West Dayton’s housing market keeps moving up one closing at a time, and every so often a single sale resets what a neighborhood’s top end looks like. The $133,000 sale of a 1926 duplex at 361 Fountain Avenue is that kind of closing for Santa Clara.
A New High for Santa Clara on Fountain Avenue
West Dayton’s housing story is built from closings that quietly raise what the next seller, the next lender and the next appraiser can point to. The latest one arrived on October 21, 2026, when the duplex at 361 Fountain Avenue in Santa Clara closed for $133,000.
That price is the highest of the six sales recorded in Santa Clara over the past 12 months, which puts it at 1 of 6 in the neighborhood. It sits 73 percent above the neighborhood median sale price of $77,000, a gap of $56,000. It also works out to $56 per square foot, against a neighborhood median of $41 per square foot. In plain terms, this is a new high for Santa Clara, and it was set by a property that offers two separate three-bedroom homes under one roof.
The building was built in 1926 and holds six bedrooms and two full baths across 2,372 square feet. It spent 31 days on the market, a week faster than the neighborhood’s median of 38 days. The listing was pitched around rental income, with one unit already occupied and the other vacant, and the market answered with the strongest Santa Clara result of the year.
For West Dayton, the takeaway is that small multifamily property in Santa Clara can now point to a closing well above the neighborhood’s typical range. That kind of data point matters to owners weighing a sale, to buyers weighing an offer and to anyone trying to understand what the neighborhood’s housing is worth.
What Changed Hands at 361 Fountain Avenue
The property is a duplex, and the layout is simple and symmetrical. According to the listing, each of the two units has three bedrooms and one bath, which adds up to the six bedrooms and two full baths in the record. With 2,372 square feet of living space in total, each side works out to a little under 1,200 square feet if the building divides evenly, a workable size for a three-bedroom home.
The listing describes the building as well maintained and points to newer finishes throughout, along with a newer privacy fence. Those are the kinds of details that tell a buyer where the work has already been done. A fence is the sort of improvement that is easy to overlook in a listing but expensive to add later, and newer finishes mean fewer surprises on the first walkthrough. The home is part of the Indian Oaks Sec 03 subdivision in Santa Clara.
Built in 1926, the building has been standing for nearly a century. That age sets it apart from the newer builds that get most of the attention in Dayton’s housing coverage, and it puts the price in a different frame. At $133,000, the sale comes to about $66,500 per unit and roughly $22,200 per bedroom. The $56 per square foot figure is the one the neighborhood’s appraisers will see first, but the per-unit number is the one that explains how a duplex can set a neighborhood high while still looking measured on a per-door basis.
Two matching units also make the property easy to understand. Each half has the same bedroom and bath count, and the listing prices the rent on each at the same level. There is no large unit subsidizing a small one, and no odd layout to explain. A buyer, a lender or an appraiser can look at one side and understand the other.
The Rent Math Behind the Price
The listing remarks put the income story up front. One of the two units is occupied and generating $1,075 per month. The second is vacant, and the listing says it could rent for approximately $1,075 per month as well. With both units occupied, the property could generate approximately $25,800 in annual gross rental income, which is two units at $1,075 across twelve months.
Set against the sale price, that is a useful yardstick. $133,000 is about 5.2 times the projected annual gross rent, and the projected rent equals about 19 percent of the purchase price before expenses. Those are gross figures, so they leave out taxes, insurance, maintenance and any time a unit sits empty. They are also the listing’s estimate rather than a reported result, since only one of the two units was confirmed as occupied. Still, they show why the property was marketed as an income opportunity and why the price landed where it did.
The structure of the property helps explain the pricing. A single three-bedroom home produces one rent. A duplex of the same bedroom count on each side produces two, and the sale price reflects that. When the same building holds two three-bedroom homes, a buyer is not comparing it to a single house so much as to two of them, and $66,500 per unit is a number that sits comfortably beside what single three-bedroom homes in the area have changed hands for.
The vacant unit is the open item in the deal. The listing described it as ready to rent, which means the property changed hands with income already flowing from one side and the other side waiting to be put to work. For a neighborhood trying to build steady, well-kept housing, that matters: a unit that is occupied and a unit that is ready to be occupied are both signs of a building that is being used.
How $133,000 Stacks Up Against Santa Clara’s Year
Santa Clara recorded six sales over the past 12 months. The median sale price across those six was $77,000, the median price per square foot was $41, and the median time on the market was 38 days. Against that backdrop, 361 Fountain Avenue stands out on every line. Its $133,000 price is the highest in the set, its $56 per square foot tops the neighborhood median by about a third, and its 31 days on the market beat the typical sale by a week.
The $56,000 gap between this sale and the neighborhood median is partly a function of what the property is. A duplex with six bedrooms and 2,372 square feet is a larger building than most of the homes that trade in the area, and that size earns a higher price. But size alone does not explain a sale that finished first among the neighborhood’s six closings. The market had to agree that the building was worth the number, and it did within a month.
Six sales is a small sample, which is exactly why one closing moves the picture. When a neighborhood records only a handful of transactions in a year, each one carries real weight in the data that appraisers, lenders and sellers use. A new top-of-range sale does more than add to the count. It changes the highest figure anyone can point to and lifts the average by a visible amount.
The neighborhood’s median days on the market of 38 also frames the speed of this sale. Thirty-one days is quick for a property priced above everything else that sold in Santa Clara over the year. Buyers did not hesitate at a figure that no other Santa Clara closing had reached.
The Closest Comparables
Among the recent nearby sales, two came closest to this one in price. On July 17, 2026, a three-bedroom home with 1,151 square feet on Niagara Avenue sold for $119,000, about $103 per square foot. On June 17, 2026, a three-bedroom home with 1,609 square feet on W Hudson Avenue sold for $115,000, about $71 per square foot.
Both of those closings help show the range for housing near Fountain Avenue in 2026, and both sit within about $18,000 of this sale. The Fountain Avenue duplex came in $14,000 above the Niagara Avenue sale and $18,000 above the W Hudson Avenue sale. For that difference, the buyer received six bedrooms in two units and 2,372 square feet, which is more than double the space of the Niagara Avenue home and nearly 50 percent more than the W Hudson Avenue home.
That comparison makes the per-square-foot figure look different. Fountain Avenue’s $56 is lower than both single-home comps, but it carries a second kitchen-and-bath household worth of space, and a second rent. A buyer paying a modest premium over a single three-bedroom home and receiving a second three-bedroom unit is getting more building for the money, which is part of how the sale supported a higher total.
The remaining three nearby closings this year landed between $23,000 and $39,000, a reminder of how wide the range is within the broader Santa Clara area. The spread between those sales and the ones near $115,000 to $133,000 shows how much condition, size and unit count move the price. Fountain Avenue now marks the top of that range.
Thirty-One Days From List to Close
The home was listed at $160,000 and closed at $133,000, which is 16.9 percent under the asking price, or a $27,000 difference. The asking price itself was ambitious. At $160,000, the listing reached for a level that no Santa Clara sale had touched in the past year, and the negotiation brought the number to a figure the market could support while still landing at the neighborhood’s best result.
That is how price discovery works in a neighborhood with few sales. A seller tests a number, buyers respond, and the two sides meet at a price that becomes the new reference. In this case the meeting point was $133,000, reached within 31 days, and the result now anchors what a six-bedroom duplex in Santa Clara can bring.
The speed matters as much as the price. A listing that sits for months leaves a trail of reductions that appraisers read as weakness. This one moved in about a month and closed on October 21, 2026, a week faster than the neighborhood’s typical timeline. The record shows a property that attracted a ready buyer at a price well above the median.
For sellers thinking about what their own Santa Clara property might bring, the lesson is practical. Income-producing properties are priced on what they earn as well as what they are, and a clear rent figure in the listing helps a buyer do the math. The Fountain Avenue sale shows that the math can support a number well above the neighborhood median.
What the Sale Means for Santa Clara and West Dayton
Every neighborhood has a ceiling that is set by its best recent sale, and until October 21, 2026, Santa Clara’s twelve-month ceiling was lower than $133,000. Now it is not. Appraisers pulling comparable sales for the next duplex, the next larger home or the next renovated property in the area will find this closing in their data, along with its $56 per square foot and its 31-day timeline.
That is how West Dayton’s momentum gets built. Large redevelopment announcements get the headlines, but the day-to-day proof is in closings like this one, where a well-kept older building trades at a price that is meaningfully higher than what the neighborhood has seen. A 1926 duplex in Indian Oaks Sec 03 selling for 73 percent above the neighborhood median is the sort of result that encourages the next owner to maintain, improve and keep a building in service.
It also puts a spotlight on multifamily housing as part of the neighborhood’s fabric. Two three-bedroom units on one lot, with one already generating $1,075 per month and the other positioned to match it, represent a steady use of an existing building. Properties like that keep homes occupied and maintained, and the price paid here shows that the market values them.
The numbers to remember are simple. $133,000 sale price, $160,000 list price, 31 days on the market, six bedrooms, two baths, 2,372 square feet, built in 1926. Against a neighborhood median of $77,000, it is the best Santa Clara has recorded in the past year, and it is a strong marker for West Dayton’s continued progress.
Recognizing the Professionals Behind the Outcome
Daniel K Watkins of NCDG Realty & Property Management represented both the seller and the buyer on this sale. Results like this come from careful pricing, strong presentation and steady work through closing, and that work deserves recognition.
Listing data courtesy of Dayton REALTORS® MLS. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
More Common Questions About Santa Clara
Here are answers to common questions about this sale and the Santa Clara housing market.
How much did 361 Fountain Avenue sell for?
The duplex sold for $133,000 on October 21, 2026. It was listed at $160,000 and spent 31 days on the market before closing.
What kind of property is 361 Fountain Avenue?
It is a duplex built in 1926 with two units, each with three bedrooms and one bath. In total the building has six bedrooms, two full baths and 2,372 square feet. The listing mentions newer finishes and a newer privacy fence.
How does the sale compare with the rest of Santa Clara?
Santa Clara recorded six sales over the past 12 months with a median price of $77,000. At $133,000, this was the highest of the six and sits 73 percent above the median. Its $56 per square foot compares with a neighborhood median of $41.
What rent does the listing describe?
The listing says one unit is occupied at $1,075 per month and that the vacant unit could rent for approximately $1,075 per month. With both units occupied, the listing estimates about $25,800 in annual gross rental income, before expenses.
How fast did it sell compared with other Santa Clara homes?
It sold in 31 days. The median time on the market for Santa Clara sales over the past 12 months is 38 days, so this duplex moved about a week faster than the typical sale.
What were the closest nearby sales?
A three-bedroom home with 1,151 square feet on Niagara Avenue sold for $119,000 on July 17, 2026, and a three-bedroom home with 1,609 square feet on W Hudson Avenue sold for $115,000 on June 17, 2026. The Fountain Avenue duplex sold for $14,000 and $18,000 more than those two, with six bedrooms across two units.
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