This is the most expensive home sold this year in the U.S.’ most expensive ZIP code

A luxurious Silicon Valley home in the nation’s most expensive ZIP code recently sold for $40 million, landing it at No. 2 in the ranking of most expensive publicly listed houses sold in the Bay Area so far this year, according to data provided by Compass Real Estate.

The 233 Park Lane property in the San Mateo County town of Atherton sold in October, 10 months after being listed for sale for nearly $50 million, according to Zillow. At 14,215 square feet on a 1.3-acre lot, the home boasts six bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, three half-bathrooms, both an indoor and outdoor pool, a home theater, wine cellar, a full gym and other amenities. It also has a 1,000-square-foot guest house and a pool house.

The sellers bought the property in 2017 for $15 million and finished building the home last year, according to the Real Deal, quoting listing agent Michael Repka at DeLeon Realty. However, the unidentified owners decided to move out of the area and sell the newly completed house, which came with custom-curated furniture, art, linens and cutlery, Repka said. 

According to data provided by Compass Real Estate, the Atherton home was the second-highest-price sale this year in the nine-county region. The first — 485 Whiskey Hill Road in neighboring Woodside — sold in February for $44.5 million, the data shows. Compass’ data does not include homes that were privately listed.

Michael Warren, a Realtor who represented the buyer of the Atherton property, told the Chronicle that such homes “highlight the unwavering strength of our local market, even amidst the uncertainties faced by many markets worldwide.”

Warren said that influential figures, such as top executives, company founders and venture capitalists, have expressed to him that Silicon Valley, specifically Atherton and Woodside, is a hub for successful business ventures — and therefore he predicted there would be “more remarkable $40 million-plus sales in the near future.”

The $40 million price tag is well over the price of a mansion in San Francisco’s Presidio Heights neighborhood that sold for $34.5 million in March, becoming the highest publicly listed home in the city this year and the third-highest in the Bay Area.

The Chronicle recently reported that sales of luxury homes in the Bay Area have increased over the past year,  while non-luxury home inventory has declined. Data from the brokerage site Redfin shows a 10% rise in the number of luxury homes — those in the top 5% of their metro division — sold in San Francisco and San Mateo counties between the third quarters of 2022 and 2023.

And buyers at the higher end of the luxury market — over $8 million — are more likely to pay cash and therefore less vulnerable to interest rate hikes, Compass agent Val Steele recently told the Chronicle. Nationally, in the third quarter of 2023, more than 40% of luxury homes sold were purchased in full, Redfin said, compared with 28% of non-luxury homes.

Reach Jessica Flores: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @jesssmflores