Los Altos and Los Altos Hills are neighboring communities, but their real estate markets can behave quite differently. Following are answers to some of the questions I am most often asked about current market conditions in both communities.
What is the median home price in Los Altos?
Through August 2026, the median price for a single-family home in Los Altos was $4,920,000, an increase of 1.9% compared with the same period in 2025.
The median provides a useful measure of the overall market, but individual Los Altos home values can vary significantly based on neighborhood, lot size, condition, floor plan, proximity to the Village, and other property-specific characteristics.
What is the median home price in Los Altos Hills?
Through August 2026, the median price for a single-family home in Los Altos Hills was $5,534,000, essentially unchanged from the prior year with a decline of just 0.4%.
Because Los Altos Hills has fewer annual sales and tremendous variation in acreage, location, views, topography, age, and condition, shifts in the mix of properties sold can have a significant impact on median price. Individual properties need to be evaluated well beyond the community-wide statistics.
Are more homes selling in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills?
Yes. Through August, 195 single-family homes sold in Los Altos, an increase of 3.2% compared with the same period last year.
The increase was considerably greater in Los Altos Hills, where 68 homes sold, up 15.3% year over year. While the number of transactions is much smaller than in Los Altos, the increase indicates that more Los Altos Hills properties changed hands during the first eight months of 2026.
Are homes in Los Altos still selling over asking price?
Yes, and the numbers show just how competitive the Los Altos market has been. From January 1 through September 16, 2026, 137 of 210 single-family homes – 65% – sold above list price.
Through August, the average sale-to-list price for all Los Altos sales was 107%, virtually unchanged from the same period in 2025.
Selling over asking, however, should not be confused with achieving the best possible sale price. List price is part of the marketing strategy, and a home deliberately positioned to generate competition may sell substantially above asking. The final result, rather than the percentage over list price, is what ultimately matters.
Are Los Altos Hills homes selling over asking price?
The pattern is quite different in Los Altos Hills. From January 1 through September 16, 24 of 74 single-family homes – 32% – sold above list price.
Through August, Los Altos Hills homes overall sold for an average of 99% of list price, compared with 101.4% during the same period in 2025.
This does not necessarily indicate weaker demand. Los Altos Hills properties are generally more individual and can be more difficult to compare directly. Pricing an estate with several acres, extensive improvements, exceptional views, or development potential is very different from pricing a home in a neighborhood with numerous recent comparable sales.
How quickly are homes selling in Los Altos?
Los Altos homes sold in an average of 18 days through August 2026, compared with 14 days during the same period last year.
Even with that increase, market time remains relatively short. The most compelling properties can attract attention very quickly, making the decisions about pricing, preparation, and presentation before a home reaches the market particularly important.
How quickly are homes selling in Los Altos Hills?
Market time has increased more noticeably in Los Altos Hills. Homes sold in an average of 35 days through August, compared with 19 days during the same period in 2025.
That statistic needs to be viewed in the context of the Los Altos Hills market. With fewer transactions and substantial differences among properties, a relatively small number of longer market times can have a significant impact on the overall average.
Why do the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills markets behave differently?
Los Altos generally has more sales, more comparable properties, and a larger concentration of buyers competing within similar price ranges. In 2026, that has contributed to a market in which nearly two-thirds of single-family sales through September 16 closed above asking price.
Los Altos Hills is inherently less uniform. Acreage, topography, views, privacy, development potential, condition, and location can vary dramatically from one property to another. Fewer transactions also mean individual sales can have a greater effect on community-wide statistics.
For that reason, the same measures cannot always be interpreted in the same way in the two communities.
What determines the value of a home in Los Altos or Los Altos Hills?
Recent comparable sales are an important starting point, but they are only part of determining value.
In Los Altos, neighborhood, lot size, condition, floor plan, schools, proximity to the Village and other amenities, and current competing inventory can all influence value. In Los Altos Hills, additional considerations such as acreage, topography, views, privacy, improvements, and the characteristics and usability of the land can become particularly significant.
Current buyer demand matters as well. A home’s value is ultimately determined within the market that exists at the time it is sold, not simply by what a neighboring property sold for months earlier.
Final Thoughts
The 2026 numbers reinforce why Los Altos and Los Altos Hills need to be understood both together and separately. Los Altos continues to demonstrate significant buyer competition, with 65% of single-family homes selling above asking through September 16. Los Altos Hills has experienced a substantial increase in the number of sales, even as market times have lengthened and the average sale-to-list ratio has declined.
Statistics provide important context, but they never tell the entire story.
After more than 28 years specializing in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, I know how much can be missed when a home’s value is reduced to a median price, price per square foot, or automated estimate. Understanding the individual property, recent comparable sales, current competition, and the nuances of each local market is essential whether a home is being prepared for sale or its current value is simply being considered. This is why I continue to say: AI can be great, but ask me your real estate questions before you ask AI 😊. No one sells more homes here than I do. Take a look here at our recent solds in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.