The neighborhoods of West Menlo Park (west of El Camino) are highly desirable for many reasons: strong schools, quiet tree lined streets, easy access to destinations and plenty of nearby services. While each area has some unique characteristics, it is these similarities which continue to drive demand. Overall, the 2015 market trends echoed those of 2014 with low inventories and high demand driving quick sales and rising prices. Coupled with a strong local job market and continued, historically low interest rates the low inventory of houses drove prices to rise 9.5% on average year over year. The inventory of available homes never reached a three month supply throughout the year.
West Menlo Park is comprised of four distinct neighborhoods:
Sharon Heights/Stanford Hills (301) – Larger one and two story homes built in the 1960s on expansive yet often gently sloping lots.
County/Alameda (302) – Mixture of smaller ranch and bungalow homes and newer two story traditional homes, often on small lots.
Central Menlo (303) – Predominantly mid-century ranch homes on large lots which are now on occasion being replaced by larger two and three story homes of contemporary and traditional design.
Allied Arts/Downtown (304) – Older, charming homes with an eclectic mix of styles ranging from Tudor to Traditional located close to downtown Menlo Park, downtown Palo Alto and Stanford Shopping Center.
Looking ahead, we enter 2016 with the lowest inventory of the past 10 years, a 30 year fixed jumbo interest rate below 4% and a robust local job market. Having said that, the stock market ended flat for 2015 and is trending down. With demand so strong and the fundamentals so good, expect real estate values to remain high with continued but tapered growth.
