Cupertino Housing: Multi-Family Homes Lagging

Cupertino’s detached houses are climbing faster than its condos and townhomes, widening the price gap in one of Silicon Valley’s priciest school districts. (redfin.com) Redfin said Cupertino’s median home price hit $3.4 million in March 2026, up 16.2% from a year earlier. Homes sold in a median nine days, even as the number of sales fell to 24 from 38 a year earlier. (redfin.com) MLSListings data compiled by local broker Juliana Lee showed Cupertino’s median single-family sale price at $3.45 million in the first quarter of 2026, with houses selling at 109% of list price after a median eight days. The same MLS snapshot showed attached homes averaging about $1.16 million, far below single-family pricing. (julianalee.com) (mlslistings.com) That split lands as Cupertino is remaking its zoning map under state housing law. The city’s 2023-2031 Housing Element was certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development on September 4, 2024, after the City Council adopted it on May 14, 2024 and approved rezoning changes in July 2024. (cupertino.gov) Cupertino’s state-assigned housing target for 2023-2031 is 4,588 units. A January 30, 2026 city memo said the certified plan identified capacity for 5,881 units, but the buffer was much thinner for lower-income categories than for market-rate units. (cupertino.gov) The city’s project pipeline is now heavy on attached housing. Cupertino’s “Major Residential Projects” page listed townhome, condo and apartment proposals in review or approved along Stevens Creek Boulevard, McClellan Road, Linda Vista Drive, Homestead Road, North Wolfe Road and South De Anza Boulevard as of February 19, 2026. (cupertino.gov) Cupertino’s own code also treats multi-family building as a separate planning category. In R-3 and R-4 zones, projects need Architectural and Site Approval permits, and developments with five or more units face specific lot coverage, setback and height rules. (cupertino.gov) The market data helps explain why the debate is sharp: buyers still bid aggressively for detached houses tied to Cupertino’s schools, while attached homes trade at a much lower level. In a city trying to add thousands of units, that leaves the fastest-growing part of the market and the main form of new housing moving in different directions. (julianalee.com) (cupertino.gov)