PropertyShark's annual ranking came out October 13 and Atherton is back on top. ZIP 94027 posted a median sale price of $10,725,000 for closed residential sales from January 1 through September 30, up 29 percent from about $8.3 million a year earlier. No ZIP code in the country had ever posted an eight-figure median before. Fisher Island, which beat Atherton last year, slid to third at $7.22 million.That is a nine-month median of closed deals, condos and single-family lumped together, and it can lag what is on the board right now. So I went and looked at this week's listings.DeLeon Realty put 276 Atherton Avenue on October 19 at $29,988,000. West Atherton, gated, built in 2017, 8,869 square feet in the main house plus a 526-square-foot guest house on 43,739 square feet per county. The listing credits De Mattei Construction and architect Mark English. Five en suite bedrooms and a cinema. MLS ML82065032. That works out to about $3,381 a foot on the main house, and roughly $686 a foot of land if you price the dirt alone, which is a crude yardstick at this level but still useful. DeLeon's open house calendar did not show a public date for it when I checked Monday morning.The day before, October 18, Compass put 27 Catalpa Drive in Lindenwood on at $8,950,000. Tom LeMieux and Alicia Young are listing it. This one is the opposite kind of house. A 1961 mid-century of 2,815 square feet, four bedrooms, two primary suites, pool and cabana, on 40,469 square feet, just under an acre. The remarks openly mention renovation or possible new construction. MLS ML82064972.The ask comes to about $3,179 a foot on the house, or about $221 a foot of land, and with a 1961 house that's being marketed for its rebuild potential, the land number is the one I'd watch.One more detail on Catalpa that caught my eye. The county tax history on the listing shows a 2025 assessed value of $304,030 and a tax bill of $4,652. That points to a very long hold under Prop 13. A sale resets the assessment to the purchase price and the base Prop 13 rate is 1 percent, so a buyer at full ask is looking at roughly $89,500 a year before local add-ons. Budget for it.Land is moving at the lower price point too. 172 Encinal Avenue listed October 9 at $6,000,000, a 1952 house of 1,780 square feet on 40,946 square feet near Encinal School. Lori Buecheler at Compass. Public record shows it last sold in May 2007 for $2,475,000. Coldwell Banker's feed had it pending by its October 14 update, five days after it hit. About $147 a foot of land. MLS ML82064168.Altos Research's Monday pull for Atherton (October 26) shows 21 single-family actives, median list price $10,500,000, median price of new listings $9,950,000, about $2,060 a square foot, median days on market 28. Market Action Index 42, up from 38 a month ago, which Altos still calls a slight seller's advantage. Fourteen percent of the board has taken a price cut. A week ago the same Altos page had the median list at $14.99 million with the same 21 actives, so the mix moved a lot in seven days.Rates eased a little. Freddie Mac had the 30-year at 7.32 percent on October 22, down from 7.40 the week before. A year ago it was 6.19.Town business from the October 21 council meeting matters for anyone eyeing a teardown like Catalpa or Encinal. On consent, the council adopted the updated Construction Management and Operations Plan ordinance and moved construction time limits into a new Chapter 15.41. It also introduced construction and demolition debris changes, including the Green Halo tracking system starting January 1, 2027. SamTrans also presented the Reimagine Dumbarton busway study, and the council said plainly it would treat any chance of those stations triggering SB 79 housing density as a serious concern. SamTrans said MTC and Senator Wiener's office told it verbally the stations are not subject to SB 79. The council wants that in writing. Public comment on the study is open through October 30. The Planning Commission meets October 28.I have done SB9 deals in Atherton. On lots near an acre like Catalpa and Encinal, the split question is worth asking early. Eligibility turns on the parcel, the town's current rules and the owner-occupancy affidavit, so get the planning department's read before you build a split into your offer price. General information only, and an attorney should review the recorded documents.Menlo Park's 94025, for comparison, ranked 54th nationally at $2,825,000.Michael Williams is a Bay Area agent with Golden Gate Luxury (Turbohome Inc). Seventeen years in, more than $250M closed, formerly #1 at Flyhomes and Aalto, DRE #01780513. Golden Gate Luxury is not affiliated with Golden Gate Sotheby's.General market commentary only. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice. Listing details, sale records, and market stats change; verify current MLS and public records before acting on any of it.Also on Medium: https://medium.com/@michael_30207/atherton-is-the-priciest-zip-in-america-again-9cd69a250b21
Michael Williams
Luxury Specialist
Area served: Sausalito, Marin County, CA, Menlo Park, CA, San Francisco, CA
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