Blog > Palo Alto Home Types by the Numbers: Styles, Features and What They Sell For (2026)
Palo Alto Home Types by the Numbers: Styles, Features and What They Sell For (2026)
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What kinds of houses sell in Palo Alto, and what does each one cost? We read the listing descriptions of all 777 Palo Alto houses sold in the two years to October 27, 2026 (median $3.9M) and sorted them by style and feature, from mid-century modern to pools and ADUs, then compared each group’s price per square foot with the typical Palo Alto house.
The short answer
- Houses: 777 sales, median $3.9M; 68% sold over asking. Condos and townhouses: 375 sales, median $1.43M.
- Style named most often: mid-century modern (117 sales).
- Biggest premium (15+ sales): ranch, +6% per sq ft vs. the typical Palo Alto house. Biggest discount: modern farmhouse or new construction, −8%.
- How common: 9% single-story, 9% pool, 10% ADU and 15% air conditioning.
Next steps
- Search homes for sale, then use Save Search to get new listings by email.
- What’s my home worth? A starting estimate, then a real one from a Property Nerd.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about what you’re weighing.
By style
Styles named in at least 5 listings, most sales first. “vs. the city” compares price per square foot with the median for all Palo Alto houses (shown where there are at least 10 sales). Each style links to its Silicon Valley-wide post.
| Style | Sales | Share | Median price | $/sq ft vs. the city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-century modern | 117 | 15% | $3.45M | −3% |
| Eichler | 71 | 9% | $3.41M | −4% |
| Modern or contemporary | 66 | 8% | $4.2M | −6% |
| Craftsman or bungalow | 39 | 5% | $4.06M | +1% |
| Modern farmhouse or new construction | 35 | 5% | $5.79M | −8% |
| Tudor, storybook or traditional | 28 | 4% | $4.37M | −3% |
| Spanish or Mediterranean | 28 | 4% | $5.5M | +4% |
| Ranch | 17 | 2% | $4.12M | +6% |
| Victorian or Edwardian | 9 | 1% | $3.5M | — |
By feature
Features mentioned in at least 5 listings, most sales first.
| Feature | Sales | Share | Median price | $/sq ft vs. the city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home office | 120 | 15% | $4.2M | −2% |
| Air conditioning | 116 | 15% | $3.89M | −4% |
| Cul-de-sac | 89 | 11% | $3.84M | +2% |
| ADU, in-law unit or guest house | 75 | 10% | $5M | +5% |
| Main-floor bedroom (two-story houses) | 74 | 10% | $5.23M | −12% |
| Single-story | 72 | 9% | $3.81M | +2% |
| Pool | 68 | 9% | $5.6M | +5% |
| Remodeled | 68 | 9% | $3.77M | +2% |
| EV charging | 45 | 6% | $4.8M | −2% |
| Corner lot | 36 | 5% | $3.92M | −1% |
| Solar | 32 | 4% | $5.11M | +1% |
| Wine cellar or wine room | 31 | 4% | $8M | −13% |
| Basement | 22 | 3% | $4.7M | +4% |
| Gated entry | 11 | 1% | $3.7M | −17% |
| Three-car garage or bigger | 10 | 1% | $6.05M | −9% |
| View | 8 | 1% | $3.99M | — |
| Elevator | 7 | 1% | $12M | — |
By neighborhood
Our Palo Alto neighborhood guides with at least 15 house sales, placed by map position; the share of each one’s sales whose listing mentions each feature. See the neighborhoods with the most single-story homes, pools and ADUs across Silicon Valley.
| Neighborhood | House sales | Median price | Single-story | Pool | ADU | A/C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midtown | 105 | $3.59M | 13% | 2% | 12% | 16% |
| Old Palo Alto | 79 | $7.07M | 3% | 10% | 11% | 8% |
| Crescent Park | 69 | $5.5M | 7% | 23% | 13% | 14% |
| Barron Park | 62 | $3.95M | 10% | 6% | 16% | 21% |
| Duveneck / St. Francis | 53 | $4.3M | 19% | 9% | 13% | 13% |
| Community Center | 33 | $5.07M | 6% | 33% | 15% | 12% |
| South of Midtown | 31 | $3.42M | 10% | 6% | 3% | 10% |
| Palo Verde | 29 | $3.75M | 0% | 3% | 7% | 14% |
| University South | 26 | $3.83M | 8% | 0% | 4% | 4% |
| Leland Manor / Garland | 25 | $4.5M | 8% | 16% | 8% | 4% |
| Ventura | 24 | $2.79M | 8% | 0% | 8% | 38% |
| College Terrace | 23 | $3.08M | 9% | 0% | 4% | 4% |
| Charleston Meadows | 22 | $2.9M | 18% | 5% | 5% | 23% |
| Greenmeadow | 20 | $3.74M | 5% | 20% | 5% | 30% |
| Adobe Meadow & Meadow Park | 19 | $3.3M | 21% | 0% | 16% | 16% |
| Downtown North | 19 | $3.02M | 0% | 5% | 0% | 16% |
| Fairmeadow | 15 | $3.32M | 7% | 0% | 0% | 20% |
Condos and townhouses
375 condo and townhouse sales in the same two years.
| Type | Sales | Median price |
|---|---|---|
| Condos | 285 | $1.32M |
| Townhouses | 90 | $1.82M |
How often their listings mention:
| Feature | Share of sales |
|---|---|
| In-unit laundry | 33% |
| Attached or private garage | 14% |
| Air conditioning | 28% |
| End or corner unit | 17% |
| New construction | 2% |
| Pool (usually the community’s) | 58% |
See condo and townhome features ranked for what each one sells for across Silicon Valley.
Reading it right
- It’s what listings say. A house counts for a style or feature when its description names it; many never do.
- Associated with, not caused by. Houses with a feature differ in other ways too: size, age, lot and street.
- Price per square foot favors smaller houses, so features that come with bigger houses (a main-floor bedroom, a three-car garage, a view) often show a discount; they’re left out of the short answer’s premium and discount.
- Small groups swing. A style or feature with a few dozen sales can move a lot from year to year; we show the premium only with 10 or more sales.
How we counted
Closed sales of houses (MLS property type “single family home”) with a Palo Alto address between October 28, 2024 and October 27, 2026, reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records from different feeds removed (normalized address plus sale date). Price per square foot uses sales with 400 sq ft or more. Condo and townhouse figures are from a separate pull of the same two years. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.
Go deeper
In Palo Alto: Palo Alto neighborhoods compared, Palo Alto homes we’ve sold, Palo Alto Eichlers, Palo Alto modern homes, single-story homes in Palo Alto, homes with a pool in Palo Alto, homes with an ADU in Palo Alto, mid-century modern homes in Palo Alto and modern and contemporary homes in Palo Alto. Every city side by side: home features by city. Every home-type post: Silicon Valley home types by the numbers.
Buying or selling in Palo Alto?
A Property Nerd will pull the recent sales closest to the home you’re weighing, on the same streets, and show you what buyers paid for the features it has. 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.