buyers and buyers looking for a lower-cost entry point in California. The median home value of $307,753 is far below the state average of $764,158, which can make purchase prices more accessible for households earning around the local median income of $60,621. The slow market conditions—82 median days on market and a 22.7% share of listings with price cuts—may also give buyers more time and negotiating room.
Investors may find the relationship between purchase prices and rents worth a closer look. The rent index is $1,781, only $255 below the state average, while the median home value is $456,405 below the state average. Because rents are not discounted as much as home prices relative to state benchmarks, the market may offer a more favorable rent-to-price ratio than California as a whole. However, with a PropertyIQ Score of 9/100 and negative 3-month home value momentum, investors should not expect strong short-term appreciation.
Move-up buyers are likely to face more friction. The same slow conditions that help buyers—82 days on market and price cuts on 22.7% of listings—can work against someone trying to sell a current home.
Outlook
The near-term outlook for Clearlake is cautious. The 12-month home value momentum of 0.24% is barely positive, while the 3-month momentum of -0.55% points to softer conditions in the most recent period. A year-over-year home value change of -$1 reinforces the lack of appreciation. Median days on market of 82 days and a 22.7% price-cut share suggest buyers may continue to hold negotiating power. Unemployment at 5.1% matching the state average provides some stability, but the median household income of $60,621 remains far below the state average of $99,122, limiting local purchasing power. Population growth data is unavailable, which leaves an open question about future demand. Based strictly on the provided numbers, the market appears positioned for continued flat-to-soft home price performance in the near term.
AI-generated analysis based on current market data. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Get Clearlake, CA market updates
Choose your role for tailored insights.
Clearlake, CA market data
Clearlake, CA Housing Market Overview
Clearlake, CA's median home value is $308K, up 0.2% over the past year. Homes here sell in a median 82 days. Its PropertyIQ Score of 9 sits below the state average of 50, marking a market positioned to lag its state over the next three years.
Understanding the Clearlake, CA housing market requires looking beyond headline price figures. The PropertyIQ Score reads both sides of market strength: Zillow price momentum across 3- and 12-month windows, and Realtor.com flow signals — days on market and the share of listings with price cuts. Together they predict how this CA metro is set to perform relative to the rest of its state.
Pacific Coast housing markets feature the nation's highest price points alongside strong wage growth from technology, entertainment, and trade sectors. Supply constraints from geographic barriers and regulatory environments create persistent affordability challenges but also strong long-term appreciation potential. Within the Pacific, Clearlake, CA's PropertyIQ Score of 9 runs below the Pacific norm.
California's housing market is defined by extreme supply-demand imbalance, with CEQA regulations and geographic constraints limiting new construction. Despite affordability challenges, strong wage growth in tech and entertainment sectors sustains prices.
Each month, PropertyIQ updates its score for Clearlake, CA using four inputs: Zillow ZHVI twelve-month and three-month momentum, Realtor.com median days on market, and the Realtor.com share of listings with price cuts. These four signals are combined into a single 1 to 99 score computed across all metro markets and calibrated so 50 represents the state average, making it a direct read of how this market is positioned to perform relative to its state. Momentum here has been positive, with home values up 0.2% over the past year.
View Clearlake, CA's complete market profile including historical price trends, score history, and AI-generated analysis. Compare this market against any other US metro to find the best opportunities for your investment strategy.
Counties in the Clearlake, CA metro area
ZIP codes in the Clearlake, CA metro area
View all 14 →Market data through August 2026. Sourced from Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, BLS, and BEA. Per-statistic source and date shown above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Clearlake, CA a good place to buy real estate in 2026?
PropertyIQ doesn't label markets simply good or bad. Instead, the PropertyIQ Score measures a market's demand momentum against its own state, where 50 marks the state average. Clearlake, CA currently scores 9, a very weak-momentum reading that leaves it positioned to lag its state over the next three years. For buyers, cooling demand usually brings more inventory, longer sale times, and real leverage to negotiate on price. Backing that up, the median home value here is $308K, up 0.2% over the past year. So whether Clearlake, CA is right for you comes down to your goals: a rising-momentum market can favor long-term appreciation but offers less room to negotiate, while a cooling one hands buyers more leverage. Treat the score as a timing signal to weigh alongside your budget, holding period, and plans for the property, not a verdict on the market's quality.
What is the PropertyIQ Score for Clearlake, CA?
Clearlake, CA's PropertyIQ Score is 9, indicating very weak momentum on a 1-to-99 scale. The score distills four transparent inputs into a single number: Zillow home-value momentum over the past 12 months, Zillow home-value momentum over the past 3 months, the median days homes spend on the market from Realtor.com, and the share of listings with a price cut, also from Realtor.com. Rising values and faster sales push the score up, while slow sales and frequent price cuts pull it down. The scale is calibrated so 50 equals the state average, meaning a score above 50 predicts the market will outperform its state over the next three years and a score below 50 predicts underperformance. PropertyIQ computes the score across every US market nationally, then recenters it against each state, so 9 places Clearlake, CA below its state benchmark.
Are home prices in Clearlake, CA rising or falling?
Home prices in Clearlake, CA are rising. Over the past year, the median home value increased 0.2%, reaching $308K. Over the latest three months, values slipped 0.5%, a sign near-term demand is softening. PropertyIQ derives these figures from Zillow's home-value index, which tracks the typical value across the market rather than only the homes that happened to sell, giving a steadier read than a raw median sale price. Both the 12-month and 3-month momentum readings feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, so this price trend is one of the core signals behind Clearlake, CA's current score. Keep in mind that appreciation can vary widely by neighborhood and price tier across the metro area, so treat these figures as the market-wide baseline rather than a guarantee for any single property.
How quickly do homes sell in Clearlake, CA?
In Clearlake, CA, homes sell in a median of 82 days from listing to pending sale, based on Realtor.com market data. Median days on market is one of the clearest real-time reads on local demand: when homes move quickly, buyers are competing and sellers hold the advantage, while lengthening timelines signal cooling interest and more room to negotiate. Alongside sale speed, about 23% of active listings here have taken at least one price cut — a complementary demand gauge, since a rising share of reductions often precedes slower sales and softer prices. Both median days on market and the price-cut share feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, where faster sales and fewer cuts push the score higher. As a general guide, medians under about 30 days indicate a brisk, competitive market, while medians well beyond 60 days point to buyers regaining leverage. Actual time on market still varies by price band, property type, and season, so treat the median as a market-wide baseline.
How current is this metro area data?
This Clearlake, CA market data is refreshed on a monthly cycle, with the latest figures current through August 2026. PropertyIQ ingests fresh data every month from a range of authoritative sources: home values and rents from Zillow, days on market and price-cut activity from Realtor.com, additional housing signals from Redfin, demographic and housing-stock data from the U.S. Census Bureau, mortgage and macroeconomic series from FRED, and employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The PropertyIQ Score itself is recomputed every month once the new source data lands, so the score and its four underlying inputs always reflect the most recent complete reporting period rather than a static snapshot. Because official housing data is typically released with a short lag, the current-through date usually trails the present by a few weeks, which is normal across the industry and not a sign the data is out of date.