About Palo Alto

Stanford has its own community.  A few are families with children, a few are university employees and faculty, a few are people who just reside in the neighborhood.  About 70 percent are students.

Residents are generally well-to-do, highly educated and cosmopolitan.

Palo Alto is named for a majestic 250 year old coastal redwood tree along San Francisquito Creek, where early Spanish explorers settled.

Palo Alto has many lovely neighborhoods and homes of distinction. Trees line many streets and the level of care is generally high--a handsome collegiate town.  Barriers have been erected on many streets to slow the cars and nudge them off the residential streets and onto the arterials.  Cozy restaurants and small shops have moved out to the neighborhoods, adding to their charm.

In 1995, the Palo Alto Unified School District, which also takes in part of Los Altos Hills, passed one of the largest school-renovation bonds, $143 million, in the history of California, a great boost for local schools.  All the schools have been renovated or rebuilt and equipped with modern technology.  In 1998, the district opened another elementary school.

Hoover Tower on the Stanford campus.

Palo Alto school district accepts minority students from East Palo Alto.  It also gets many requests from parents who live in other towns but want their children to attend Palo Alto schools.  According to the district, all requests are turned down.

Every year, the town's two high schools score among the highest in the state in the math SAT.  The graduation rates at Gunn and Palo Alto High schools are hitting almost 100 percent and the schools advance students to the most prestigious universities in the country.  Schools offer instruction in French, German, Spanish, Latin and Japanese.

Palo Alto Market Snapshot (last 90 days)

Market Statistics Santa Clara Sunday, September 05, 2010 11:07 PM

Santa Clara County # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 3,280 $1,039,391 $438 83 Sold (90 days) 2,855 $783,677 $411 92 PALO ALTO (PA) # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 83 $2,130,124 $857 73 Sold (90 days) 93 $1,671,229 $819 61 Barron Park # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 7 $2,034,428 $707 84 Sold (90 days) 2 $1,093,750 $806 68 College # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 7 $1,952,000 $1,099 72 Sold (90 days) 5 $1,645,000 $763 100 Community Center # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 4 $2,499,500 $960 181 Sold (90 days) 8 $1,806,500 $819 60 Crescent Park # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 6 $3,219,666 $993 55 Sold (90 days) 8 $2,571,750 $896 57 Downtown Palo Alto # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 4 $1,583,500 $1,051 108 Sold (90 days) 2 $747,500 $811 53 Green Acres # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 3 $2,164,333 $833 74 Sold (90 days) 0 $0 $0 0 Green Gables # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 7 $1,909,114 $859 35 Sold (90 days) 15 $1,661,933 $911 47 Midtown # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 8 $1,705,361 $782 69 Sold (90 days) 12 $1,706,875 $791 51 Old Palo Alto # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 8 $3,019,486 $904 98 Sold (90 days) 8 $2,619,375 $1,067 93 Palo Alto Hills # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 3 $5,395,666 $944 93 Sold (90 days) 2 $1,906,675 $729 40 Professorville # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 2 $3,174,500 $806 70 Sold (90 days) 2 $1,006,500 $933 42 South Palo Alto # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 16 $1,497,863 $769 56 Sold (90 days) 27 $1,279,334 $697 60 Stanford # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 1 $1,625,000 $920 52 Sold (90 days) 0 $0 $0 0 Ventura # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 7 $1,066,135 $690 47 Sold (90 days) 2 $878,000 $780 59