Lower Hillsborough is considered the most prestigous, most valuable area of Hillsborough. Likewise, Old Palo Alto is typically regarded as Palo Alto's most prestigious, most valuable neighborhood. What happens when you compare sales statistics for these two premier neighborhoods? Our analysis of closed MLS sales from January 1, 2014 through November 13, 2014 handily includes the exact same number of sales (29) for both Lower Hillsborough and Old Palo Alto. But similarities stop there. Old Palo Alto recorded an average price per sq. ft. of $1,736 per foot, while Lower Hillsborough posted a $977 per sq. ft. average. Old Palo Alto averaged just 13 days on market for closed sales, with Lower Hillsborough averaging 36 days on market. The median sales price for Old Palo Alto's 29 closed MLS sales of 2014 was $3,250,000; while Lower Hillsborough posted a $3,550,000 median sales price. This last variable is influenced by the fact that the lowest sale for Lower Hillsborough was $2,450,000; while Old Palo Alto posted 6 sales under $2,300,000, and its lowest at $1,568,000.

What factors comprise desirability and real estate value? We could write a book! And that book has many chapters that could be considered personal choices. School Scores, Weather, Prestige, Proximity to World-Class Employers, Proximity to Sophisticated Culture, Sense of Community, Quality of Luxury Housing Stock, Quality of View, Quality of Land. While both Palo Alto and Hillsborough are historically and increasingly desirable, the sheer value of a Hillsborough purchase in the grand scheme of our Peninsula luxury market is undeniable. Especially if you were to compare your buying power for high- achieving API (Academic Performance Index) scores of public elementary schools: The top 3 API scores for Palo Alto Elementary schools are: Herbert Hoover Elementary API 987; Palo Verde Elementary API 961; and Duveneck Elementary API 956. Hillsborough's three elementary schools currently score: West Elementary API 982; North Elementary API 979; South Elementary API 959. The API score you will get per your buying power per. sq. ft. is remarkably favorable in Hillsborough.

In comparison to Palo Alto, Hillsborough's value is also trumped on size of land; The average lot size of a Lower Hillsborough property per the 2014 MLS closed sales is 24,583 sq. ft., or roughly over one-half acre; while the average lot size of an Old Palo property based on the 2014 sales was 9,305 sq. ft. Hillsborough also reigns supreme on its 10 minute proxmity to SFO, 10-minute proxmity to the BART train, and its 20 minute commute into San Francisco. If you are commuting to Palo Alto, Menlo Park, or Mountain View, Highway 280 is a seamless connection at Hillsborough's western border. For prestige, very few communities in the United States, Palo Alto and Atherton included, can rival Hillsborough's exclusive cachet over the last 120 years.

I look forward to exploring more thought-provoking analytics in future HillsboroughBlog.com posts. In the meantime, I am always available to discuss Hillsborough real estate or schedule private showings of any property: Geoffrey C. Nelson (650) 455-3735   geoffrey@geoffreynelson.com