Blog > Moving to Palo Alto: What Homes Cost and What to Know (2026)
Moving to Palo Alto? Here’s what homes actually sold for in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, how buyers competed for them, and the things that follow the city line: trains, electricity, transfer tax and the county. Every number comes from closed MLS sales or from the city pages already on our site, and most sections link to the full data.
The short answer
- Houses: the median sale was $4M ($2,129 per sq ft), and the middle half sold between $3.2M and $5.35M.
- Condos and townhomes: a median of $1.5M, from 141 sales.
- Competition: 71% of houses sold over asking (63% across Silicon Valley and the Peninsula).
- Trains: Caltrain.
- At the city line: Santa Clara County; electricity from City of Palo Alto Utilities; transfer tax of $8,800 on a $2 million sale.
Start your search
- See homes for sale in Palo Alto, live from the MLS.
- The Palo Alto city guide has our neighborhood guides.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about the move, from the first tour to the closing.
What homes cost
Closed sales in the 12 months to October 27, 2026. Houses are the MLS property type “single family home”.
| Houses | Condos and townhomes | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales in 12 months | 395 | 141 |
| Median price | $4M | $1.5M |
| Middle half sold between | $3.2M–$5.35M | $1.19M–$1.89M |
| Median per sq ft | $2,129 | $1,086 |
| Median size | 1,908 sq ft | 1,392 sq ft |
| Median lot | 7,125 sq ft | — |
| Sold over asking | 71% | 35% |
74% of the year’s 536 sales were houses. Among the houses, 10% of listings said single-story, 11% mentioned an ADU or in-law unit and 8% a pool; those count listing descriptions, so they undercount.
More: Palo Alto home types by the numbers, the Palo Alto housing market since 2012, Palo Alto house prices by bedrooms and the best month to sell in Palo Alto.
Getting around
- Caltrain: stations at Palo Alto and California Ave. Home prices near each: Palo Alto and California Avenue.
- Downtown: California Avenue and Downtown Palo Alto.
- Big employers in town: Stanford Research Park.
- Colleges and hospitals: Stanford and Stanford Hospital.
- Commuting elsewhere? Relocation Lab sorts cities by distance from your employer, and homes near tech campuses maps 20 headquarters.
Parks and open space
Home prices near the parks in Palo Alto: Foothills Nature Preserve and the Palo Alto Baylands. See all of them on homes near parks.
Bills and rules that follow the city
- County: Santa Clara County, which sets the county transfer tax and collects property tax.
- Electricity: City of Palo Alto Utilities for most homes; some addresses differ. See electricity providers by city.
- Water: The City of Palo Alto Utilities. See water providers by city.
- Garbage, recycling and compost: GreenWaste of Palo Alto. See garbage service by city.
- Transfer tax: $8,800 on a $2 million sale (county plus any city tax), usually split by local custom and set by the contract. See Palo Alto’s transfer tax and the Santa Clara County transfer tax by city.
- Eichlers: 29 tracts on our Eichler index.
- Property tax: California’s base rate is 1% of the purchase price, plus voter-approved bonds and parcel taxes that vary by address; your first year can also bring a supplemental bill. See the supplemental bill and the property tax calculator.
- Hazard zones: look up any address on Flood & Fire Zones, and get an insurance quote early (home insurance for buyers).
- Renting it out later? Rent caps and tenant rules by city.
- School districts: district lines don’t follow city lines, so check the district’s own boundary lookup for any address.
Neighborhoods and nearby cities
- Neighborhoods: the Palo Alto city guide, Palo Alto neighborhoods compared and neighborhoods ranked by price per square foot.
- Weighing a nearby city? Cupertino vs. Palo Alto, Los Altos vs. Palo Alto, Menlo Park vs. Palo Alto, Palo Alto vs. Atherton, Palo Alto vs. Mountain View and Palo Alto vs. Sunnyvale.
- Any two cities side by side: the City Match-Up.
- Still choosing a city? Where to live in Silicon Valley sorts all 31 by budget, commute and home type.
How we counted
Closed sales reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records removed (same MLS number and sale date). A sale is placed by the city in its MLS address, so a few homes in unincorporated pockets count under the nearby city. Medians follow the mix of homes, and blocks within a city can differ a lot. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.
Moving to Palo Alto?
We’ll help you narrow the neighborhoods to the ones that fit your budget and commute, tour by video if you’re out of town, and set up a search that catches new listings the day they hit. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.