sell · menlo park
Selling a home in Menlo Park
In Menlo Park, 53% of sales since January 2024 closed over asking and 35% under, a closer split than across Silicon Valley, and 17% of the lots zoned single-family in the city’s records sit in a FEMA high-risk flood zone. Here’s what the numbers say, what’s different about selling here, and what we’ve sold in town.
menlo park by the numbers
What the Menlo Park market says right now
Menlo Park closed 369 sales in the last 12 months, at the 6th-highest median price of the 25 cities with 100+ sales in the last 12 months. Price per square foot reached $1,666 in the three months ending June 2026, its highest three-month reading so far. Over and under asking are closer to even here than across Silicon Valley, where 60% of sales close over asking.
- median sale price$2.90Mlast 12 months, 369 sales; Silicon Valley $1.65M
- over asking53%of 975 sales since January 2024; median overbid $177K
- under asking35%of the same sales; median discount $98K; Silicon Valley 30%
- best closing monthMay64% over asking, against 40% in January; May is also 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 Menlo Park by the numbers.
what’s different here
What sellers in Menlo Park should plan for
What we plan for on Menlo Park listings.
Price to your neighborhood
measured: 24 months
In the 24 months to October 27, 2026, among neighborhoods with 10+ sales, Park Forest, Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor & Flood Triangle and The Willows sold furthest over asking, a typical 5% to 6% over. In Sharon Heights, West Menlo Park, Central Menlo Park, Downtown Menlo Park and Allied Arts / Stanford Park the typical sale closed at asking. Citywide, 35% of sales since January 2024 closed under asking. We start from your neighborhood’s record, not the city median.
Flood zones
measured: 17% of lots
1,103 of the 6,556 lots zoned single-family in Menlo Park’s records (17%) sit in a FEMA high-risk flood zone: 719 in The Willows (59% of its lots), where San Francisquito Creek runs along the south edge, 301 in Belle Haven (31%) and 80 in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks. 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. Fire zones barely figure here: two single-family lots touch one, both Moderate.
Lots and second stories
city records
The median single-family lot is 7,940 sq ft: 13,360 in Sharon Heights and 10,850 in Central Menlo Park, against 5,750 in Belle Haven. Menlo Park has no single-story overlay. Lorelei Manor’s special zoning, adopted in 2005, limits second stories without banning them, and the S in R-1-S stands for suburban. West Menlo Park and Menlo Oaks are unincorporated San Mateo County, outside the city’s parcel and zoning records, so for those addresses we check the county’s.
Houses and condos sell differently
measured: 78% houses
78% of Menlo Park’s sales in the last 12 months were single-family houses. In the two years to October 27, 2026, the typical condo or townhome sold for $1.6M ($987 per sq ft), against $3.4M for a house. 35% of condo and townhome sales closed over asking, against 58% of houses, and the median one closed at its list price.
Timing
measured: 2012–2025
May closings sold over asking most often (64%); January closings least (40%). May is also the busiest month, with about 11% of the year’s closings. Closing usually comes about a month after the accepted offer, so a May closing typically means an accepted offer in April and a listing before that.
Closing costs follow the county
county
Menlo Park adds no city transfer tax. The San Mateo County tax is $1.10 per $1,000, so $3,300 on a $3 million sale, and by local custom the seller pays it. San Mateo County’s escrow customs are the reverse of Santa Clara County’s next door: 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 in Menlo Park
Since 2013 we’ve matched 15 Menlo Park sales to MLS records: 12 homes we listed and 3 where we represented the buyer. The most recent homes we listed:
sold Dec 2025 · menlo park
$4.30M
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,210 sq ft
7.6% over the final list price of $4.00MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Aug 2025 · menlo park
$3.10M
2150 Valparaiso Ave · West Menlo Park
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,870 sq ft
3.1% under the final list price of $3.20MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Apr 2025 · menlo park
$1.93M
2 bd · 1 ba · 990 sq ft
7.1% over the final list price of $1.80MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Aug 2023 · menlo park
$2.90M
865 University Drive · Downtown Menlo Park
3 bd · 3 ba · 1,865 sq ft
3.3% under the final list price of $3.00MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Jun 2023 · menlo park
$3.00M
1020 Del Norte Avenue · Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor & Flood Triangle
5 bd · 3.5 ba · 3,250 sq ft
6.2% under the final list price of $3.20MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Oct 2022 · menlo park
$1.60M
5 bd · 4 ba · 2,170 sq ft
0.1% over the final list price of $1.60MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
For all 12 homes we listed here, the sold record shows the final list price: 8 closed at or above it, 7 of them over asking. The final list price is the asking price after any price changes. Source: closed MLS records, read October 27, 2026.
See all 15 on our Menlo Park sales map
Neighborhoods with the most of our sales (listing and buyer side): Suburban Park, Lorelei Manor & Flood Triangle (3), The Willows (2), Central Menlo Park (2).
our plan
How we’d sell your Menlo Park home
The same Property Nerd plan we run on every listing, tuned to Menlo Park.
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 Menlo Park, where 35% of sales since January 2024 closed under asking, that means pricing to your neighborhood’s record, 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. In Sharon Heights and Central Menlo Park, which have the largest median lots in the city’s records, buyers may price the land as well as the house, so we spend where it changes the price.
Disclose early
Inspections and disclosures ready before launch, so buyers make offers on facts. In Menlo Park that includes a flood zone determination for the address, above all in The Willows and Belle Haven.
Launch on purpose
A private or Coming Soon start if it fits, then the full launch; the Launch Lab shows the plan. May closings sold over asking most often, so a spring sale is planned in winter.
Negotiate and close
We compare offers on price, terms and certainty, then run escrow to closing.
The Menlo Park 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 Menlo Park real estate team page · Menlo Park neighborhood guides
questions
Questions Menlo Park sellers ask us
How often do Menlo Park homes sell over asking?
From January 2024 to September 2026, 53% of 975 Menlo Park sales closed above the final list price, with a median overbid of $177K. 35% closed below it, with a median discount of $98K. In the $2M–3M band, 63% of 253 sales closed over asking. Across Silicon Valley, 60% closed over asking.
When is the best time to sell in Menlo Park?
Averaged over 2012–2025, Menlo Park closings in May sold over asking most often (64%) and January closings least often (40%). May also has the most closings, about 11% of the year’s sales. Because closing comes about a month after the offer, plan a spring sale in winter.
Is my Menlo Park house in a flood zone?
About 17% of Menlo Park’s single-family lots (1,103 of 6,556) sit in a FEMA high-risk flood zone (A or AE), most of them in The Willows (719) and Belle Haven (301), with 80 in South of Seminary / Vintage Oaks. Those counts come from the city’s parcel records, so unincorporated West Menlo Park and Menlo Oaks aren’t in them. 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, and we order one before you list.
Can a buyer add a second story in Menlo Park?
Menlo Park has no single-story overlay like Palo Alto’s or Mountain View’s. The nearest thing is Lorelei Manor’s special zoning, adopted in 2005, which limits second stories without banning them, and in Menlo Park “R-1-S” means suburban, not single-story. West Menlo Park and Menlo Oaks are unincorporated San Mateo County, outside the city’s zoning records. We confirm your parcel’s zoning before you list.
How do Menlo Park condos and townhomes sell?
In the two years to October 27, 2026, 157 condos and townhomes sold in Menlo Park. The typical one sold for $1.6M, or $987 per square foot, against $3.4M for a typical house. 35% closed over the final list price, against 58% of houses, and the median sale closed at the list price.
Does Menlo Park charge a transfer tax?
No. Menlo Park adds no city transfer tax, so only the San Mateo County tax applies: $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price, or $3,300 on a $3 million sale. By local custom the seller pays the county tax, and in San Mateo County the buyer usually pays the escrow fee and the owner’s title policy, the reverse of Santa Clara County. All of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides.
What do you charge to sell a Menlo Park home?
Commissions are negotiable. We offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about selling in Menlo Park?
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 Menlo Park? Send us a note.
Eric & Janelle Boyenga
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725