The terms ‘buyer’s market’ and ‘seller’s market’ can lead to incorrect assumptions. In Atherton, most homes sell below the asking price, which reflects an expectation of negotiation rather than a true buyer’s market.
Atherton real estate generally follows the trends of Silicon Valley real estate, but there are notable differences due to higher prices. Since 2012, the average selling price in Silicon Valley has nearly always been above the average list price, while in Atherton, it has remained below.
A comparison of graphs for Atherton and Silicon Valley reveals significant increases in the ratio of average sales price to average list price in 2000, 2018, and 2022. The dot com boom in 2000 had a more significant impact on Atherton’s real estate market than the average in Silicon Valley. In 2018 and 2022, sales prices rose in both areas due to expected interest rate increases, but the Silicon Valley average was already higher.
The graph depicting Atherton house sales price per sq. ft. shows a sharp increase in 2000 and a subsequent decline in 2001, as you would expect for a temporary seller’s market. However, there was no significant price change in 2018, except for a slight upward spike towards the end of 2021, preceding the strongest sales price to list price ratio observed in the first quarter of 2022.
