Blog > Downsizing in Palo Alto: Trading a House for a Condo or Townhome, by the Numbers (2026)
Downsizing in Palo Alto: Trading a House for a Condo or Townhome, by the Numbers (2026)
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Trading a Palo Alto house for a condo or townhome is one of the biggest money moves a longtime owner makes. In the last 12 months the median Palo Alto house sold for $4M at about 1,910 square feet, and the median condo or townhome sold for $1.5M at about 1,390 square feet. That’s a gap of about $2.5M before selling costs. Here’s what condos and townhomes cost and offer, what happens to your property tax, and the rule that lets owners 55 and older keep their tax base. We’re the Property Nerds, so the numbers come from real sales.
The short answer
- The gap: about $2.5M between the median house ($4M) and the median condo or townhome ($1.5M), before selling costs and taxes.
- The space: from about 1,910 sq ft and a 7,000 sq ft lot to about 1,390 sq ft, usually with shared grounds instead of a yard.
- Price per foot: $1,082 for condos and townhomes against $2,128 for houses, because the house price includes the land.
- Property tax at the new price: about $17,900 a year on the median condo or townhome. If you’re 55 or older, Prop 19 can let you carry your current assessed value instead.
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Buying or selling in Palo Alto?
- What’s my home worth? Ask for the recent sales on your street.
- Selling a home in Palo Alto: pricing, prep and what’s selling now.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about your plans.
What you’d sell, and what you’d buy
Medians of the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026):
| Home type | Sales | Median price | Living area | Beds | Baths | Per sq ft | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houses | 363 | $4M | 1,910 | 4 | 2.5 | $2,128 | 5.7% over asking |
| Condos and townhomes | 132 | $1.5M | 1,390 | 2 | 2 | $1,082 | at asking |
| Townhomes only | 34 | $1.8M | 1,550 | 3 | 2.5 | $1,179 | 0.6% over asking |
| Condos only | 98 | $1.39M | 1,370 | 2 | 2 | $1,044 | at asking |
Condos and townhomes by price
Every condo and townhome sale in the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026), by price range:
| Price range | Sales | Living area | Beds | Baths | Typical sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $750K | 16 | 700 | 1 | 1 | 1.4% under asking |
| $750K–$1.25M | 55 | 1,110 | 2 | 2 | at asking |
| $1.25M–$1.75M | 87 | 1,380 | 2 | 2 | at asking |
| $1.75M–$2.25M | 51 | 1,550 | 3 | 2.5 | at asking |
| $2.25M and up | 28 | 1,910 | 3 | 3 | at asking |
Your property tax, before and after
Prop 13 lets a home’s assessed value rise at most 2% a year while you own it, so a longtime owner’s tax is far below what a buyer pays. Buy a condo, and its assessed value starts at the price you pay: about $17,900 a year on the median Palo Alto condo or townhome at the city’s 1.20135% rate, after the homeowners’ exemption. Here’s where owners who bought the median house in past years stand on the 2025–26 roll:
| Owner | Paid | Assessed value now | Tax now | Assessed value below the median condo’s price? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bought the median house in 2012 | $1.75M | at most $2.26M | at most $27,200 | no |
| Bought the median house in 2016 | $2.55M | at most $3.05M | at most $36,600 | no |
| Bought the median house in 2020 | $3M | at most $3.31M | at most $39,800 | no |
Prop 19: keep your tax base when you move
If you’re 55 or older, severely disabled, or lost your home to a wildfire or natural disaster, Prop 19 lets you move your assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times. Buy or build within two years of selling. If the new home costs more than the one you sold, the difference is added to the value you carry over; buying a less expensive condo avoids that. It helps most when your current assessed value is well below the new home’s price, so compare the two before you count on it. Our Prop 19 guide and the State Board of Equalization’s Prop 19 page have the details.
Before you count the gap
- Selling costs come off the top: transfer tax (by city), commissions, prep and staging.
- Capital gains: a longtime owner’s gain can be well above the home-sale exclusion. See the home-sale tax exclusion and ask your tax advisor.
- HOA dues replace some of a house’s upkeep and insurance, but they’re a monthly cost of their own, and buildings vary in their reserves and rules.
- Timing: selling first gives you cash and certainty; buying first keeps you from moving twice. Prop 19’s value limits change with which you do first.
Palo Alto against nearby cities
Medians, the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026).
| City | Median house | Median condo or townhome | Gap | House sq ft | Condo sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | $4.9M | $1.77M | $3.13M | 2,490 | 1,330 |
| Palo Alto | $4M | $1.5M | $2.5M | 1,910 | 1,390 |
| Sunnyvale | $2.63M | $1.35M | $1.28M | 1,640 | 1,460 |
| Cupertino | $3.33M | $1.26M | $2.08M | 2,100 | 1,260 |
| Santa Clara | $1.97M | $883K | $1.08M | 1,540 | 1,290 |
| Los Gatos | $2.67M | $1.45M | $1.22M | 2,300 | 1,450 |
| Saratoga | $4.28M | $1.43M | $2.86M | 2,780 | 1,560 |
Questions we get
How much does a condo cost in Palo Alto?
The median Palo Alto condo or townhome sold for $1.5M in the last 12 months, at about 1,390 square feet (132 sales).
Will my property tax go up if I downsize?
At the new price, the median Palo Alto condo or townhome carries about $17,900 a year. If you’ve owned your house for years, that can be more or less than you pay now; the table above shows where past buyers stand. Prop 19 may let owners 55 and older keep their current value.
Can I use Prop 19 more than once?
Yes. Prop 19 allows up to three transfers for owners 55 and older, to a replacement home anywhere in California bought within two years of the sale.
How we counted
Prices are medians of closed sales reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, one record per sale with a usable living area and map position, the same rules as our city price posts. Houses are MLS property type “single family home”; condos include townhomes. The window is the last 12 months (October 28, 2025 to October 27, 2026), and the last 24 months (October 28, 2024 to October 27, 2026) for the price-range table. Owners’ assessed values start from the median house price in each year and grow at the 2% Prop 13 cap through the 2025–26 roll, so they’re upper bounds. Tax uses Palo Alto’s typical 2025–26 rate from the county’s rate book, after the homeowners’ exemption. Prop 19 rules are from the State Board of Equalization. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home, and nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
Go deeper
Palo Alto condo and townhome prices since 2012, Palo Alto property tax rate, townhomes in Palo Alto, condos in Palo Alto and what your home is worth.
More Palo Alto numbers from the Property Nerds
Talk to a Property Nerd
We’re the Property Nerds at Compass, recognized as NextGenAgents by a national real estate portal. We’ll pull the sales that matter for your home and your plans, and walk you through what they mean. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.