According to a recent study by the real estate data firm PropertyShark, the San Francisco Bay Area maintains its status as the most expensive real estate market in the country for the eighth consecutive year. The analysis focused on property transactions completed between January 1 and September 30 of this year, including condos, co-ops, single-family homes, and duplexes. Researchers calculated median sale prices, rounding them to the nearest thousand, to rank the top 100 most expensive ZIP codes nationwide.

Despite the Bay Area’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, the findings underscore the region’s persistently high housing prices and strong market demand.

The study reveals that due to statistical ties in median sale prices, 121 ZIP codes made the list, with California accounting for 80 of them, while New York State follows with 19 on the list.

Among the top 10, seven ZIP codes hail from California. Atherton continues to hold the title of the most expensive ZIP code in the U.S., even though its median sale price has slightly declined. This trend illustrates how California, particularly the Bay Area, is driven by continued market demand despite high prices.

PropertyShark reports that after three years of rising prices and surpassing the $8 million mark, Atherton experienced a 5% drop this year, which translated to a $400,000 decline in its median sale price, bringing it back to 2022 levels. Nonetheless, Atherton remains at the top for the eighth year in a row in 2024.

Other areas in the Bay Area, such as Santa Clara, boast the second-highest number of ZIP codes on the list, with 16, trailing only Los Angeles. The 90402 and 94024 ZIP codes in Los Altos ranked 11th and 12th, respectively, while Palo Alto and Los Gatos took 20th and 21st places.

Additionally, Marin County saw its 94957 ZIP code for Ross and 94970 for Stinson Beach enter the top 20, landing at 16th and 18th, respectively.