Blog > Palo Alto vs. Los Altos vs. Mountain View vs. Sunnyvale: Home Prices Compared (2026)
Palo Alto vs. Los Altos vs. Mountain View vs. Sunnyvale: Home Prices Compared (2026)
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Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale sit side by side, but their housing markets don’t. Here they are compared on price, price per square foot, bidding, the mix of houses and condos, and ten years of change, from closed MLS sales read in October 2026. Every figure is the same one used in that city’s own posts, which are linked below. Los Altos figures are for Los Altos alone, not Los Altos Hills.
The short answer
- Highest median price: Los Altos ($4.55M over the last 12 months), then Palo Alto ($3.44M), Mountain View ($1.84M) and Sunnyvale ($1.80M).
- Highest price per square foot: Palo Alto ($1,945), then Los Altos ($1,878), Sunnyvale ($1,230) and Mountain View ($1,109).
- Most bidding wars: in Sunnyvale, 73% of sales from January 2024 through September 2026 closed over the final list price, against 65% in Mountain View, 62% in Palo Alto and 61% in Los Altos.
- Biggest ten-year rise in the median price per square foot of houses: Sunnyvale (+79%), then Los Altos (+66%), Mountain View (+55%) and Palo Alto (+43%).
- Most condos and townhomes: in Mountain View, 55% of the last 12 months’ sales were condos or townhomes, against 41% in Sunnyvale, 26% in Palo Alto and 18% in Los Altos.
Prices now
The last 12 months, October 2025 through September 2026, all home types. The entry price is the level 1 in 10 sales closed at or below; the top end, the level 1 in 10 closed at or above. Each city name opens its city guide.
| City | Sales | Median price | Median $/sq ft | What $1M buys | Entry price | Top end | Houses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | 528 | $3.44M | $1,945 | 510 sq ft | $1.40M | $6.75M | 74% |
| Los Altos | 327 | $4.55M | $1,878 | 530 sq ft | $1.81M | $7.03M | 82% |
| Mountain View | 511 | $1.84M | $1,109 | 900 sq ft | $735K | $3.86M | 45% |
| Sunnyvale | 859 | $1.80M | $1,230 | 810 sq ft | $945K | $3.25M | 59% |
Bidding and discounts
Sales from January 2024 through September 2026, all home types. The overbid and discount are medians among the homes that sold over or under their final list price.
| City | Sales | Sold over asking | Median overbid | Sold under asking | Median discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | 1,352 | 62% | $287K | 29% | $100K |
| Los Altos | 898 | 61% | $372K | 29% | $90K |
| Mountain View | 1,428 | 65% | $128K | 26% | $38K |
| Sunnyvale | 2,269 | 73% | $187K | 21% | $44K |
Neighborhood by neighborhood, see where homes sell over asking in Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
Houses vs. condos and townhomes
Sales in the two years to Oct. 19, 2026, split by the listing’s MLS property type.
| City | House sales | House median | House $/sq ft | Condo & townhome sales | Condo & townhome median | Condo & townhome $/sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | 714 | $3.90M | $2,057 | 220 | $1.52M | $1,086 |
| Los Altos | 479 | $4.92M | $1,937 | 105 | $1.84M | $1,307 |
| Mountain View | 452 | $2.81M | $1,660 | 527 | $1.40M | $979 |
| Sunnyvale | 941 | $2.67M | $1,555 | 592 | $1.35M | $902 |
Townhomes and condos apart, by bedrooms and ZIP: condo and townhome prices in Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
Ten years of change
Median price per square foot in the two years to Oct. 19, 2016 and the two years to Oct. 19, 2026, as recorded (not adjusted for inflation). These are the homes that happened to sell in each period, so rebuilds and new construction push the numbers up.
| City | Houses, 2014–16 | Houses, 2024–26 | Change | Condos & townhomes, 2014–16 | Condos & townhomes, 2024–26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto | $1,441 | $2,057 | +43% | $1,020 | $1,086 | +7% |
| Los Altos | $1,165 | $1,937 | +66% | $1,018 | $1,307 | +28% |
| Mountain View | $1,068 | $1,660 | +55% | $769 | $979 | +27% |
| Sunnyvale | $869 | $1,555 | +79% | $651 | $902 | +39% |
In all four cities, condo and townhome prices per square foot rose far less than house prices. House prices by neighborhood, ten years apart: Palo Alto, Los Altos (with Los Altos Hills), Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
Two cities at a time
For trains, taxes, utilities and zoning as well as the market, see Palo Alto vs. Mountain View, Los Altos vs. Palo Alto, Los Altos vs. Mountain View, Los Altos vs. Sunnyvale, Mountain View vs. Sunnyvale and Palo Alto vs. Sunnyvale.
Each city in full
- Palo Alto: housing market by the numbers, neighborhoods ranked by price per square foot, house prices by bedrooms, houses under $3M, guide by guide, houses at $5M and up, the best month to sell and the homes we’ve sold there.
- Los Altos: housing market by the numbers, neighborhoods ranked by price per square foot, house prices by bedrooms, houses under $4M, guide by guide, houses at $7.5M and up, the best month to sell and the homes we’ve sold there.
- Mountain View: housing market by the numbers, neighborhoods ranked by price per square foot, house prices by bedrooms, houses under $2.5M, guide by guide, houses at $3.5M and up, the best month to sell and the homes we’ve sold there.
- Sunnyvale: housing market by the numbers, neighborhoods ranked by price per square foot, house prices by bedrooms, houses under $2.5M, guide by guide, houses at $3.5M and up, the best month to sell and the homes we’ve sold there.
Reading it right
- Medians blend many neighborhoods and home types. The closest recent sales to a specific home matter more than any city figure.
- The tables use different windows, each labeled: the last 12 months for prices now, January 2024 through September 2026 for bidding, and two-year windows for home types and ten-year change.
- These numbers describe homes that sold. They don’t rank places to live, and past change isn’t a forecast.
How we counted
Closed sales reported to the MLS, read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records removed. The figures come from our City Scorecard, Price Ladder and the condo and townhome snapshot in the Data Library, where each is a CSV.
Deciding between these cities?
A Property Nerd will put homes in each city side by side at your budget, with the recent sales behind every number. 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.