Selling a home in Portola Valley

From January 2024 to September 2026, 40% of 197 Portola Valley sales closed above the final list price, with a median overbid of $203K, and 50% closed below it, with a median discount of $195K. Across Silicon Valley, 60% closed over asking. In the five years to October 27, 2026, the typical house sale ran from 4.4% under asking in Westridge (43 sales) to 2.0% over in Ladera (60 sales).

In the last 12 months the median Portola Valley sale was $4.25M, across 79 sales, all of them single-family houses (Silicon Valley: $1.65M). 1 in 10 closed at or below $2.45M and 1 in 10 at or above $8.55M; the middle half sold between $3.38M and $6.03M. In the five years to October 27, 2026, the median house sale ran from $2.5M in Los Trancos Woods & Vista Verde (35 sales) to $7.24M in Westridge (43 sales).

Portola Valley has too few sales in every month to average year by year, so we pool all 2012–2025 sales by closing month. Pooled that way, 59% of April closings sold over asking (61 of 103) and 27% of February closings (11 of 41); June had the most closings, 114 of the 969. Pooled numbers swing more than year-by-year averages, so the calendar is one input next to condition, price and what else is for sale.

Not of the town. Ladera, like Los Trancos Woods & Vista Verde, is unincorporated San Mateo County land next to it, so building questions there go to the county’s building department. The MLS lists its homes under Portola Valley, so every sales figure on this page includes them, though the town’s parcel counts don’t: in the five years to October 27, 2026, Ladera had 60 house sales at a median of $3.72M, and 58% sold over asking.

Very likely. By the town’s parcel records, 1,498 of 1,526 Portola Valley houses (98%) have part of the lot in a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone: 601 High and 897 Moderate. Next to the town, all 256 lots in Los Trancos Woods & Vista Verde have part of the lot in a zone (123 Very High), and 417 of Ladera’s 533 have part of the lot in a Moderate zone. Depending on the zone and the kind of area, that can bring stricter building standards for new construction and additions, defensible-space rules and a line on the seller’s natural hazard disclosure. We check your parcel before you list.

By parcel center, 345 of the 2,278 homes in our eight Portola Valley guides (15%) are in an Alquist-Priolo fault zone, 455 (20%) in an earthquake-induced landslide zone and 219 (10%) in a liquefaction zone. The fault zone covers 142 of the 256 lots in Los Trancos Woods & Vista Verde and 115 of the 226 houses in Portola Valley Ranch & Blue Oaks. Sellers must disclose when a home is in one of these zones.

Not one of its own, per county and title-company tables. The San Mateo County documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price, so $4,400 on a $4 million sale. By local custom the seller pays it, while 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.

Commissions are negotiable. We offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.