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Mapping the Bay Area's Top Ten Most Expensive Sales of 2014

By Tracy Elsen
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By Tracy Elsen


Although San Francisco real estate is booming, many of the Bay Area's very top sales take place down the peninsula in towns like Atherton, Woodside, and Hillsborough. With the help of real estate website PropertyShark, we've compiled the 10 most expensive sales in the entire Bay Area in 2014. Three San Francisco properties from our list of the year's 10 most expensive San Francisco sales made the cut, but at the very peak were estates with pools, land, and other amenities that are nearly impossible to come by within the city limits. Sharing the title of the most expensive home sold in the Bay Area in 2014 are a property in Atherton and another in Woodside that both went for $25 million. Of course, there has already been a sale that big in 2015 at Los Altos Hills' Morgan Estate, so will the top sales of 2015 soar even higher?


· PropertyShark [Official Site]
· Mapping the Top Ten Most Expensive Homes that Sold in 2014 [Curbed SF]
· It's Official: Los Altos Hills' Grand Morgan Estate Sells for $25M [Curbed SF]
· University of Phoenix Founder Lists Pac Heights Home for $27M [Curbed SF]
· Hillsborough's Storied House-on-Hill Estate Sells for $22.8M [Curbed SF]

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250 Atherton Avenue, Atherton

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Sale price: $25 million
There's a tie at the top, and Atherton's Bella Sera is one of two homes in the Bay Area to sell for $25 million last year. The home sits on two and a half acres and features "built-in antiques" and stunning grounds with a pool, tennis courts, and fountains.

250 Atherton Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

201 Manzanita Way, Woodside

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Sale price: $25 million
In March, this home sold quietly, tying for the top Bay Area sale of 2014. It had been in the same family for many years and sold after the death of its owner. According to public records, the nine-bedroom home is only 5,730 square feet, meaning that it sold for a somewhat unbelievable $4,363 per square.

201 Manzanita Way, Woodside, CA 94062

2325 Pacific Avenue, SF

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Sale price: $23.25 million
San Francisco's biggest sale of 2014 came on the market in late 2013 asking $27 million and quietly found its buyer by the end of March. The seller was University of Phoenix cofounder John Murphy, who had bought the place back in 1997 because he loved its Prohibition Room hidden behind a paneled wall. There's also a 1,200-square-foot ballroom.

2325 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115

40 Verbalee Lane, Hillsborough

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Sale price: $22.8 million
The Tobin-Clark Estate, also known as House-on-Hill, overcame its tacky sales website domain name, ultraluxuryestate.com, to sell in September after more than two years on and off the market. The Tudor property has hosted at least four US presidents, including Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush. It has 12 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.

40 Verbalee Lane, Hillsborough, CA 94010

162 Isabella Avenue, Atherton

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Sale price: $20.2 million
This six-bedroom, six-bathroom house was built in 1987. It sold for $14.1 million in 2013, and although it was never on the MLS, its 2014 sale brought in a $6.1 million price increase.

162 Isabella Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

215 Lowell Avenue, Palo Alto

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Sale price: $19.8 million
A major draw of this Georgian-style home is its .86-acre lot in Old Palo Alto, one of the largest in town. It was built in 1916 and had had only four owners until it was sold this year. The home, which looks small from the front but goes on forever out back, boasts seven bedrooms, a home theater, a basketball court, and a pool.

215 Lowell Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301

70 Stern Lane, Atherton

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Sale price: $18.9 million
One of the newest homes on the list is this five-bedroom property in Atherton, which was built in 2008. It has only 6,545 square feet of space, meaning that it sold for $2,888 per square. It has a leafy one-acre yard with a pool out back.

70 Stern Lane, Atherton, CA 94027

244 Polhemus Avenue, Atherton

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Sale price: $18.9 million
This sprawling home has seven bedrooms and a rather excessive nine and a half bathrooms. It was built in 2009 by Wise Building Company and has interiors from designer Victoria Hagan, who has been featured in Architectural Digest.

244 Polhemus Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

3450 Washington Street, SF

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Sale price: $18 million
The second most expensive home to sell in San Francisco in 2014 was sold by Peter Sperling, son of University of Phoenix's primary founder, John Sperling. The seven-bedroom didn't get its original asking price of $21 million, but did manage to bring in a whopping $2,151 per square foot.

3450 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

2590 Pacific Avenue, SF

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Sale price: $18 million
The Bay Area's 10th most expensive sale in 2014 is something of a mystery. The seven-bedroom home, built in 1950, never listed publicly but sold on August 6. The home sits on Pacific Avenue right next to San Francisco's top seller of the year. Its Pacific Avenue facade is shrouded in greenery, while its Pierce Street entrance is rather uninspiring.

2590 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115
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250 Atherton Avenue, Atherton

250 Atherton Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

Sale price: $25 million
There's a tie at the top, and Atherton's Bella Sera is one of two homes in the Bay Area to sell for $25 million last year. The home sits on two and a half acres and features "built-in antiques" and stunning grounds with a pool, tennis courts, and fountains.

250 Atherton Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

201 Manzanita Way, Woodside

201 Manzanita Way, Woodside, CA 94062

Sale price: $25 million
In March, this home sold quietly, tying for the top Bay Area sale of 2014. It had been in the same family for many years and sold after the death of its owner. According to public records, the nine-bedroom home is only 5,730 square feet, meaning that it sold for a somewhat unbelievable $4,363 per square.

201 Manzanita Way, Woodside, CA 94062

2325 Pacific Avenue, SF

2325 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115

Sale price: $23.25 million
San Francisco's biggest sale of 2014 came on the market in late 2013 asking $27 million and quietly found its buyer by the end of March. The seller was University of Phoenix cofounder John Murphy, who had bought the place back in 1997 because he loved its Prohibition Room hidden behind a paneled wall. There's also a 1,200-square-foot ballroom.

2325 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115

40 Verbalee Lane, Hillsborough

40 Verbalee Lane, Hillsborough, CA 94010

Sale price: $22.8 million
The Tobin-Clark Estate, also known as House-on-Hill, overcame its tacky sales website domain name, ultraluxuryestate.com, to sell in September after more than two years on and off the market. The Tudor property has hosted at least four US presidents, including Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush. It has 12 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.

40 Verbalee Lane, Hillsborough, CA 94010

162 Isabella Avenue, Atherton

162 Isabella Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

Sale price: $20.2 million
This six-bedroom, six-bathroom house was built in 1987. It sold for $14.1 million in 2013, and although it was never on the MLS, its 2014 sale brought in a $6.1 million price increase.

162 Isabella Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

215 Lowell Avenue, Palo Alto

215 Lowell Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Sale price: $19.8 million
A major draw of this Georgian-style home is its .86-acre lot in Old Palo Alto, one of the largest in town. It was built in 1916 and had had only four owners until it was sold this year. The home, which looks small from the front but goes on forever out back, boasts seven bedrooms, a home theater, a basketball court, and a pool.

215 Lowell Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301

70 Stern Lane, Atherton

70 Stern Lane, Atherton, CA 94027

Sale price: $18.9 million
One of the newest homes on the list is this five-bedroom property in Atherton, which was built in 2008. It has only 6,545 square feet of space, meaning that it sold for $2,888 per square. It has a leafy one-acre yard with a pool out back.

70 Stern Lane, Atherton, CA 94027

244 Polhemus Avenue, Atherton

244 Polhemus Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

Sale price: $18.9 million
This sprawling home has seven bedrooms and a rather excessive nine and a half bathrooms. It was built in 2009 by Wise Building Company and has interiors from designer Victoria Hagan, who has been featured in Architectural Digest.

244 Polhemus Avenue, Atherton, CA 94027

3450 Washington Street, SF

3450 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

Sale price: $18 million
The second most expensive home to sell in San Francisco in 2014 was sold by Peter Sperling, son of University of Phoenix's primary founder, John Sperling. The seven-bedroom didn't get its original asking price of $21 million, but did manage to bring in a whopping $2,151 per square foot.

3450 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

2590 Pacific Avenue, SF

2590 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115

Sale price: $18 million
The Bay Area's 10th most expensive sale in 2014 is something of a mystery. The seven-bedroom home, built in 1950, never listed publicly but sold on August 6. The home sits on Pacific Avenue right next to San Francisco's top seller of the year. Its Pacific Avenue facade is shrouded in greenery, while its Pierce Street entrance is rather uninspiring.

2590 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115