Los Altos house prices have run a parallel trend for the last 14 years with Santa Clara County. Both the 2000 dot com boom and the 2008 subprime mortgage periods were points in time where it deviated. The higher typical price of Los Altos was a significant factor in both of these deviations. The dot com boom created a strong local demand for higher-priced homes. The mortgage crisis affected homes having less equity. Higher-priced homes typically have greater equity because the proceeds from a home sale are often used to purchase a higher-priced home.
The higher average price of Los Altos real estate has been a major factor driving divergence from Santa Clara County real estate trends.