Eli,

Los altos hills under 2.5 million is considered a first time home buyer in the hills (hard to believe that 2.5 million is first time home buyer). Of the 30 or so homes that have sold in Los Altos Hills in the last 6 months, half have sold under 2.5 million. The hills overall is somewhat soft, but the low end is doing much better than the high end. Right now there are 43 homes for sale in the hills, 14 are priced under 2.5 million. Of these, 4 are sale pending.
Also, given that property under 2.5 million in Los Altos hills is bordering on lot value for many of the properties listed, many buyers end up buying a nice liveable home in Los Altos over a tear down (or home located "way out" or on the freeway). I would look at 23375 Camino Hermosa or 27170 Moody Court as two of the better homes that are liveable in your price range. Good luck!

The trend of homes $2.5 M and Under in Los Altos Hills have ever slightly decreased over the past 2 years. Los Altos Hills has been seen as a great alternative to living in Palo Alto, Atherton, or Woodside because home buyers see that they can get more for thier money. However, since Los Altos Hills generally sits removed from any downtown areas with shopping, Los Altos Hills has the symptom of being the first area to drop in price and the last to go up making it the lesser choice when looking at your home as an investment. Nevertheless, if you plan on living there for 5+ years, you have a very high likelihood that you will build quite a bit of equity.

Hi Eli,

As with Ladera, pricing trends in Los Altos Hills are pretty flat when compared to last year. Keep in mind that we aren't exactly comparing apples to apples here since the homes tend to be fairly unique in terms of design, views, lot contour, etc. A more thorough level of comparison would need to be done on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis to really nail down the trends.

I can say that a quick look at the listings shows that about 25% fewer listings have come on to date in 2008 vs. the first 5 months of 2007. There are of course other influences in Los Altos Hills that impact price and time on the market. The swath of Los Altos Hills that goes to Palo Alto Schools usually generates more interest than the rest of the Los Altos Hills. In addition, parts of Los Altos Hills climb pretty high into the hills.

I think it is fair to say that homes that are priced aggressively sell more quickly than those that are not. Updated homes are considered more desirable by most buyers. Lower level properties with views garner more interest than those further up the hill. These are all common sense considerations that apply virtually everywhere.

The mid-Peninsula has been much more resilient that much of the Bay Area and beyond when it comes to home prices holding. Palo Alto and parts of Menlo Park have seen appreciation. Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley, Woodside and Atherton have all held their own. Of course conditions in particular neighborhoods can vary, so even generalizations here can be problematic.

Best Regards,

John Barman
Coldwell Banker