Temple City Inventory Drops 27% in One Week While Per-Square-Foot Prices Hold Steady
· City Deep Dive
Temple City active listings fell sharply week-over-week. Per-square-foot pricing remains competitive against neighbors.
Temple City's housing market tightened dramatically this week. Active listings in our MLS feed fell from 131 to 97, a drop of 27% in just seven days. This kind of inventory contraction does not happen by accident; it signals either strong buyer demand absorbing homes faster than new listings arrive, or a temporary lull in new inventory hitting the market. Either way, fewer homes on the shelf means less time for buyers to choose and more urgency in decision-making.
What makes this inventory move particularly noteworthy is that median list prices have stayed almost completely flat. The median list price sits at $1,088,000, unchanged from the week before. This is a sign of market stability: prices are not climbing out of reach even as the selection shrinks. For buyers, it means the week's tighter market is not punishing them with runaway valuations. For sellers, it means their listing is competing in a leaner field but at consistent pricing.
When we break down value by the square foot, Temple City homes are priced at $596 per square foot according to our data. This puts Temple City in the middle tier of our service area, cheaper than nearby Pasadena at $815 per square foot, costlier than West Covina at $522 per square foot, and notably less expensive than nearby Alhambra at $681 per square foot. For buyers new to Southern California real estate, understanding price per square foot is essential: it lets you compare apples to apples across neighborhoods with different home sizes. A 1,500-square-foot home at $596 per square foot would run roughly $894,000 (1,500 x $596), whereas the same square footage in Pasadena would cost about $1,222,500 (1,500 x $815). That $328,500 difference is real money.
The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported in August 2026 that Los Angeles County, which includes Temple City, saw a median sold price of $946,950, up 6.6% month-over-month and up 1.7% year-over-year. These are county-wide figures covering all property types, not Temple City alone, but they show the broader region Temple City sits in is experiencing upward pressure. Temple City's $596 per-square-foot asking rate is well below the statewide median of $428 per square foot mentioned in C.A.R.'s August report, meaning homes here offer more perceived value than the state average, though Temple City is an older, established community with particular character and schools that attract families.
For overseas and first-time buyers, here is how the numbers translate into actual costs. Suppose you find a $900,000 home in Temple City. If you put down 30%, a typical threshold for foreign-national purchases, your down payment is $270,000 and your loan is $630,000. Escrow with financing typically runs 30-45 days. Closing costs commonly run 2-5% of the purchase price, so on a $900,000 sale that is roughly $18,000 to $45,000. Property tax under California's Prop 13 is assessed at 1% of the purchase price, so your annual bill would be about $9,000, or roughly $750 per month. These are estimates; confirm the specifics with a real estate professional and lender for your particular situation.
If you are a foreign national, FIRPTA withholding, a federal requirement, is commonly 15% of the gross sale price. On that same $900,000 purchase, that is $135,000 held and sent to the IRS at closing. This is not a tax you owe; it is a withholding that gets credited when you file your U.S. tax return. Again, rules vary and you should confirm with a tax professional.
Temple City sits in the San Gabriel Valley, an area known for solid schools, a long history of Asian-American community, and good value relative to coastal Orange County or west Los Angeles. The inventory drop this week means homes are moving, which is healthy. To see the full breakdown of Temple City's market, including the exact distribution of homes by price, square footage, and days on market, visit tuhaousa.com/zh/city/temple-city. That page shows every active listing and lets you explore the neighborhoods in detail. If you have questions about what this week's tighter inventory means for your family's search, or if you are thinking about selling, call Shirley Tang at 888 Realty today.