sell · east palo alto
Selling a home in East Palo Alto
In East Palo Alto, 51% of sales since January 2024 closed over asking and 43% closed under, against 60% over across Silicon Valley, and 40% of the single-family lots in our six neighborhood guides have their parcel center in a FEMA high-risk flood zone. Here’s what the numbers say, what’s different about selling here, and the homes we’ve listed and sold closest to East Palo Alto.
east palo alto by the numbers
What the East Palo Alto market says right now
East Palo Alto closed 92 sales in the last 12 months, and 89% of them were single-family houses. 42% of its 2025 sales closed under $1 million, against 19% across Silicon Valley. Over and under asking are closer to even here than across Silicon Valley, where 60% of sales since January 2024 closed over asking.
- median sale price$1.05Mlast 12 months, 92 sales; Silicon Valley $1.65M
- over asking51%of 247 sales since January 2024; median overbid $52K
- under asking43%of the same sales; median discount $29K; Silicon Valley 30%
- best closing monthApril73% over asking, against 46% in January (all 2012–2025 sales pooled); May is busiest
Source: closed MLS sales, Boyenga Team analysis, October 2026. Recent 12 months = October 2025 to September 2026; over and under asking = January 2024 to September 2026; best month = all 2012–2025 sales pooled by closing month (East Palo Alto has too few sales in some months for a year-by-year average). See East Palo Alto by the numbers.
what’s different here
What sellers in East Palo Alto should plan for
What we’d plan for on an East Palo Alto listing.
Price to your neighborhood
measured: 24 months
In the 24 months to October 27, 2026, 164 East Palo Alto homes sold, and the typical one closed at its list price; 46% sold over asking. Counting all home types, the typical sale was at asking in four of our six guides (University Village & Ravenswood, Palo Alto Park, Kavanaugh & Newbridge, and Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede) and 0.5% under in The Gardens. Westside ran 5.7% over, on 10 sales (houses alone, 0.7% over). Citywide, 43% of sales since January 2024 closed under asking. We start from your neighborhood’s record, not the city median.
Price to the street
measured: five years of house sales
From October 1, 2021 to October 21, 2026, 419 East Palo Alto houses sold, at a median $1.05M ($815 per sq ft). Among the 26 streets with at least 6 house sales, the median ran from $888K on Runnymede St to $1.59M on Baines St; the three highest, Baines St, Mouton Cir and Oakes St, are all in Four Corners, Weeks & Runnymede. By price per square foot, Larkspur Dr ($1,044) and Laurel Ave ($1,005) led. We price against the sales on your street and of your kind of house.
Flood zones
measured: 40% of lots in our guides
San Mateo County’s parcel layer has no city-limit line, so we counted the 3,916 lots of 1,500 sq ft or more with the county’s single-family use code inside our six East Palo Alto guides. 1,556 of them (40%) have their parcel center in a FEMA high-risk flood zone (1,535 in AE, 21 in A): 901 of the 957 in The Gardens (94%) and 277 in Kavanaugh & Newbridge (49%), against 15 in Palo Alto Park (2%). If the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance, so we order a flood zone determination for the address before launch. A house can sit above the base flood elevation even in a high-risk zone; an elevation certificate settles it and can lower the insurance price. No single-family lot in our guides touches a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone.
Mostly houses
measured: 89% houses
89% of East Palo Alto’s sales in the last 12 months were single-family houses. In the two years to October 27, 2026, 16 condos and townhomes sold (15 condos, 1 townhome), at a typical $635K, against $1.09M for a house, and 31% of them closed over asking (houses: 47%). Median single-family lots in our six guides run from 5,270 sq ft in The Gardens to 5,760 sq ft in Kavanaugh & Newbridge, 5,430 sq ft across all six.
Selling a rented home
city and state rules
If the home is rented, buyers will ask about the tenancy. As of October 2026, East Palo Alto’s rent stabilization and just cause ordinance allows a 2% increase from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and buildings of three or fewer units where the owner has lived at least a year are exempt from the cap. Under California’s Costa-Hawkins law, local rent caps can’t cover single-family homes or housing built after February 1, 1995. The state’s Tenant Protection Act is a separate layer: its cap for San Mateo County is 8.8% for increases from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, and single-family homes and condos owned by individuals are exempt only if the tenant got written notice of the exemption in the law’s wording. It’s a summary, not legal advice, so confirm the rules for your property with the city and an attorney.
Timing and transfer tax
measured and county
Pooling every 2012–2025 sale by closing month, April closings sold over asking most often (73%), January least (46%), and May has the most closings; an April closing typically means an accepted offer in March. The San Mateo County transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000, so $1,100 on a $1 million sale. County and title-company tables show no East Palo Alto city transfer tax, but some sources report one, so we confirm it with the escrow officer. By local custom the seller pays the county tax and the buyer usually pays the escrow fee and the owner’s title policy; all of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides.
our sales
Homes we’ve listed and sold near East Palo Alto
The MLS doesn’t show an East Palo Alto sale with our name on it yet. Here are the homes we’ve listed and sold closest to East Palo Alto; the numbers above are what decide an East Palo Alto sale.
sold Nov 2024 · palo alto
$4.30M
742 De Soto Dr · Duveneck / St. Francis
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,248 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Apr 2018 · palo alto
$2.85M
1914 Channing Avenue · Duveneck / St. Francis
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,660 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Apr 2024 · palo alto
$3.00M
682 Wildwood Ln · Duveneck / St. Francis
4 bd · 2 ba · 1,752 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Dec 2025 · menlo park
$4.30M
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,210 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Dec 2020 · menlo park
$1.02M
1348 Henderson Avenue · Belle Haven
2 bd · 1 ba · 890 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Oct 2026 · palo alto
$3.04M
770 Everett Ave · Crescent Park
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 2,088 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
our plan
How we’d sell your East Palo Alto home
The same Property Nerd plan we run on every listing, tuned to East Palo Alto.
Price against the right sales
We start with the closest recent sales in your neighborhood and of your kind of house, then read the competition that week. In East Palo Alto, where 43% of sales since January 2024 closed under asking, that means starting from the sales on your street, not the city median.
Prepare what buyers notice
Paint, light, landscaping and staging, budgeted in the Prep Lab, with Compass Concierge to front eligible costs. Inspections up front show what’s worth fixing before buyers find it, and if the home is rented, we have the lease and tenancy details ready.
Disclose early
Inspections and disclosures ready before launch, so buyers make offers on facts. In East Palo Alto that includes a flood zone determination for the address, above all in The Gardens and Kavanaugh & Newbridge.
Launch on purpose
A private or Coming Soon start if it fits, then the full launch; the Launch Lab shows the plan. April closings sold over asking most often; an April closing typically means an accepted offer in March, with the listing before that.
Negotiate and close
We compare offers on price, terms and certainty, then run escrow to closing.
The East Palo Alto data series
our own analysis
More from the series
by price and place
Seller tools
plan your numbers
Looking for an agent rather than a plan? Meet Eric & Janelle Boyenga · East Palo Alto neighborhood guides
questions
Questions East Palo Alto sellers ask us
How often do East Palo Alto homes sell over asking?
From January 2024 to September 2026, 51% of 247 East Palo Alto sales closed above the final list price, with a median overbid of $52K, and 43% closed below it, with a median discount of $29K. In the $1M–1.5M band, 53% of 124 sales closed over asking. Across Silicon Valley, 60% closed over asking.
When is the best time to sell in East Palo Alto?
Pooling every East Palo Alto sale from 2012 through 2025 by closing month, April closings sold over asking most often (73%) and January closings least often (46%). May has the most closings, about 10% of a typical year’s sales. East Palo Alto has too few sales in some months for a year-by-year average, so the months are pooled, and a busy year like 2021 weighs more in a pooled month than a slower one. An April closing typically means an accepted offer in March, with the listing before that.
Is my East Palo Alto house in a flood zone?
Of the 3,916 lots of 1,500 sq ft or more with San Mateo County’s single-family use code inside our six East Palo Alto guides, 1,556 (40%) have their parcel center in a FEMA high-risk flood zone (AE or A): 901 of the 957 in The Gardens (94%), 277 in Kavanaugh & Newbridge and 15 in Palo Alto Park (2%). A lot can straddle two zones, and maps change, so we check the current FEMA map for the exact address. If the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance; a flood zone determination for the address settles it. No single-family lot in our guides touches a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone.
Does East Palo Alto have rent control?
As of October 2026, East Palo Alto’s rent stabilization and just cause ordinance allows a 2% increase from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Buildings of three or fewer units where the owner has lived at least a year are exempt from the cap, and under California’s Costa-Hawkins law, local rent caps can’t cover single-family homes or housing built after February 1, 1995. The state’s Tenant Protection Act is a separate layer: its cap for San Mateo County is 8.8% for increases from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, and single-family homes and condos owned by individuals are exempt only if the tenant got written notice of the exemption in the law’s wording. It’s a summary, not legal advice, so confirm the rules for your property with the city and an attorney.
Does East Palo Alto charge a transfer tax?
County and title-company tables show no East Palo Alto city transfer tax, but some sources report one, so confirm it with your escrow officer. The San Mateo County tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price, or $1,100 on a $1 million sale. By local custom the seller pays the county tax and the buyer and seller split any city tax 50/50, and in San Mateo County the buyer usually pays the escrow fee and the owner’s title policy. All of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides.
Have you sold homes in East Palo Alto?
Not yet: the MLS doesn’t show an East Palo Alto sale with our name on it. This page shows the homes we’ve listed and sold closest to East Palo Alto, in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, and the market figures on this page come from East Palo Alto’s own closed sales.
What do you charge to sell an East Palo Alto home?
Commissions are negotiable. We offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about selling in East Palo Alto?
We’ll pull the closest sales to your house, walk through prep and timing, and tell you what we’d do. No pressure and no obligation.
eric boyenga dre 01254725 · janelle boyenga dre 01254724 · compass · equal housing opportunity
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Eric & Janelle Boyenga
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725