Bay Area Tops CA Home Prices as Dow Jumps 1,178 Points and CVS Splits

SAN RAMON, SAN MATEO & NEW YORK — Bay Area homebuyers continued to face the highest qualifying income thresholds in California during the third quarter of 2026, according to new California Association of Realtors data released this week, while U.S. equity markets surged more than 1,000 points on Wednesday morning, November 4, following Democratic midterm victories and healthcare conglomerate CVS announced plans to split off its retail drugstore chain.

San Mateo ($2.27M), San Francisco ($2M), and Santa Clara ($1.92M) Lead California Home Prices

As reported by The Almanac and Mountain View Voice, the California Association of Realtors’ Third Quarter 2026 Housing Affordability report—assuming a 20% down payment, housing costs capped at 30% of household income, and an effective 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.8% (up from 6.54% in Q2 and 6.67% a year ago, the highest since Q2 2025)—found:

• San Mateo County (#1 Priciest): Median single-family home price of $2.27 million, requiring a minimum annual household income of $578,400 to cover $14,460 in monthly payments. First crossing the $500,000 income mark in 2023, San Mateo’s affordability rate held steady at 19%.
• San Francisco (#2 Priciest): Median home price of $2 million, requiring $509,600 in annual income as affordability dipped from 23% to 19% year over year.
• Santa Clara County (#3 Priciest): Median home price of $1.92 million, requiring $489,200 in annual income (down from $510,800 a year earlier) as affordability edged up from 22% to 23%.

Statewide, 19% of California households could afford the $894,630 median single-family home (down 2.3% from Q2 but up 0.7% year over year, requiring $228,000 in annual income and $5,700 per month, far below the 56% peak in Q4 2012), while 31% (up from 30%) could afford the $640,000 median condo or townhome ($163,200 income). Nationally, 39% of households could afford the $432,900 median single-family home ($110,400 income and $2,760 per month). Across 53 tracked California counties (with affordability improving in 28, declining in 18—led by Plumas down 8 points and Kings and Mendocino down 6 points—and unchanged in 7), Mono County (8%), Santa Barbara (12%), and Monterey (13%, requiring at least $239,200 in income) were the least affordable, while Lassen County (61%, $56,000 income) and Trinity (43%)—the only 2 counties with median prices below $300,000 and monthly payments under $2,000—along with Tuolumne (42%) were the most affordable.

Dow Surges 1,178 Points After Midterm Results as CVS Plans Breakup of $78 Billion Conglomerate

On Wall Street Wednesday morning, ABC7 News and NBC Bay Area reported that the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,009 points (1.9%) at the opening bell and climbed 1,178 points (2.3%) by 9:35 a.m. Eastern time after Democrats captured the House and won 54 Senate seats (with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled). The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 1.2% (on pace for its best day in 6 weeks) and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.1%, while the 10-year Treasury yield eased from 4.95% to 4.92%, Brent crude oil fell 3% to $100.54 per barrel (after trading between $70 and $120), and international markets rose 2.1% in Paris, 2.2% in Shanghai, and 1.8% in London (while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 1.4%).

Strategists Jim Reid (Deutsche Bank), Jeremy Richardson (RBC Global Asset Management), Brian Jacobsen (Annex Wealth Management), and Carsten Brzeski (ING Bank) pointed to historical post-midterm relief and divided-government checks on federal deficits. Clean-energy shares First Solar (+15.1%) and Enphase Energy (+12.1%) surged alongside Microsoft (+6%) and Amazon (+6%), whereas Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives noted potential regulatory headwinds for AI data centers after Democratic wins in Texas, with Nvidia slipping 1.5% to 2% (Advanced Micro Devices rose 0.3%), Tesla falling 5.2%, SpaceX down 4.8%, and Trump Media & Technology Group dropping 9.1% (already down 55.1% for the year and trading near $5 after peaking at $175 5 years ago). Separately, The Press (Brentwood) reported that CVS plans to split off its retail drugstore business, dismantling the vertically integrated healthcare conglomerate it formed through its $78 billion acquisition of insurer Aetna in 2018.