I was also surprised by the $/sqft figures for Orinda and Lafayette. I think there just aren't that many "for sale" samples within 1 mile of those stops. A lot of it is commercial, apartments, or open space.
Also, it says this data includes sales from the last six months, which exactly covers the low season for housing sales. I'd be very interested to see this again in September or October.
A semi-related factoid about Orinda: lowest % of passengers who get to/from the station by foot of any in the BART system.
Also price per square foot doesn't reflect lot size. Orinda will, I suspect, have larger lots than Rockridge.
If you wanted to buy a decrepit 600 sq. ft shack on a 10-acre lot in downtown Woodside, a price per square foot metric might seem like it should be <$1M. In reality the property would sell for $10M+ based on the land value, with the shack having negative value because of the cost to tear it down. (Ob. Steve Jobs Woodside reference here.)
You do have to pick something and run with it, I understand that. But price per square foot is pretty bogus because one cannot buy housing by the square foot. You have to buy it per _house_. I think you could make a fair comparison if you went with median 2-bedroom sale price instead.
Also, it says this data includes sales from the last six months, which exactly covers the low season for housing sales. I'd be very interested to see this again in September or October.
A semi-related factoid about Orinda: lowest % of passengers who get to/from the station by foot of any in the BART system.