Key findings
- Prices in Menlo Park, Mountain View doubled since 2007; Palo Alto median price surged 131%
- Median home sale prices added more than $1 million over the past decade in seven towns
- Atherton is Silicon Valley’s most expensive town – the median sale price here increased 45% since 2007 and hit $5.1 million
- Los Altos Hills is the second most expensive town and recorded the highest increase adding $1,725,000 since 2007
- The median sale price in San Jose added $200,000 since 2007, now reaching $894,613
Palo Alto concluded 2007 with a median sale price of $1,192,000, while so far this year homes have been selling for a median of $2,748,500 – that translates into a 131% increase over the past 10 years or a $1,556,500 price difference. In the meantime, the median household income in Palo Alto grew at far slower pace, from $119,046 to $136,519 in 2015 according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
We’ve also noticed sizable increases in both Mountain View and Menlo Park. Back in 2007, Mountain View was one of the towns where the median sale price was below the $1 million mark, clocking in at $764,750. Perhaps best known today as the home of Google’s headquarters, the town has seen home prices skyrocket to $1,570,000 so far this year.
Facebook’s home base, Menlo Park, has also experienced a dramatic increase in prices over the past decade. In 2007, the median sale price here was just a little above the $1 million mark. Accelerated growth started after 2011, the year Facebook opened its headquarters here. Compared to a decade ago, prices have almost doubled, amounting to a $1 million price difference – the median sale price in Menlo Park so far in 2017 being $2,050,000.
And since we’re talking about corporate headquarters of tech giants, Cupertino is not that far behind either with an increase of 80% or $819,500 from $1,030,500 in 2007 to $1,850,000 in 2017.
