A $2.45 million home in Palo Alto, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Zillow Aspiring entrepreneurs and coders have been moving to Silicon Valley in droves for the past half-century.



High demand, combined with a multitude of buyers with disproportionately high salaries, have made this part of northern California a very expensive place to live.

Real estate site Zillow recently dove into its data to find what they call "the luckiest home buyers in America."

These are people who bought their homes in the right place at the right time: just before home values in that area skyrocketed.

According to Zillow's analysis, Palo Alto residents who bought their homes in September 2006 are the most savvy property owners in the county.

In 2006, the median value of a home in Palo Alto, California, was $1.17 million. Today, that same home would be worth more than $2.4 million, a more than 105% value appreciation.

Palo Alto, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, is home to a number of wealthy tech executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Larry Page, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

Richmond, California, was second in Zillow's analysis. Home values in the city, located across the Bay from San Francisco and perhaps best known for hosting a Chevron petroleum refinery, have appreciated by more than 103% since October 2011.