Union City price evidence needs a clear property-type boundary and a clear date. A citywide median cannot explain the value of a particular condominium, townhome or detached house without the underlying property and transaction details. Public reports can provide useful context, but their summary figures should not be converted into an automatic premium, a renovation adjustment or a current price recommendation. Start by identifying the decision the evidence can actually support.
This guide uses a dated February 2026 public housing-type snapshot and locally documented development references to demonstrate that distinction. It does not present the snapshot as the latest October market report. No permissioned property-level closed-sale file or broker-authored adjustment study was supplied, so the independently verified comparable-sale sample is zero. Use the analysis with the Union City guide, county guide and selling process.
Keep the public snapshot tied to its period
Bay East Association of REALTORS’ published February 2026 reports identify thirteen reported detached sales with a $1,497,000 median and seven reported condominium/townhome sales with a $740,000 median. The relevant Union City pages are PDF page 36 of the detached report and page 26 of the attached report. These are limited factual summaries of separate published groups, not individual transaction records independently verified for this article.
The publisher notes that its reports draw on association, MLS and shared data, may not reflect all market activity and are not guaranteed for accuracy. Preserve those limits and the specific report version. No report chart or licensed transaction export is reproduced here. The snapshot establishes what those publications reported for their historical period; it does not establish present conditions, the complete universe of sales or the value of an offering being marketed months later.
Original Union City evidence-level comparison
| Published category | Reported sales | Reported median | What remains unavailable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached single-family | 13 | $1,497,000 | Individual prices, property mix, rights, condition and sale terms |
| Condominiums and townhomes | 7 | $740,000 | Individual prices, development/unit mix, charges, condition and terms |
| Research reference | Potential comparison error | Evidence needed for the actual subject and sales |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Terrace, Monarch and Sugar Mill historical development table | Treating development descriptions as current closed-sale comparables | Actual recorded interest, unit identity, transaction, condition and approved area |
| Station East successive approvals | Treating approved units or an earlier project total as completed sale inventory | Controlling plan area, completed unit, occupancy and verified transaction |
| Older changed room or accessory structure | Counting an assessor or historical label as approved living area | Consistent measurement, City approvals, inspections and current configuration |
| Quoted association or tax amount | Assuming identical covered services or all development charges | Current governing allocation, actual payment schedule and parcel bill |
Sources: the linked Bay East reports, City Station East gateway and 2021 public development-reference table. No dollar adjustment or subject value calculated.
Do not turn a category difference into an adjustment
The two historical medians describe different groups of homes. Their difference cannot isolate the effect of being detached because area, site, condition, location and ownership obligations may also differ. No matched pairs or property-level controls are available here. Calling the difference a detached-home premium would assign a cause the summary data cannot establish. Use the separate categories to frame a more appropriate search, not to adjust the price of a particular attached home mechanically.
The counts do not solve that problem. A thirteen-sale group and a seven-sale group may have different compositions from another month. The published medians alone also do not allow a pooled twenty-sale median to be reconstructed. The middle observations of the combined ordered prices are unknown. Averaging or weighting the two category medians would create a number with no demonstrated relationship to the actual combined median. Retain the groups separately unless the underlying transaction data supports a different calculation.
Define the actual subject and completed space
Write the subject description from current records: the interest conveyed, documented area, room arrangement, parking, outdoor rights, material improvements and condition. Mark every unresolved item. An older home with a converted garage poses a different evidence question from a condominium with a private-use patio or a newly approved project. The description should identify the property that exists at the effective date, not combine present space with a future renovation the seller or buyer hopes to undertake.
For changed rooms, obtain the relevant approved plans, permits, revisions and inspection disposition through the City Building Division. An assessor label or a historical report can guide research without certifying current approved use. Use a consistent area definition for the subject and candidate sales. Garage, storage, accessory and proposed areas should not quietly enter a living-area denominator merely because they appear in one project description. Resolve material differences before calculating price per square foot.
Use local developments as research references
The City-hosted 2021 Caltrans appraisal includes a table describing Pacific Terrace, Monarch at Soares Ranch and Sugar Mill as development references. The appraisal itself concerns a different land assignment. Its development table is useful for locating housing contexts, but it is not a list of current home sales or evidence that the appraisal’s land value applies to a residential unit. Do not borrow the authority of that professional report for a valuation question it did not answer.
For a particular sale in one of those settings, investigate the actual ownership arrangement and unit. Sugar Mill’s documented mixed-use context makes residential and commercial component allocations relevant questions. Other candidates may have different private outdoor rights or service arrangements. Those distinctions can matter even where bedrooms match. The public history supplies leads; current recorded documents, condition evidence and transaction facts establish whether a candidate is actually useful for the subject.
Keep planning stages out of completed-sale claims
The current Station East page lists successive amendments and approvals for separate planning areas. Earlier project totals and layouts have changed over time. Use the relevant current decision and plan area when researching a particular property, and obtain construction and occupancy evidence separately. An approved application is not proof that all referenced units exist as completed homes, and no current sale is established simply because a unit type appears in an approval description.
The project’s public association and financing framework also does not establish a particular unit’s current charges. Obtain the actual governing file, applicable public district information and parcel bill. A quoted monthly assessment may include services another owner pays directly, or omit a separately collected obligation. Compare equivalent responsibilities before treating the numbers as evidence of a market disadvantage. No association charge, public levy or implied price adjustment is invented for any Station East unit in this article.
Verify transactions and explain the selection
Fannie Mae’s comparable-selection guidance provides a framework for identifying relevant physical and legal similarity and explaining the selected market area. For the actual Union City subject, state why its prospective buyers would consider each sale. A nearby home can be a weak match if its rights or configuration differ materially. A farther candidate may merit investigation when it competes more directly, provided the analysis explains that choice and its limits.
For each candidate, retain a publishable source for status, property identity, contract and closing dates, price and available terms. Separate an active listing, a pending sale and a completed transaction. Ask whether concessions, included items or unusual sale circumstances affect the comparison. This guide has no such private files and independently verifies no individual transactions. A public monthly count can support context without supplying the underlying evidence needed for a property-specific adjustment grid.
Support adjustments and refresh before relying on a result
Keep rejected candidates in a separate evidence log with the reason for exclusion. A later verified closing or corrected property description may change the decision, but it should be evaluated under the same rules. That protects the analysis from selecting only numbers that support a preferred outcome. It also shows a reviewer which questions remain open without mixing those unresolved candidates into the numeric sample.
The companion adjustment guidance calls for supported treatment of differences. A contractor’s quote may explain the price of specified work without establishing how buyers value that work. A newer finish, garage arrangement or outdoor area does not justify an arbitrary dollar premium. Document the feature, relevant evidence and proposed treatment. If the effect cannot be quantified responsibly, preserve the uncertainty rather than filling the grid with assumed precision.
A completed analysis should disclose its effective date, sample period, verified transaction count, inclusion rules and material exclusions. Obtain current evidence and named broker or qualified valuation review for the intended decision. The February snapshot here is a historical teaching example, not a current offer recommendation or trend forecast. Its value is showing why property type, completed space, ownership obligations and transaction evidence must be matched before a Union City pricing conclusion can be defended.
