San Mateo Neighborhood Guide

A guide to San Mateo neighborhoods. Find out which neighborhood is a good fit for you and seach homes for sale.

East of 101 – San Mateo’s Most Affordable Neighborhoods

North Shoreview Dore Cavanaugh San Mateo CA North Shoreview – $400k – $600k – North Shoreview consists almost entirely of boxy cottages less than 1150 sq.ft. with 2 or 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, gas wall furnaces and an attached 1 car garage. Mostly built in the 1940s on small 5000 sq.ft. lots, this neighborhood is minimalist housing for the entry level, economy-minded home buyer. Read More About North Shoreview.
Parkside San Mateo CA Parkside – $450k – $650k – Built in the mid-1950s, Parkside displays genuine improvement over the earlier built homes north of it. Averaging several hundred square feet larger than South Shoreview homes, the mix of 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car-garage contemporary and traditional ranchers with central gas heating offers more amenities at a slightly higher price. Read More About Parkside.
South Shoreview San Mateo CA South Shoreview – $400k – $600k – South Shoreview is slightly newer and slightly more expensive – about 5% – than North Shoreview, although the homes appear similar. The biggest difference is the use of concrete slab construction and flat roofs – considered futuristic at the time – in the early 1950s. The floor plans are mostly 2 and 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, gas wall furnaces, but we see attached 2 car garages in this area. Read More about South Shoreview.

Between El Camino & 101 – San Mateo’s Moderate Neighborhoods

19th Ave Park San Mateo CA 19th Ave Park – $450k – $650k – San Mateo’s most affordable neighborhood with Eichler construction. Most are 1,500 sq ft, 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath homes on 5,000 sq ft lots. 19th Ave Park homes can be a great value, particularly for those seeking access to San Mateo’s Sunnybrae School. Read More About 19th Ave Park.
Bay Meadows San Mateo CA townhomes Bay Meadows – $550k – $650k – Built in 2003, Bay Meadows is San Mateo’s newest large scale development located on the former site of the Bay Meadows Race Track. It’s planned, mixed use – residential, retail and commercial – offers something for nearly everyone. Most townhomes are 2-3 bedrooms with 2.5 bathrooms. Read More About Bay Meadows.
Eastern Addition San Mateo CA Eastern Addition – $350k – $550k – Eastern Addition is home of many of the least expensive – west of Highway 101 – homes in San Mateo. Homes are typically small, on narrow lots, many of which are sub-standard by today’s measure. Not many multi-use properties here and not many 1940s styled ranchers either, this inviting neighborhood is a likely place to find pre-WWII architecture at a budget price. Read More About Eastern Addition.
Fiesta Gardens San Mateo CA Fiesta Gardens – $600k – $700k – A unique pocket neighborhood, out of the cross town traffic pattern with a proud neighborhood association. Visually landscaping is not as mature as some older neighborhoods with fewer trees and wider streets, but with better recreational facilities – park and ball fields. Neat, clean and well maintained, Fiesta Gardens is clearly a family oriented neighborhood. Most homes are of the 3 bedroom 2 bath variety between 1,200 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft with 2 car garages on 5,000 sq ft lots. Read More About Fiesta Gardens.
Hayward Park San Mateo CA Hayward Park – $500k – $800k – Hayward Park is a distinctly attractive, aesthetically appealing pocket offering homes built mostly before WWII on the site of the former Hayward Estate. A handful of homes date to the period around WWI – including Craftsman, Spanish and Tudor Revivals – range in size from 1200 sq.ft. to 2000 sq.ft. Most homes have between 2-3 bedrooms and 1 bath on 4,500-6,500 sq ft lots and are within walking distance to San Mateo’s revitalized Downtown. Read More About Hayward Park.
San Mateo Village Neighborhood San Mateo CA San Mateo Village – $550k – $750k – San Mateo Village has come a long way in the past 10-15 years. What was once a lower end neighborhood has become one of the more desirable and affordable areas of San Mateo. In an unusually short period of time, homeowners have upgraded, maintained and renovated these 1950s ranchers. Typically 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1200 sq ft homes with one car garages. Read More About San Mateo Village.
Sunnybrae San Mateo CA Sunnybrae – $450k – $650k – Visually Sunnybrae is an older neighborhood with mature foliage and quiet streets. Typical lots are 4,500 square feet to 5,500 square feet with an upper limit of value approximately $700,000. Most homes are of the 2 and 3 bedroom variety between 1,000 sq ft and 1,300 sq ft with 1 car garages and a handful of 4 bedroom, 1,500 sq ft plus homes with 2 car garages. Read More About Sunnybrae.

West of El Camino – San Mateo’s More Expensive Neighborhoods

Aragon San Mateo CA home Aragon – $950k – $1,400k – A carefully planned neighborhood with tree lined streets and old fashioned street lights provide an architectural homogeneity and ambiance generally unduplicated in San Mateo County. Homes reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s romanticism are spacious for the time built often over 2,000 sq ft. on 5,000 – 7,000 sq ft lots. Most have 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms. Read More About Aragon.
Baywood San Mateo CA Baywood – $1.1mil – $1.8mil – Baywood screams status with well manicured yards, broad meandering – occasionally hilly – streets and timeless styles built mostly between 1930 and 1950. A fair share of substantial ranchers on typically smaller lot sizes – usually from 6,000 sq. ft. to 8,000 sq.ft. – typically have 2,500 sq ft – 3,500 sq ft, 3-4 bedrooms and 3 baths. Read More About Baywood.
Baywood Knolls San Mateo CA Baywood Knolls – $900k – $1.2 mil – The consistently simple, straight-forward architecture date mostly from early 1940s to early 1950s achieves a somewhat formal appearance enhanced by old fashioned street lights. While lots are generally small in the 5000 – 7000 sq.ft range, homes are unusually generous often over 2,000 sq. ft. Most homes have 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms. Read More About Baywood Knolls.
Baywood Park Enchanted Hills San Mateo CA Baywood Park- $900k – $1,200k – Typical homes built in 1950s are surprisingly diverse with a mixture both classic California Ranchers and attractively contemporary two-story homes sprinkled with newer, more conservative designs built in 70s. The lots along Parrott Drive can be ample, often up to ¼ acre, but generally get smaller and steeper as you move further west toward the unspoiled hills and protected areas. Read More About Baywood Park.
Beresford Manor San Mateo CA Beresford Manor – $700k – $900k – Beresford Manor homes are as small as 2 bedroom 1 bath and 1200 sq ft and as large as 4 bedrooms 2 baths and 2000 sq ft. Beresford Manor is a very walkable neighborhood, located near both the 25th Ave San Mateo shopping and the Hillsdale Mall. Read More About Beresford Manor.
Foothill Terrace San Mateo CA Foothill Terrace – $850k – $1,100k – Foothill Terrace offers a collection of handsome ranchers built in the early 1950s on smallish lots. Most of the homes are of the 3 bedroom 2 bath variety between 1500 sq. ft. and 2,100 sq. ft. Building continued up the hill into the early 1970s with newer two story homes on slightly larger view lots. Much of the newest construction is nearest Highway 92 which means more noise and more pollution. Read More About Foothill Terrace.
Hillsdale San Mateo CA Hillsdale aka The Lanes – $700k – $900k – Hillsdale is called The Lanes because of the many cul-de-sacs incorporated into the subdivision with many a lane ending in parks. Most of the homes have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths with a 2 car garage. A bit more expensive than other 1940s neighborhoods, Hillsdale is within San Mateo’s mid price range. Read More About Hillsdale – The Lanes.
Homestead San Mateo CA Homestead – $650k – $1.3mil – Homestead is a slice of 1940s ranchers on small lots with a dollop of early 20s and 30s bungalows, a splash of 1900s Craftsman and several small apartments near El Camino. About the only constant in Homestead are the lot sizes, which are around 4,500 – 6,500 sq ft. Homes as small as a 2 bedroom, 1 bath with 1,000 sq ft to a few 5 bedroom, 3 bath homes around 2,500 sq ft. Read More About Homestead.
Laurelwood San Mateo Laurelwood – $800k – $1mil – Laurelwood consists of 3 distinct areas – or sub-markets – each with its own idiosyncrasies. The newest homes built primarily by Whitecliff in the 1970s are typically 2 story, 4-5 bedroom and 3 car garages well in excess of 2000 sq.ft.. The oldest homes built in the early 1960s look more tract-like under 2000 sq.ft. with 3 bedrooms. Read More About Laurelwood.
San Mateo Park Neighborhood San Mateo CA San Mateo Park – $1.2 mil – $2.5 mil – San Mateo Park is in the minds of many the jewel of undeniable affluence and prestige among the city of San Mateo’s neighborhoods. On generally larger lots, there is an abundance of classic architecture from Revival styles of ‘20s and ‘30s – Tudor, Spanish and Colonial – even a gaggle of impressive Craftsman homes built around 1900. The oldest area, and also the most formal part, lies closest to El Camino Real. Moving up the hill west bound, San Mateo Park changes a bit, but without a decline in ambiance. Read More About San Mateo Park.
Highlands San Mateo CA The Highlands- $900k – $1.2 mil – Many of the homes have unspoiled views of the protected fish and game refuge yet they are not typical of the small, stripped down 1950s version of the Eichler that was built by the thousands since WWII. Lots are generous especially by 1950s standards ranging between 8000 sq.ft to about ¼ acre with many on cul-de-sacs. The homes themselves are the larger Eichler style, many are the popular atrium model. Read More About The Highlands.
Westwood Knolls San Mateo CA Westwood Knolls – $650k – $900k – Many of these homes offer excellent views of the Bay located in one of San Mateo most affordable west side locations. A classic development pattern emerges with modest ranchers of conventional design built first on the flatter lots closer to El Camino at the base of the hillside giving way to larger homes near the top along Alameda. Most homes are around 1,200 – 1,500 sq ft and are of the 3 bedroom 1 bath variety on 4,500 – 6,500 sq ft lots. Read More About Westwood Knolls.

Enjoyed this San Mateo Neighborhood Guide? Why Not Subscribe?

If you have enjoyed Living Well in San Mateo – san mateo real estate, please subscribe to our RSS feed.

Raymond Stoklosa, Chela Stoklosa and Rebecca Williamson are Realtors with The RayChel Realty Group specializing in Santa Clara and San Mateo Real Estate.

Be Sociable, Share!