Bay Area Stays 'Uncontested Epicenter' Of Nation's Priciest Homes Amid Pandemic; Atherton Most Expensive Zip 4 Years Running
ATHERTON (CBS SF) – While the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the Bay Area's rental market, the region continues to be the most expensive housing market in the country by far in 2020.
The annual analysis by the real estate website PropertyShark described the region as the "uncontested epicenter of expensive housing," which has 50 of the 121 zip codes with the highest median home sale prices on the country. Fifteen of the zip codes are in Santa Clara County, while another 11 are in San Francisco and 11 more are in San Mateo County. A handful of zip codes in Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties also appeared on the list.
For the fourth straight year, the website found the 94027 zip code of Atherton, home to several billionaires in the tech industry, had the highest median home sale price in the U.S. at $7 million. Along with Atherton, the region held six of the top 10 spots, including Ross' 94957 ($3.61 million), Portola Valley's 94038 ($3.53 million), Los Altos' 94022 and 94301 ($3.45 million and $3.2 million, respectively) and Palo Alto's 94024 ($3.2 million).
"Santa Clara and San Mateo counties' top zip codes form a virtually uninterrupted super-cluster of expensive zip codes around Silicon Valley's most iconic locations," the website said, with zip codes in Mountain View, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Saratoga and Los Gatos, among others on the list.
In San Francisco, the Marina District's 94123 was found to be the most expensive zip code in the city ($2.15 million, 36th overall) followed by 94118 in the Richmond District ($2.028 million, 42nd overall) and the Castro District's 94507 ($1.85 million, tied for 52nd overall).
The continued high housing prices come as apartment rents in parts of the Bay Area have experienced major declines since the start of the pandemic, with the price of a studio in San Francisco down more than 30 percent compared to a year ago. Rents for one and two-bedroom units in San Francisco, the Peninsula and Silicon Valley have also seen percentage drops in the double-digits.
California remained the priciest state on housing by far, with 87 zip codes on the list. In a stunning turn, New York City has zero zip codes among the 10 priciest this year, but the Empire State had 20 on the priciest zip codes list.
Top 10 Priciest Zip Codes 2020 (Bay Area Locations In Bold):
1. 94027 – Atherton ($7.0 million)
2. 11962 – Sagaponack, New York ($4.3 million)
3 (tie). 90402 – Santa Monica ($3.75 million)
3 (tie). 90210 – Beverly Hills ($3.75 million)
4. 94957 – Ross ($3.605 million)
5. 94028 – Portola Valley ($3.53 million)
6. 94022 – Los Altos ($3.453 million)
7. 11932 – Bridgehampton, New York ($3.325 million)
8. 94301 – Palo Alto ($3.298 million)
9. 98039 – Medina, Washington ($3.225 million)
10. 94024 – Los Altos ($3.2 million)