Those who believe California home prices will crash in 2026 and improve affordability, along with folks hoping for more soaring values to pad their wealth, won’t like Zillow’s latest forecast.

My trusty spreadsheet analyzed price outlooks for calendar 2026 for 50 big metropolitan areas – including six in California – and found Zillow’s estimates suggest a dull year ahead. Meek price movements are forecast for the firm’s regional indexes of its home valuations.

A 1% gain was the estimated median price change among the six Golden State metros in the report. That’s a slight reversal from the 2.3% dip in the past year to a statewide median of $935,700.

House hunters remain sidelined as affordability remains ridiculously out of reach. Plus, Zillow doesn’t foresee mortgage rates below 6% next

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