San Francisco prices rose 14%, but Palo Alto is splitting by part
Redfin reported San Francisco home prices rose 14% year over year in September 2026. That headline feels good. But the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted homes in Palo Alto for the three months ending August 31, 2026, and the city is not moving as one.
ZIP 94306 hit a median sale price of $3,265,000. ZIP 94303 came in at $1,340,000. Same city, same three months, nearly $2 million apart. Which number applies to you depends entirely on which part of Palo Alto you are in.
Palo Alto: two ZIPs, two very different stories
| 94301 | 94306 | 94303 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $3,975,000 | $3,265,000 | $1,340,000 |
| Price change vs. 2025 | down 5.4% | up 3.2% | down 55.3% |
| Median days on market | 18 days | 14 days | 28 days |
| Sale to list price | 104.9% | 104.8% | 104.4% |
| Sold above list | 40% | 56.6% | 49.2% |
That 55.3% drop in 94303 is striking. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 63 homes sold there, up 14.5% from the same period in 2025. When more lower-priced homes sell in a period, the median falls even if individual homes are not losing value. The mix of what sold changed.
ZIP 94306 tells a different story. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 36 homes for sale there, up 89.5% from a year before. More supply, yet the median price still rose 3.2%. Homes that sold went in a median of 14 days, and 56.6% sold above list.
Speed: how fast homes moved by ZIP
In 94301, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 49% of homes going under contract within two weeks of listing. In 94303, that share was 44.3%. In 94306, it was 49%, but down 17.1 points from a year before. More homes are taking longer to find a buyer in 94306 than they did in 2025.
Los Altos and Menlo Park: prices high, pace strong
The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 9 median days on market in 94024 Los Altos. That is the fastest in this market. It was unchanged from a year before. In 94022, the median was 13 days. In 94025 Menlo Park, it was 15 days, 4 days shorter than the same period in 2025.
Menlo Park 94025 had a strong turn. The Real Estate Data Aggregator found 53.4% of homes sold above list, up 12.9 points from 2025. The share going under contract within two weeks jumped 14 points to 47.3%. That is a real shift toward faster, more competitive sales.
Atherton: the biggest price jump in this market
The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 26 homes sold in Atherton 94027, up 36.8% from the same period in 2025. The median rose 24.4%. Homes for sale fell 33.3%, to just 10. The median sale took 17 days, 20 days shorter than a year before. The sale-to-list ratio hit 106.6%, up 8.1 points. Half of homes went under contract within two weeks, up 30 points from 2025. Every signal in Atherton moved in the same direction.
Mountain View: three ZIPs, three outcomes
| 94041 | 94040 | 94043 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $2,300,000 | $2,850,000 | $1,530,000 |
| Price change vs. 2025 | up 9.1% | up 49.7% | down 5.8% |
| Median days on market | 10 days | 21 days | 19 days |
| Sale to list price | 108.2% | 104.5% | 102.9% |
| Sold above list | 58.8% | 56.8% | 52.6% |
ZIP 94041 in Mountain View had the highest sale-to-list ratio in this entire market: 108.2%, up 2.5 points from 2025. Nearly 65% of homes there went under contract within two weeks, up 14.7 points. Only 17 homes sold, but they sold fast and well above list.
ZIP 94043 was softer. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median price of $1,530,000, down 5.8% from 2025. Homes for sale rose 54.5%. The share sold above list fell 8.5 points to 52.6%. More supply and less urgency than a year ago.
Portola Valley: prices up, but buyers taking their time
The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median sale price of $4,975,000 in Portola Valley 94028, up 28.4% from 2025. That sounds strong. But the median days on market was 42, up 26 days from a year before. The sale-to-list ratio fell to 99%, meaning sellers accepted slightly less than asking on average. Only 26.9% of homes sold above list, down 30.2 points. More homes sold overall, up 85.7%, but buyers had more time and more leverage.
The wider picture: what national numbers say
The National Association of Realtors reported existing-home sales reached 3.99 million units in September 2026. Inventory nationally rose to 1.60 million homes. Existing-home prices were up 1.3% year over year in September 2026.
Redfin reported U.S. home prices rose 3.8% year over year in September 2026, the fastest annual growth since June 2025. Month over month, Redfin put the gain at 0.25%. The Federal Housing Finance Agency put the year-over-year gain at 2.6% through July 2026, with a 0.3% monthly gain in July.
Realtor.com reported mortgage rates topped 7% nationally in September 2026. Price cuts nationally hit their highest September readings since 2018. This market is moving faster and at higher prices than the national picture on most measures, but those rates shape what buyers can afford here too.
- For the three months ending August 31, 2026, the Real Estate Data Aggregator found Palo Alto split between a $3,265,000 median in 94306 and a $1,340,000 median in 94303. Atherton led the market on price gains.
- Los Altos led on speed in 94024. Portola Valley saw strong volume but buyers took twice as long as a year ago.
- One ZIP code can read very differently from the next, and one street can read differently from the whole ZIP.
Your next step
(650) 799-8888Text me your address and I will send back where your Palo Alto home sits against what actually sold in your ZIP code, including the median price and days on market for the three months ending August 31, 2026. Takes a day, costs nothing.
Text me- Real Estate Data Aggregator numbers for ZIPs 94301, 94303, 94306, 94024, 94022, 95014, 94040, 94025, 94027, 94041, 94043, 94028, 94305, 94061 and 94062, the three months ending August 31, 2026, compared with the same months of 2025. Real Estate Data Aggregator last updated them on Oct 7, 2026.
- Redfin: Redfin Reports U.S. Home Prices Ticked Up 0.25% in September, Oct 20, 2026
- National Association of Realtors: Existing-Home Sales, read Oct 25, 2026
- Federal Housing Finance Agency: FHFA House Price Index® Up 0.3 Percent in July; Up 2.6 Percent from Last Year | FHFA, Sep 29, 2026
- Redfin: U.S. Home Prices Ticked Up 0.25% in September, Oct 20, 2026
- Realtor.com: September 2026 Monthly Housing Trends: Price Cuts Hit 4-Year Highs as Mortgage Rates Top 7%, Sep 30, 2026
- Realtor.com: September 2026 Rental Report: Median Asking Rent Declines at the Slowest Pace in 3 Years, Oct 15, 2026
- No Real Estate Data Aggregator numbers for 94304, so this part is from websites alone.