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 Thursday, September 09, 2010 6:23 PM

Santa Clara County # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 3,318 $1,044,274 $439 84 Sold (90 days) 2,736 $783,309 $410 93 PALO ALTO (PA) # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 99 $2,085,064 $852 73 Sold (90 days) 93 $1,644,348 $827 52 Barron Park # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 8 $1,880,000 $713 77 Sold (90 days) 1 $1,197,500 $661 93 College # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 9 $1,930,555 $1,030 59 Sold (90 days) 5 $1,605,000 $813 71 Community Center # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 4 $2,499,500 $960 185 Sold (90 days) 8 $1,735,250 $787 47 Crescent Park # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 7 $3,094,714 $1,094 50 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 $1,051 112 Sold (90 days) 2 $747,500 $811 53 Green Acres # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 4 $1,807,000 $713 59 Sold (90 days) 1 $1,350,000 $555 48 Green Gables # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 8 $1,823,975 $860 34 Sold (90 days) 13 $1,703,384 $949 40 Midtown # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 7 $1,777,984 $773 81 Sold (90 days) 12 $1,611,458 $822 46 Old Palo Alto # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 11 $3,377,262 $963 140 Sold (90 days) 7 $2,640,000 $1,086 70 Palo Alto Hills # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 3 $5,395,666 $944 97 Sold (90 days) 2 $1,906,675 $729 40 Professorville # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 3 $2,515,666 $806 49 Sold (90 days) 6 $1,288,000 $884 35 South Palo Alto # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 21 $1,433,610 $745 49 Sold (90 days) 26 $1,274,693 $708 56 Stanford # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 1 $1,625,000 $920 56 Sold (90 days) 0 $0 $0 0 Ventura # of Listings AVG Price AVG $/SQFT AVG DOM Active 9 $1,014,550 $695 40 Sold (90 days) 2 $878,000 $780 59