LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA – September’s home sales brought sharply different price trends to two neighboring Tri-Valley cities.
Livermore’s median sale price rose 13% compared with September 2025, while Dublin’s dropped 9%, according to an October 22 market commentary by Bay East Association of Realtors public affairs specialist Devin Davis, published in Pleasanton Weekly.
The contrast went beyond just the prices. Livermore sales increased 18%, and the number of homes for sale grew 25%. Even with that additional selection, homes sold in 23 days, compared with 34 a year earlier.
In Dublin, selling took longer: 31 days, up from 24 the previous September.
Nearby Pleasanton offered another combination. Its median price increased 4%, but sales fell 25%. Homes took 37 days to sell, compared with 26 a year earlier, according to Davis’ commentary.
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What those price changes actually mean
The distinction between a median sale price and an individual home’s value is important.
A median is the midpoint of the homes that sold during a particular period. If more expensive properties make up a larger share of those sales, the median can rise even without every home in the city becoming more valuable. A different mix of sales can push it down, too.
That means Livermore’s 13% increase should not be read as a 13% gain for every homeowner. Likewise, Dublin’s decline does not establish that each property lost 9% of its value.
Another measure illustrates the distinction. Zillow’s Livermore home-value index put the city’s typical home value at approximately $1.07 million as of September 30, down 2.3% over the preceding year.
Zillow describes that index as tracking changes in property-level estimates across a broad range of homes. It measures something different from the midpoint of one month’s completed sales, so the two figures should not be treated as interchangeable.
For anyone watching a particular home or neighborhood, the best measure is still to look at comps, ideally working with a pro realtor — including their size, condition and location. A citywide percentage provides context, but it cannot price a specific house.
