In Portola Valley, named for the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, oak-studded meadows open onto vistas of San Francisco Bay and the unspoiled Coast Range. The area's first settlement was the logging town of Searsville, founded in the nineteenth century. Farming and cattle ranching were the primary industries until the 1920's.

Portola Valley Highlights     Population: 4,483 Elevation: 455' Date incorporated: 1964 Average household income: $185,674 Number of homes: 1,809 Lowest sale price 2010: $526,000 Highest sale price 2010: $3,760,000 Average sale price 2010: $1,849,640

After World War II, the valley began to be developed, typically with modest, ranch-style homes on large lots. Long a preferred address of Stanford University professors, Portola Valley has made well-staffed, well-equipped public schools a top priority. The town was incorporated in 1964, with the goal of maintaining the rural ambience of the community, and preserving open space. Today, Portola Valley is known for its unpretentious lifestyle and small-town atmosphere.

2010 in Review | Portola Valley

In 2010, the average sale price of a Portola Valley property was $1,849,640, sinking below the $1,900,000 mark for the first time since 2003. This continues a decline in residential values for a second straight year. In 2009, the reported average sale price was $2,013,114, as compared to the peak of the market in 2008, when the average price was $2,255,190.  In 2007 the average sale price was $2,165,740, while in 2006, the average sale price dropped to $1,930,169.  The average reported prices in 2005 and 2004 were $2,053,170 and $1,914,000, respectively. To compare, the average sale price of a home in Portola Valley in 2000 was $2,211,915. The average price of a home in Portola Valley for all of 2010 was $1,849,640.

The median price of Portola Valley property in 2010 was $1,722,000; interestingly, this is higher than the median of 2009, which was $1,685,000. The 2009 figure represented a steep decline from 2008, when the median price was a record $2,100,000; 2008 was the first year in which the median sale price for a home in Portola Valley exceeded $2,000,000. In 2007 the figure was $1,917,500. In 2006, the median sale price dipped to $1,805,000, marginally down from $1,855,000 in 2005. The 2010 figure returns the median Portola Valley sale price to the level of the 2004 median, which was $1,700,000.

The average period of time it took to sell residential property in Portola Valley shrank from 80 days on the market in 2009 to 65 days in 2010. This represents a reduction of over two weeks and is a seven year low. That said, the number approximates the 68 days it took to sell a home in both 2008 and 2007. To compare, in 2006, homes lingered on the market for a record 85 days before being placed into contract. In 2005, properties in Portola Valley averaged 81 days on the market, and in 2004 they averaged 71 days. The fewest number of average days on the market occurred in 2000, when properties sold within a record 18 days.

The number of closed escrows in Portola Valley leveled off at 54 properties in 2010, the same total as in 2009. During the previous year, the number of homes closed declined to a ten-year bottom of 53 reported sales. In 2007, the number of residential properties sold in Portola Valley rose to 74, up from 59 properties sold in 2006. To compare, this figure is far lower than the 91 Portola Valley homes which closed escrow in 2005, and the 87 homes which closed escrow in 2004. The year 2000 also saw 91 closed transactions.