The "Stanford Circle" Real Estate Market

Focusing on Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside & Portola Valley 

Surprisingly, the terrible fires did not significantly impact the number of deals being made in most Bay Area counties during the last 2 weeks of August - the exceptions being Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Monterey and Napa Counties, which saw declines of 13% to 33%. In the Stanford Circle, the numbers of listings going into contract in the second week of August (before the fire) and in the fourth week (deep in crisis) were virtually the same. And activity has actually jumped up in the first week of September. (This chart looks at week by week activity in the Bay Area.) 

Bay Area median house sales prices: Of larger regional markets, the Stanford Circle is by far the most expensive in the Bay Area. 

A breakdown of house sales by home size: 

A breakdown of house sales by lot size: Lot size often plays a significant role in home values in the region. Some of the most expensive communities are known for larger lot sizes. 

Bay Area luxury home markets: Year-over-year summer sales volumes and percentage changes. Broken out as a separate market, the Stanford Circle of cities saw a substantial 43% Y-o-Y increase in sales, but some county markets, such as Sonoma, saw stupendous jumps. (Generally speaking, more rural markets have seen the largest increases in demand since the pandemic hit.)

The next 3 charts look at year-over-year monthly trends in the numbers of active listings, listings accepting offers, and closed sales. Typically, spring is the very active season with a slowdown following in summer, but the pandemic changed that dynamic in 2020. 

These final 2 charts put Stanford Circle cities into the greater peninsula/Silicon Valley context of their respective county markets. 

This table ranks each county (and the Stanford Circle market) by the percentage of active listings going into contract in June/July 2020 - a standard statistic of market heat - compares it to the same period of last year, and then rates the year-over-year change. The overall Stanford Circle market has become substantially stronger year-over-year.