What the year actually says

Every figure below is measured against the price each home first asked, not the price it had been reduced to. That is the difference between a market that looks generous and one you can price against.

The line sits at $7M

Everything below $7M behaves the same way, whatever the price. Above it, the market inverts.

First askedSalesAgainst first askReached it
Under $3M 127 +7.6% 81%
$3M – $4.5M 169 +5.8% 76%
$4.5M – $7M 95 +5.7% 73%
Over $7M 46 −3.4% 35%

Below $7M a seller can expect the market to find the price. Above it, the market does not correct upward — the first number has to be right.

Which neighborhoods get bid up

Median sale against the first asking price. City-wide: +5.5%.

  • Green Acres +15.7% 12
  • Ventura +10.1% 10
  • South Palo Alto +7.5% 105
  • Community Center +7.5% 34
  • Midtown +7.4% 50
  • Barron Park +6.8% 39
  • Professorville +3.7% 19
  • College +3.6% 28
  • Green Gables +3.4% 44
  • Crescent Park +2.4% 30
  • Old Palo Alto +0.0% 40
  • Downtown Palo Alto −1.0% 18
  • Palo Alto Hills −5.0% 16

What a home costs, by neighborhood

Median closed price, with the median price per square foot beside it.

  • Old Palo Alto $7.80M $2,146/sf
  • Crescent Park $5.92M $2,434/sf
  • Community Center $5.25M $2,460/sf
  • Palo Alto Hills $4.60M $1,609/sf
  • Green Acres $4.50M $2,105/sf
  • Professorville $4.50M $2,103/sf
  • Green Gables $4.41M $2,217/sf
  • Barron Park $4.25M $1,887/sf
  • College $3.93M $2,129/sf
  • Midtown $3.61M $2,284/sf
  • South Palo Alto $3.46M $2,042/sf
  • Ventura $3.10M $2,126/sf
  • Downtown Palo Alto $3.05M $2,109/sf

One story or two

Two-story homes carry a higher price and a larger footprint — but they are bid up less, which is the $7M line showing through.

Single story265 sales

Median price
$3.60M
House
1,660 sq ft
Lot
6,969 sq ft
Typically built
1951
Against first ask
+6.8%

Two story141 sales

Median price
$5.35M
House
2,805 sq ft
Lot
7,500 sq ft
Typically built
1964
Against first ask
+2.8%

If this is your street

The map says what sold. It doesn’t say what yours would.

Two houses on the same Palo Alto block can be four hundred dollars a square foot apart, and the difference is almost never the house — it is what was done to it before anyone saw it. Maggie will tell you which of those things is worth doing on yours, and which is not.

Discuss your property

Also here