Palo Alto Near Top of Nation's Priciest Homes

Each week Palo Alto Patch features a pricey home for sale often featuring swimming pools, formal gardens, and sweeping views of the Bay.

But even a typical 4 bedroom, 2 bath home will cost you plenty. At an average price of $1,495,464, Palo Alto is the fifth most expensive market in the country when it comes to how much house your dollar will buy, according to Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report.

In fact, of the nation’s top five most expensive markets, four are on the lower Peninsula and Santa Clara County, and all are in California. Besides Palo Alto, they include Los Altos ($1,706,688), Saratoga ($1,582,434), and Menlo Park ($1,506,909). Newport Beach, in the No. 2 position ($1,658,000), was the only market outside of the Bay Area in the top five.

Coldwell Banker attributes Palo Alto's ranking to the confluence of tech and desirable locations. 

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

In fact, among the top 20 most expensive markets in the country, ten of them are on the Peninsula or in Santa Clara Valley. They include the additional cities (in order of price) of Los Gatos, San Carlos, Cupertino, San Francisco and Redwood City.

High demand, low inventory, desirability and population projections all figure into the prices, Turley said.

Conversely, the most affordable was in Redford, Michigan, where the average four-bedroom, two bath house costs $60,490.

Coldwell Banker lists both the top 20 most affordable and the most expensive in the chart below.

For a state-by-state ranking, see this Coldwell Banker link.

Rank

Most Expensive State

Avg Listing Price

Most Affordable States

Avg. Listing Price

1

Los Altos

$1,706,688

Redford, Mich

$60,490

2

Newport Beach, Calif.

$1,658,000

College Park, GA

$62,080

3

Saratoga

$1,582,434

Detroit, Mich.

$65,155

4

Menlo Park

$1,506,909

Cleveland, Ohio

$70,0665

5

Palo Alto

$1,495,464

Poinciana, Fla.

$76,341

6

Los Gatos

$1,444,214

Hastings, Fla

$78,840

7

Rye, N.Y.

$1,312,250

Jonesboro, GA

$79,686

8

Kailua, Hawaii

$1,238,208

Park Forest, Ill.

$81,107

9

Carmel-By-the-Sea

$1,232,167

Augusta, GA

$83,966

10

San Carlos

$1,230,880

Johnstown, Penn.

$84,173

11

Greenwich, Conn.

$1,200,525

Cleveland Heights, Ohio

$84,535

12

Cupertino

$1,151,145

Saginaw, Mich.

$85,345

13

San Francisco

$1,132,086

Fort Pierce, Fla.

$89,292

14

Weston, Mass

$1,105,692

Country Club Hills, Ill.

$90,788

15

Belmont

$1,098,777

Irvington, N.J.

$92,264

16

Boulder, Colo

$1,084,183

Lehigh Acres, Fla

$92,819

17

Orono, Minn.

$1,070,203

Terrell, Texas

$96,329

18

Mercer Island, Wash.

$1,059,411

Warren, Mich.

$96,349

19

Darien, Conn.

$1,056,933

Ellenwood, Ga.

$97,850

20

Redwood City

$1,010,394

Maricopa, Ariz

$97,886

Also on Palo Alto Patch:
Pricey Palo Alto Homes: 455 Coleridge Ave.
Palo Alto’s Priciest Homes: 890 Robb Road
Palo Alto’s Priciest Homes: 3173 Alexis Drive
Palo Alto’s Priciest Homes: 345 Coleridge Avenue
Palo Alto’s Priciest Homes: 117 Tennyson Avenue

Palo Alto Patch Business Directory

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