Atherton keeps most-expensive title
Atherton held its title as the most expensive ZIP code in the country with a median home sale price of $7.9 million — about 20 times the national median.
And the Bay Area kept its spot as the most expensive metro region in the country, unsurprisingly.
The new ranking from real estate blog Property Shark put the exclusive Peninsula enclave at the top of America’s most expensive cities for the sixth year in a row based on home sales data.
While much of the country is hampered by rising mortgage rates, which recently hit a 20-year high, the luxury market is largely immune, said Keri Nicholas, a real estate agent with Parc Agency who grew up in Atherton.
“Interest rates don’t affect people in Atherton because they’re all cash purchases,” Nicholas said.
The city is home to about 7,000 people, including Warriors’ owner Joe Lacob and top executives from big Silicon Valley companies, but its residents pride themselves in guarding the privacy of their neighbors.
The city boasts qualities that have drawn exclusive buyers. Most properties are 1 acre or larger, and the city has streamlined the permitting process for renovation and new home construction, Nicholas said.
Another Bay Area town hit No. 3 on the list for the first time — a ZIP code in the tony enclave of Ross in Marin County — population 2,300 —with a $5.5 million median home price. That price came in the wake of a 20% year-over-year jump there. Also in the top 10 was Los Altos, which snagged the No. 8 and 10 spots with $4.25 million and $4.1 million, respectively.
The Bay Area — the priciest region in the country — had 14 ZIP codes in Santa Clara County on the list as well as 10 in San Mateo, eight in Marin, six in Contra Costa, five in San Francisco and three in Alameda counties.
In San Francisco, the top ZIP codes were in Pacific Heights and the Marina, followed by one that included St. Francis Wood and the area around Mount Davidson. Next, the third captured parts of Presidio Heights and the Inner Richmond and then the Castro and parts of Noe Valley. Finally, the fifth ZIP code included Twin Peaks, Diamond Heights and Glen Park.
California is home to about 70% of the most expensive ZIP codes, according to Property Shark. Other top expensive cities in California included Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach (Orange County) and Los Angeles.
The Golden State had four of the priciest counties on the list, the most expensive metro area and four of the five most expensive cities.
To determine the most expensive ZIP codes in the U.S., Property Shark looked at homes sales that closed from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31. It considered only ZIP codes that had at least three transactions. Because of ties, there were actually 128 ZIP codes on the 2022 list.