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Forbes has an idea why high-end homes in some regions are disappearing off the market so quickly: income.

 

On its list of America's Top-Selling Luxury Neighborhoods, Forbes says Redwood City, Calif., takes the No. 1 spot largely because it's considered entry level among the luxury neighborhoods in Silicon Valley. The median home price there is $1.07 million, which sounds high until you hear about the surrounding median home prices of $4.1 million in Atherton and $3.7 million in Burlingame. This is Silicon Valley we're talking about, after all.

 

And the article notes that the median income in Redwood City is $73,000, as opposed to neighboring Atherton, where the incomes are so high, at more than $200,000, that the Census Bureau doesn't even ask for the details anymore. Forbes' theory:

 

In this area of the country, higher-end sellers are less willing to drop their prices, while less affluent ones may want to cash in their chips and get out.

 

But just because the homes are selling quickly doesn't mean you can't get in on the action. Move.com offers a list of homes for sale in the top five of these 10 Top-Selling Luxury Markets.

 

In Redwood City, where homes are hardly languishing with a average of 39 days on the market, consider this four-bedroom, three-bathroom Cape Code-style property on the waterfront at Lighthouse Cove. The 2,659-square-foot home, available for $1,198,500, was built in 1989.

 

No. 2 on the list is Woodmere, N.Y., which is just 10 minutes away from Atlantic and Long beaches and has a median home price of $761,211 and an average of 51 days on the market. This three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom Tudor home, which was built in 1925, is up for grabs at $795,000.

 

Despite all Florida's troubles with foreclosures, it still manages to get on the list with its No. 3 city of Coral Gables, which has a median price of $897,169 and an average of 53 days on the market. You can soak in the Florida rays at the pool of this 3,039-square-foot home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, available for $899,000.

 

Palo Alto, Calif., takes the No. 4 spot with a median home price of $1.3 million, and homes lasting an average of 61 days on the market. You get a bit less bang for your buck in the Silicon Valley, getting only 1,346 square feet for $1.279 million. But at least it's a California-sized lot of 9,000 square feet, including a pool and proximity to the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course.

 

Since the list is actually made up of ZIP codes, Great Neck, N.Y., actually made it on the list twice, in the No. 5 and No. 8 spots. Move.com says the city is "filled with suburban wealth and primarily empty-nesting couples," and the area that took No. 5 has a $1.41 million median with an average of 66 days on the market. But you can still get a home for under a million, such as this $928,000 ranch-style home, built in 1949, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

• View homes for sale on the rest of the list at Move.com.

And the rest of the top 10 are:

 

6. Oakland, Calif. (Rockridge neighborhood), with a $1.09 million median and an average of 67 days on the market.

 

7. Larchmont, N.Y., with a median of $1.21 million and an average of 70 days on the market.

 

8. (tie) Great Neck, N.Y., except this ZIP code has a median of $937,884 and an average of 71 days on the market.

 

8. (tie) Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., with a median of $694,961 and an average of 71 days on the market.

 

9. San Francisco (Richmond District), with a median of $1.82 million an an average of 72 days on the market.

• Forbes takes a look at more homes for sale on its list of Top-Selling Luxury Markets