Los Altos CA Real Estate For Sale

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Jeffrey R Keller

Los Altos Townhouse vs. House

Townhouse prices in Los Altos have fairly closely followed the trajectory of Los Altos house prices since approximately 2013 although with more quarter to quarter volatility. During the dot-com bubble in 2000, house prices surged significantly more than townhouse prices, but by 2002, they regressed to a similar margin. Subsequently, during the sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2008, townhouse prices dropped before house prices dropped. However, by the conclusion of 2012, townhouse prices had rebounded to the previously established ratio. Since 2013, this price ratio has exhibited relative stability.

For further insights into Los Altos real estate, explore more.

Los Altos Hills Houses Reach All-Time Largest

The Los Altos Hills average size of houses sold reached an all-time quarterly high on Aug 18, 2023.

Quarterly average size of Los Altos Hills houses sold

However, the average size of Los Altos homes sold was at the lower side of recent trends.

Quarterly average size of house sold in Los Altos.

What makes this catch our attention is that the average house size for eight San Mateo County cities (Foster City, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Portola Valley, San Carlos, San Mateo, and Woodside) and for Palo Alto spiked upward to their highest-ever quarterly values. The trend was so broad that the San Mateo County average size of houses sold also reached an all-time high.

Quarterly average size of houses sold in San Mateo County

Although no reason is known for the spike in the average size of houses sold in San Mateo County, it appears that Los Altos and Los Altos Hills are probably not similarly affected. Learn more about Los Altos real estate.

Tech Store, Fry’s Electronics, Is Shutting Down

Marking a change in Silicon Valley that many residents don’t think about, Fry’s Electronics, is shutting down the 31 stores it has remaining. Many techies welcomed Fry’s Electronics when it opened and advertised: transistors, IC’s, soldering irons, Jolt Cola, and pantyhose(?).

Its closing emphasizes a change in Silicon Valley tech which was often pushed ahead by individuals and clubs building electronic tech gadgets to an industry dominated by, software, apps, and complex mass-produced hardware relying on ASICs. Rarely do techies use soldering irons today.

Silicon Valley has transformed many times since the Santa Clara Valley orchards were known for producing fruit. Silicon Valley real estate trends have been constantly impacted by technology and economic changes but demand has been driven up by more and more innovative people wanting to be together to create part of the future. Working remotely puts different rules on whose ideas are shared and how much they are shared.

Corona Virus – Larger Lots?

There have been a few reports (without data) that the corona virus pandemic is leading home buyers to prefer larger homes with larger lots. In Silicon Valley the city of Los Altos is known for having lots larger than most other Silicon Valley cities.

Comparing house sales price trends for Los Altos to downtown Palo Alto does not yet show any change in preferences. Prices have been relatively flat since the beginning of 2019 for both areas through the end of November 2020.

Average Los Altos House sales price per sq.ft.
Average downtown Palo Alto house sales price per sq.ft.

Making A Purchase Offer

For many years in Silicon Valley, a purchase offer for a home was typically made at a specified “purchase offer date” promoted by the sellers’ real estate agent. A preemptive offer would sometimes be made, before the purchase offer date, by buyers who were especially motivated. With restrictions on meetings caused by the coronavirus, making a purchase offer is going to become similar to making a preemptive offer. Each potential buyer will submit his offer when he decides to, and he will have minimal knowledge of any competing buyers. The value of the knowledge a top agent has and the value of the agent’s network will surely increase.