Here’s where the Costa Mesa market stands as of August 2026, the most recent full month of closings, with year-over-year comparisons to August 2025. Figures are Redfin city-limits data.
At a Glance — Costa Mesa, August 2026
| Metric | August 2026 | Year-over-Year |
| Median Sale Price | $1,567,962 | +5.2% |
| Homes Sold | 173 | −6.3% |
| Median Days on Market | 43 days | −3 days |
| Sale-to-List Ratio | 98.5% | — |
| Sold Above List Price | 28.2% | — |
| Homes with Price Drops | 30.0% | — |
| Competition | Very Competitive | — |
“Competition” reflects Redfin’s Compete Score — a 0–100 rating of how hard buyers compete for homes over the trailing three months, based on how many offers homes receive, how often they sell above asking, how quickly they go pending, and the sale-to-list ratio.
Prices and Pace
Costa Mesa closed August at a $1,567,962 median, up 5.2% from a year ago. That is a real turnaround: as recently as June the city was posting a 4.0% annual decline, and the median has risen roughly 8% since then. Volume was lighter, with 173 homes closing, down 6.3% year over year.
Pace held steady. Median days on market slipped three days to 43, and the typical Costa Mesa home goes pending in about 44 days, a touch slower than June’s 41. The city retains its very competitive rating with a Compete Score of 71.
Where the Leverage Sits
Costa Mesa opened up modestly over the summer, and buyers should notice. The share of homes selling above asking fell from 31.8% in June to 28.2%, while price reductions rose from 28.6% to 30.0% — the second-highest rate on the coast. The sale-to-list ratio eased to 98.5%, meaning the average sale now closes about 1.5% under list. This is still a competitive market by any reasonable standard, but it is measurably less punishing than it was in early summer, and roughly three listings in ten are giving buyers a second look at the price.
What This Means for Buyers
You have a little more room than you did in June, but not enough to be casual. Just under three homes in ten still close above asking, and the market moves in about six weeks. Be pre-approved and be prompt, and focus your negotiating effort on listings that have passed the one-month mark or already taken a reduction — with a 30.0% cut rate, there will be some.
Costa Mesa’s housing stock is unusually varied for a single city, running from Eastside cottages and Mesa Verde ranch homes to newer detached product near South Coast Metro. The citywide median blends all of it. Value your target home against genuinely comparable nearby sales, not the headline figure.
What This Means for Sellers
The annual trend has turned in your favor — up 5.2% after a spring of declines — and demand remains deep enough that nearly three in ten homes clear above asking. That is a good market to sell into.
The rising reduction rate is the discipline. Thirty percent of Costa Mesa listings cut their price before selling, and that number went up over the summer while the above-list share went down. Both point the same direction: the market is getting stricter about the opening number. Price to recent comparable sales, prepare the home properly before launch, and plan on about six weeks to pending.
Bottom Line
Costa Mesa swung from a 4.0% annual decline in June to a 5.2% gain in August, and it remains one of the coast’s competitive markets at roughly six weeks to pending. But with the above-list share falling and reductions rising to 30.0%, buyers have a little more leverage than they did in early summer — and sellers have a little less margin for an ambitious price.