The number of closed escrows
in Portola Valley increased
dramatically to 110 sales in 2021,
following a record high of 92 sales in
2020. There were 18 sales in the first
quarter, 33 sales in the second quarter,
32 sales in the third quarter, and 27 sales
in the fourth quarter. Keep in mind that
any Portola Valley properties sold offmarket are not part of this review.

Although sales were strong, prices
fell slightly. The average price was
$4,038,135, a 3% decline from the record
high of $4,150,339 reached in 2020. The
average was still only the second time
it exceeded $4 million and it was 118%
higher than it was in the recession low
of 2010 when the average price was
$1,847,374. Contributing to the high average price were 2 homes that sold for
$14+ million and $16 million, a home sold
by Hugh Cornish & Associates. There was
only one sale for less than $1.5 million.

The median price in 2021 did reach a
record high, increasing just $5,000 to
$3,505,000. The 2021 median price was
112% higher than what the median price
was when it was $1,650,000 in 2009.

There was a steady increase every
quarter in average price. The fourth
quarter saw the highest average
price by far when it reached a record
of $4,888,179. Our sale at $16 million
occurred at the end of the fourth quarter
contributing to the increase.

54 Portola Valley homes, or 49%, sold
for more than list price, far more than
23% in 2020 and 2019. 7 homes sold for
list price and 49 homes sold for less than
list price.

The average days on market, at 29, was
the lowest in records dating back to 2005.
This compared to 43 in 2020, a year in
which not all days were accounted for in
the early part of the pandemic. Average
days on market in 9 of the past 16 years
have been for more than 50 days. Pricing
was still key to how long a home was
on the market. This direct correlation is
seen with homes that sold for list price
or more, which were on the market an
average of just 13 days; homes that sold
for less than list price were on the market
for an average of 50 days.