sell · los altos & los altos hills
Selling a home in Los Altos or Los Altos Hills
In Los Altos, 61% of recent sales closed over asking, with a median overbid of $372K, and the lot often matters as much as the house. Here’s what the numbers say, what’s different about selling here, and what we’ve sold in town.
los altos & los altos hills by the numbers
What the Los Altos market says right now
Los Altos closed 327 sales in the last 12 months, at the second-highest median price of the 25 cities with 100+ sales, and price per square foot reached a new high in July–September 2026.
- median sale price$4.55Mlast 12 months, 327 sales; Silicon Valley $1.65M
- over asking61%of 898 sales since January 2024; median overbid $372K
- $5M and up73%of 305 sales in that band closed over asking
- best closing monthApril73% over asking, against 46% in January; June 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 = averaged over 2012–2025. See Los Altos by the numbers.
what’s different here
What sellers in Los Altos should plan for
What we plan for on Los Altos and Los Altos Hills listings.
The lot is the asset
measured: 10,890 sq ft median
The median Los Altos house was built in 1958 and has 2,506 square feet on a 10,890 sq ft lot, and 15% of houses were built in 2000 or later. Many buyers price the land and the plans they have for it, so we show the lot as carefully as the house.
Single-story zoning
measured: 360 houses
360 Los Altos houses sit in the R1-S single-story overlay, 277 of them in North Los Altos. A buyer who plans to add a second story will check this first, so we confirm the parcel’s zoning before launch.
Rebuild neighborhoods
measured: up to 25% new
In Montebello Acres and Country Club about a quarter of houses were built in 2000 or later; in The Highlands it’s 1%. Whether your street is rebuilding changes who buys and what they pay for.
Los Altos Hills is its own market
measured: 1.1-acre median
The median Los Altos Hills house has 3,814 square feet on 1.1 acres, and 48% have two or more stories. Hillside sales bring fire-zone disclosures and septic, access and slope questions we prepare for up front.
Historic resources
city records
The City of Los Altos flags 75 houses as historic resources. If yours is one, buyers will want to know what they can change, and we gather the City’s records before you list.
Timing and transfer tax
measured and county
April closings sold over asking most often (73%), January least (46%). Los Altos and Los Altos Hills have no city transfer tax; the county tax is $1.10 per $1,000, and who pays it is negotiable.
our sales
Homes we’ve listed and sold in Los Altos & Los Altos Hills
Since 2012 the MLS shows 31 Los Altos & Los Altos Hills sales with our name on them: 18 homes we listed and 13 where we represented the buyer. The most recent homes we listed:
sold Oct 2026 · los altos
$6.73M
6 bd · 5 ba · 3,383 sq ft
3.6% over the final list price of $6.50MListed by the Boyenga Team
sold Sep 2026 · los altos
$4.20M
5 bd · 4 ba · 3,127 sq ft
5.1% over the final list price of $4.00MListed by the Boyenga Team
sold May 2025 · los altos hills
$4.00M
22580 Ravensbury Ave · Mora Drive & Olive Tree
3 bd · 2 ba · 2,443 sq ft
0.1% over the final list price of $4.00MListed by the Boyenga Team
sold Jul 2024 · los altos hills
$5.75M
12425 Hilltop Dr · El Monte Road & Foothill College
5 bd · 4 ba · 3,362 sq ft
4.1% under the final list price of $6.00MListed by the Boyenga Team
sold Jul 2022 · los altos
$1.88M
949 Dolores Avenue · Loyola Corners
2 bd · 1 ba · 1,131 sq ft
0.6% under the final list price of $1.89MListed by the Boyenga Team
sold Jul 2021 · los altos
$5.60M
425 Covington Road · Costello Acres
7 bd · 6.5 ba · 5,848 sq ft
5.1% under the final list price of $5.90MListed by the Boyenga Team
For 18 of the 18 homes we listed here, the sold record shows the final list price: 11 closed at or above it, 11 of them over asking. The final list price is the asking price after any price changes. Source: closed MLS records, read October 30, 2026.
See all 31 on our Los Altos & Los Altos Hills sales map
Neighborhoods where we’ve sold most: El Monte Road & Foothill College (5), South Los Altos (5), Central Los Altos (4), Old Los Altos (2), Mora Drive & Olive Tree (2), North Los Altos (2), Country Club (2), Downtown Los Altos (2).
our plan
How we’d sell your Los Altos home
The same Property Nerd plan we run on every listing, tuned to Los Altos & Los Altos Hills.
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 Los Altos that means reading the lot, zoning and street as well as the house.
Prepare what buyers notice
Paint, light, landscaping and staging, budgeted in the Prep Lab, with Compass Concierge to front eligible costs. In a rebuild neighborhood, buyers may value the land over finishes, so we spend where it changes the price.
Disclose early
Inspections and disclosures ready before launch, so buyers make offers on facts. For Los Altos Hills homes we check fire zones, septic and access early.
Launch on purpose
A private or Coming Soon start if it fits, then the full launch; the Launch Lab shows the plan. April closings did best on average, so plan a spring sale in winter.
Negotiate and close
We compare offers on price, terms and certainty, then run escrow to closing.
The Los Altos 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? Our Los Altos real estate team page · Los Altos Hills
questions
Questions Los Altos sellers ask us
How often do Los Altos homes sell over asking?
From January 2024 to September 2026, 61% of 898 Los Altos sales closed above the final list price, with a median overbid of $372K. 29% closed below it, with a median discount of $90K. In the $5M-and-up band, 73% of 305 sales closed over asking.
When is the best time to sell in Los Altos?
Averaged over 2012–2025, Los Altos closings in April sold over asking most often (73%) and January closings least often (46%). June has the most closings, about 12% of the year’s sales.
Is my house in the single-story overlay?
360 Los Altos houses are in the R1-S single-story overlay district, most of them in North Los Altos (277), South Los Altos (47) and Woodland Acres (29). We confirm your parcel’s zoning with the City’s maps before you list.
Will buyers want my house or my lot?
Both, depending on the street. The median Los Altos house sits on a 10,890 sq ft lot, and in some neighborhoods a quarter of the houses were built since 2000. We show you the recent sales on your street, rebuilt and original, so you can see which buyer is paying more.
Does Los Altos charge a transfer tax?
Neither Los Altos nor Los Altos Hills has a city transfer tax. The Santa Clara County documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price, and who pays it is negotiable.
What do you charge to sell a Los Altos home?
Commissions are negotiable. We offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about selling in Los Altos?
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
Thinking about selling in Los Altos? Send us a note.
Eric & Janelle Boyenga
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725