los altos neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Santa Rita, Los Altos Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The North Los Altos strip between Adobe Creek and Los Altos Avenue, from El Camino Real to Foothill Expressway: 1930s to 1960s tracts around Santa Rita Elementary on lots near 12,000 sq ft.
Santa Rita by the numbers
santa rita by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Santa Rita: Adobe Creek to the North Los Altos edge by Los Altos Ave, El Camino Real to Foothill Expwy (drawn along the creek, streets and lot lines). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in santa rita · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Santa Rita
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Santa Rita from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Get alerts for new Los Altos listings: open Los Altos in our full search and tap Save Search.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Santa Rita: Adobe Creek to the North Los Altos edge by Los Altos Ave, El Camino Real to Foothill Expwy (drawn along the creek, streets and lot lines)); it may not match every local definition.
sold by the property nerds
Our sales in and near Santa Rita
Since 2012 we’ve handled 1 sale inside the Santa Rita outline that we can match to MLS records: 1 home we listed. The other photos are our closest listings outside it, measured from its edge.
the story
How Santa Rita came to be
Santa Rita is the long strip of North Los Altos that follows Adobe Creek, from El Camino Real south to Foothill Expressway near West Edith Avenue. The creek is the city line, with Palo Alto across it at the north end and Los Altos Hills farther south. The name comes from the area's own landmarks: Santa Rita Elementary, a Los Altos School District school at 700 Los Altos Avenue, sits inside it, Santa Rita Avenue runs through its north half, and a 1952 tract here was recorded as Santa Rita Orchards.
The recorded maps show how the land was divided. The 1954 Rancho Laureles map describes its land as part of the Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito land grant, and older large-lot subdivisions came first, among them the Harrington Subdivision (Book H of Maps, page 17). Santa Rita Orchards (Tract 1057, August 1952) cut Lot 4 of the Harrington Subdivision into 26 lots on Traverso Avenue, with Santa Rita Avenue on its east side and the creek on its west. Rancho Laureles (Tract 903), surveyed by Geo. S. Nolte and approved by the Los Altos City Council on September 7, 1954, laid out Laureles Drive, Lunada Drive and Las Flores and Orilla courts along the creek; its map puts the city's corporate limit at the center of the creek and labels the far bank Palo Alto Unified School District. In the south half, the Dos Palos maps filled in Juanita Way and San Domingo Way in the 1960s: Dos Palos Map No. 2 (Tract 3909) was surveyed in September 1964, approved by the City Council that December and recorded in January 1965 for the Peninsula Pacific Construction Company.
Most of the houses went up in those two decades. City parcel data gives a median year built of 1962, with about 160 houses from the 1950s and about 155 from the 1960s. An older layer survives on Van Buren Street, Santa Rita Avenue, Mundell Way, Mandell Court and West Portola Avenue, where a number of houses date from the 1930s. Los Altos incorporated in December 1952, and the city's annexation map shows no later annexation here except one: Blue Oak Lane, with two neighboring houses on Yerba Buena Avenue, joined the city in July 2006.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The streets hang off Los Altos Avenue. Long east-west streets run from it toward the creek: Loucks Avenue and Traverso Avenue in the north, then Van Buren Street, West Portola Avenue, Pine Lane, Yerba Santa Avenue and Yerba Buena Avenue, with Santa Rita Avenue running north-south through the north half. The tracts added loops and short courts between them: Laureles Drive, Lunada Drive and Orilla, Las Flores and Lunada courts at the north end; Dixon Way, Laverne Way, Mundell Way and Mandell Court; Twelve Acres Drive, Meadow Lane and Cavalier, Heather and Leaf courts in the middle; and Torwood Lane, Juanita Way, San Domingo Way, Hacienda Way and Raquel Lane south of Pine Lane. Blue Oak Lane, Alta Vista Avenue, Mariposa Avenue and Lockhart Lane fill the south end near Foothill Expressway.
The houses are mostly single-story: about 80 percent of those with county floor data are one story, and the median living area in city data is about 2,700 sq ft. Four bedrooms is the most common count, then three. Lots run larger than a typical postwar tract lot, with a median near 12,000 sq ft and the middle 80 percent between about 9,100 and 21,300 sq ft. About 16 percent of the houses were built in 2000 or later, so original ranch houses and two-story rebuilds share most blocks, and three houses carry the city's historic-resource flag in its parcel data.
Adobe Creek shapes the west side. FEMA's flood map puts 19 houses in Zone AE at the parcel center, nearly all on Blue Oak Lane and Yerba Buena Avenue near the south end. CAL FIRE's 2025 hazard map shows no Fire Hazard Severity Zone at any parcel center here. The recorded maps along the creek also carry drainage easements, so a backyard can be smaller in practice than the lot line suggests.
streets in santa rita
- Los Altos Avenue
- Santa Rita Avenue
- Van Buren Street
- West Portola Avenue
- Pine Lane
- Traverso Avenue
- Laureles Drive
- Lunada Drive
- Mundell Way
- Laverne Way
- Dixon Way
- Twelve Acres Drive
- Meadow Lane
- Torwood Lane
- Juanita Way
- San Domingo Way
- Hacienda Way
- Raquel Lane
- Yerba Santa Avenue
- Yerba Buena Avenue
- Blue Oak Lane
- Alta Vista Avenue
- Mariposa Avenue
- Lockhart Lane
house sales by street, 2021–2026
| Street | Sales | Median price | Per sq ft | Typical lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Portola Avenue | 3 | $8.7M | $1,771 | 20,040 sq ft |
| Laverne Way | 7 | $8.51M | $1,679 | 19,770 sq ft |
| Van Buren Street | 4 | $6.45M | $1,928 | 20,810 sq ft |
| Yerba Buena Avenue | 3 | $5.4M | $1,322 | 13,430 sq ft |
| San Domingo Way | 6 | $5.35M | $1,804 | 10,210 sq ft |
| Torwood Lane | 6 | $5.03M | $1,543 | 13,460 sq ft |
| Santa Rita Avenue | 6 | $4.85M | $1,678 | 11,850 sq ft |
| Laureles Drive | 3 | $4.8M | $1,883 | 13,410 sq ft |
| Alta Vista Avenue | 3 | $4.55M | $2,100 | 9,440 sq ft |
| Traverso Avenue | 3 | $4.22M | $2,049 | 9,920 sq ft |
| Langton Avenue | 3 | $3.85M | $2,487 | 8,400 sq ft |
| Los Altos Avenue | 3 | $3.52M | $1,842 | 14,880 sq ft |
Single-family house sales inside this guide’s outline, Oct. 1, 2021 to Oct. 21, 2026, from MLS records, with each sale counted once. Streets with at least 3 sales; prices, price per square foot and lots are medians. The whole city, ranked: The most expensive streets in Los Altos & Los Altos Hills.
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Santa Rita
- school
Santa Rita Elementary
A Los Altos School District K-6 school at 700 Los Altos Avenue, listed as active in the state school directory. Its grounds sit inside the area between Van Buren Street and Pine Lane.
- landmark
Adobe Creek
The creek runs the full length of the west side and is the city line. The 1954 Rancho Laureles map puts the city's corporate limit at the center of the creek.
- shopping
Downtown Los Altos
Main and State streets are about half a mile (straight-line) from Lockhart Lane at the south end, across West Edith Avenue.
- shopping
El Camino Real
The north end meets El Camino Real, the commercial strip covered in the El Camino & Sherwood Gateway guide; San Antonio Road is about 0.6 mile (straight-line) from Laureles Drive.
- park
Lincoln Park, Shoup Park and Redwood Grove
City parks across Foothill Expressway in Old Los Altos, about half a mile to three-quarters of a mile (straight-line) from the south end.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
The California Department of Education's 2025-26 district map places every house here in the Los Altos School District (K-8) and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District. Santa Rita Elementary, a Los Altos School District school, is inside the area at 700 Los Altos Avenue. Attendance areas and district lines change, so check the exact address with the districts before relying on a school assignment.
Los Altos School District guide · Mountain View-Los Altos high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- San Antonio Caltrain station in Mountain View is about 0.9 mile (straight-line) from Laureles Drive at the north end and about 1.3 miles from the middle of the area.
- VTA Route 40 runs on San Antonio Road, about half a mile east (straight-line), with stops at Portola, Pine and Yerba Buena; it links Foothill College, downtown Los Altos and the Mountain View Transit Center.
- El Camino Real meets the north end, and Foothill Expressway runs along the south end.
- Downtown Los Altos is about half a mile (straight-line) from the south end.
- I-280 is roughly 2.5 miles (straight-line) south, by Foothill Expressway and El Monte Road or Magdalena Avenue.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Santa Rita: what we check
Buying here
- Flood: FEMA's map puts 19 houses here in Zone AE, mostly on Blue Oak Lane and Yerba Buena Avenue beside Adobe Creek. Check the parcel on the FEMA map; lenders generally require flood insurance in Zone AE.
- Blue Oak Lane and two neighboring Yerba Buena Avenue houses joined the city in July 2006, per the city's annexation map. Permits and records from before then may be with the county, so ask for both.
- Three houses carry a historic-resource flag in the city's parcel data. If the house you are looking at has one, check with the city's planning staff before planning exterior changes or demolition.
- Read the recorded tract map with the title report. Maps here show drainage easements along the creek, anchor easements for utility poles and other strips that limit where you can build.
- About 43 percent of the houses were built before 1960. Ask for permit history on additions and budget for checks of the sewer lateral, electrical panel and foundation.
Selling here
- Name the tract. Rancho Laureles, Santa Rita Orchards, the Dos Palos maps or another recorded map tells buyers how the lot was laid out and what easements to expect; the county's record-map index lists them.
- State the lot size from county records and show the usable yard; the median here is about 12,000 sq ft, and creek-side lots carry easements.
- If the house is in Zone AE, have flood insurance quotes and any elevation certificate ready before listing.
- About four in five houses here are single-story. If yours is an original ranch house, buyers will compare it with nearby rebuilds, so document updates and permits.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Santa Rita questions, answered
Is Santa Rita an official Los Altos neighborhood?
No official boundary was found. Santa Rita is a plain place name taken from Santa Rita Elementary inside the area, Santa Rita Avenue and the 1952 Santa Rita Orchards tract. The streets are also part of the loosely defined North Los Altos.
Is this part of Los Altos or Los Altos Hills?
All of it is in the City of Los Altos. Adobe Creek is the city line, with Los Altos Hills and, at the north end, Palo Alto on the other side.
Which school districts serve Santa Rita?
The Los Altos School District for K-8 and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, per the state's 2025-26 district map. Santa Rita Elementary is inside the area. Check the exact address with the districts, since attendance areas change.
Are any houses in a flood zone?
Yes, 19 at the parcel center, in FEMA Zone AE along Adobe Creek, mostly on Blue Oak Lane and Yerba Buena Avenue. Check each address on the FEMA map.
When were the houses built?
Mostly in the 1950s and 1960s; the median year built in city data is 1962. Some 1930s houses remain on Van Buren Street, Santa Rita Avenue and nearby streets, and about 16 percent were built in 2000 or later.
next door
More Los Altos neighborhood guides
From the blog: Los Altos & Los Altos Hills Neighborhoods by Their Houses
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Thinking about Santa Rita? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
on the home styles field guide
Home styles in Santa Rita
Santa Rita shows up on this plate in our home styles field guide. Each plate shows how to spot the style from the sidewalk, with live listings opened to Los Altos.
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Los Altos right now
City-wide numbers read from the MLS each time this page loads. A neighborhood can trade differently from its city, so ask us for the sales on your street.
- homes for sale…houses, condos, townhomes
- new this week…by days on market
- median list price…of homes for sale
- median days on market…of homes for sale
- 12 months of sales…median sale price
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Listing data comes from the MLS through our IDX feeds and is shown as reported; it isn’t guaranteed. Repeat listings from overlapping feeds are removed, and land and mobile homes are left out.
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