The Priciest Real Estate in the US Actually Got More Expensive in 2020

A survey of the 100 most high-cost zip codes shows more gains than losses

naples florida
The high-dollar estates of Naples, Florida, as seen from above
Jeff Greenberg/Universal/Getty

Luxury real estate in 2020 is … booming?

According to PropertyShark’s new report, “Most Expensive U.S. Zip Codes in 2020: Medians on the Rise in Country’s 100 Priciest Zips,” the median price of a house sale in the year of COVID-19 registered year-over-year gains in 78 locations and losses in 27 areas, almost an exact reverse of a trend in 2019.

PropertyShark, a real-estate site that analyzes data from public and governmental sources as well “reliable third-party providers,” calculated these median sale prices in different zip codes based on closed home sales. The data was culled from between January 1 and October 16, 2020, and reflects 121 zip codes overall (not 100) due to several ties.

PropertyShark
A sample real estate listing for Atherton, CA, the nation’s priciest zip code
Screenshot/PropertyShark

Some key takeaways:

  • COVID’s biggest impact was felt in New York City. For the first time in the history of the report, there were no NYC zip codes in the top 10.
  • That said, the Upper West Side’s (10069) median was up a whopping 42%, going from $1,920,000 in 2019 to $2,725,000 in 2020 (credit/blame goes to one particular luxury condo development).
  • California landed 87 of the top 121 most expensive zip codes, including eight of the 10 most expensive. New York came in a distant second at 20, followed by Massachusetts at four.
  • Within that 87: The Bay Area claims 50 of the most expensive zip codes.
  • No. 1 again is Atherton, CA: The 94027 zip featured a $7,000,000 median sale price for the second year in a row.
  • The only non-California or New York zip in the top 10 is Medina, Washington, which came in ninth. (Fun fact: the area is home to Bill and Melinda Gates.)
  • 13 of these zips featured median sale prices higher than $3 million, which is one less than 2019.

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