Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently sold her Palo Alto residence for $1.96 million. The buyer? Stanford University.

Rice paid just $1.375 million for the 2,300-square-foot Bay Area residence ten years ago. The area is still a top contender for hottest housing market in the country, so the not-even 50% valuation increase over the decade-long period may seem peculiar.

But the answer is actually fairly simple. As a faculty member, Rice was able to purchase on-campus housing at a discounted rate through the university with a caveat: the land beneath the home would still belong to Stanford.

The median sales price for a Palo Alto home is $2.8 million, so the option is certainly enticing for many faculty members. Stanford is believed to co-own more than 1,000 Santa Clara County properties under the terms of the program. Since housing is so expensive in the Bay Area, and the campus is so desirable, the reduced-cost housing program is often used as an incentive to draw in distinguished faculty from across the country.