Communities
Hillsborough
Secluded & private streets. Excellent schools.
Equally known for its pleasant, rolling streets as well as multi-million dollar estates, Hillsborough represents the pinnacle of exclusive yet laid back peninsula homes. With close proximity to all major roads, yet still secluded and private enough for the most discriminating homeowner, Hillsborough’s large but subtle homes and roads-without-sidewalks “woodsy” feel apppeal to many. And, it’s also one of the best and most picturesque towns on the peninsula for a Saturday jog!
The public school system in Hillsborough is among California’s finest, with an excellent faculty to student ratio and a successful technology program. Hillsborough’s Crocker Middle School is well known in the area for its excellent preparation of its students for high school and beyond. And, there are also three excellent private schools in Hillsborough: the Bridge School, which serves students with physical and speech impairments, the Nueva School, a noted elementary school, and Crystal Springs Uplands School, a well established and respected elementary through high school.
As of the year 2000, Hillsborough was the highest income place in the United States for cities of a population of 10,000 or more. The town is six square miles, of which 238 acres are open space and cannot be developed. It’s name comes from the hometown of William Davis Merry Howard in New Hampshire, who visited the peninsula in 1864 as a 16 year old and convinced his shipping magnate father to buy Rancho San Mateo (including what is today the city of San Mateo).
As Hillsborough is all single family homes, the town contributes a portion of the budget to the Burlingame and San Mateo libraries, and shares a fire department with Burlingame, called Central County Fire.
Special Yearly Event: The Concours d’Elegance, benefiting the Hillsborough Schools Foundation, held each August on the golf course started in 1956 by Hillsborough mothers.
-
10,958
Population
-
3,841
Homes
-
4.5m - 10m+
Price Range
-
$5.23M
Median Sale Price
-
$6M
Average Sale Price
Pricing data based on single-family homes
Key features
- Ranch style homes
- $4.5m ranch style homes up to $10m+ estates, all with minimum half acre lots
- Exclusive town
- One of the most exclusive towns in the Bay Area, ranked alongside Atherton, Woodside, Belvedere, Ross, and Tiburon
- Single family residential with large lots
- Hillsborough is only single-family residential - no businesses, condos/townhomes, or retail, but just minutes to both downtown Burlingame and San Mateo
- Large lots
- Large lots - nearly all lots in Hillsborough are at least half an acre (21,000 s/f+)
Hillsborough
Stats & Trends
Sales Prices
Raziel's Commentary
The early returns on the changed Hillsborough real estate market suggest that despite a significant slowdown in activity, property values have remained strong. For 2023, homes sold in Hillsborough at an average of $6.128 million, 3% less than they commanded in 2022 and essentially equal to 2021’s average of $6.104 million. This comes after an eight-year period that saw the average value of a home sold in Hillsborough rise from $3.893 million to that $6.104 million, a gain of 57% in less than a decade; this, despite a three-year period (2017-2019) much like the past three years, in which property values were mostly static, followed by a gain of 20% in propertyvalues from 2019 to 2020. It probably isn’t realistic to expect a repeat of that in 2024, however; 2020 was the COVID year, unprecedented and ultimately unpredictable.
2024 YTD Average
$4.69M
21.8%
2023 Average
$6M
5%
2024 YTD Median
$4.02M
23.1%
2023 Median
$5.23M
5%
2021 Home Sales by Price Range
Raziel's Commentary
After a year that saw two-thirds of Hillsborough property selling for more than $5 million, local real estate more or less came back to earth in 2023 — with a soft landing. The percentage of homes selling for more than $5 million fell to 55.6— almost 12.8% less than in 2022 and 4.9% less than in 2021, butthe town’s market share for eight-figure sales was equal to that of 2021 and only 3.5% lower than it was in 2023. Meanwhile, the t$4 to $5 million market segment grew by a third, from 16.2 to24.5%, making the middle of the market (homes priced between $4 and $7 million comprising 54.3% of all Hillsborough sales) the sweet spot for Hillsborough real estate in 2023.
Beds Bedrooms | 3M - 4M | 4M - 5M | 5M - 6M | 6M - 7M | 7M - 8M | Over 8M |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 |
10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
5 |
2 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
6 |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Total | 19 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
2021 Home Sales by Price Range for single-family homes in Hillsborough
3M - 4M
13%
4M - 5M
13%
5M - 6M
11%
6M - 7M
8%
Sale Price to List Price Ratio
Raziel's Commentary
After peaking at 101.7% IN 2021(only the second time in the past decade that sale-to-list has climbed above 100%, Hillsborough settled into a 99.9% figure for 2022 and 2023. This again is notable because it represents the third-highest sale-to-list price ratio recorded in town during the past decade. This includes a Q4 that saw sale-to-list drop to 94.0% on 14 sales— significantly at an average of $6.645 million, (10% higher than the year-end average) and including a trio of eight-figure sales that only fetched 89% of their asking price.
2024 YTD
97.9%
0.6%
2023
97.3%
1.2%
Number of Home Sales
Raziel's Commentary
Only 97 homes sold in 2023, the lowest — by a wide margin — recorded at any time since 2014.97 sales is 17% less than in 2022, an eye-opening 43% less than in 2021, and 25% less than the average annual sales for the past 10 years. Breaking sales performance down further, we see that 2023 trailed 2022 (also a down year) by more than 21% in every quarter except Q2, when sales actually increased 6.3% year-over-year. This is due to a brisk June performance, when 19 homes sold, compared to only eight in 2022, which isn’t surprising, given the newness of interest rate volatility in June 2022. However, June was the only month where 2023 sales outpaced 2022 and if you remove it from year-end, the gap between 2022 and 2023 sales totals grew by almost 30%.
2106
118
742.9%
2024 YTD
14
84.3%
Average Days on Market
Raziel's Commentary
While 2023 was not a boom year for Hillsborough real estate, it wasn’t the vast correction experienced by some other Bay Area cities. This is reflected in many data points including average days on market (DOM), which actually decreased year-over-year in 2023. Hillsborough homes spent an average of 34 DOM in 2023, down slightly from 2022’s 36 and — significantly — down almost 20% from 2021’s 43 DOM. Notably, an average of 34 DOM is the second-lowest figure recorded in Hillsborough over the past decade, raising the question: why has demand remained strong in Hillsborough when it has waned in so many other places?
2024 YTD
86
days
115%
2023
40
days
9.1%
Down payments
Raziel's Commentary
With Hillsborough as an example, the takeaway from 2023 is that buyers with down payment resources are using them to neutralize increased interest rates. For the year, 26.5%of all Hillsborough buyers paid cash for their homes; 19.3% put down more than 50%. Combined, that’s 45.8% of the entire market putting down at least half of their home’s value, compared to33.6% who did so in 2022. Notably, those numbers grow as you reach the top of the Hillsborough market. 34% of cash buyers purchased homes for $5 million or more, 50% purchased homes priced above $7 million. Meanwhile, 43.4% of buyers put 21% to50% of their price as a down payment, still the largest market segment but significantly less than in 2022 (55.8%), 2021 (60.3%)and 2020 (59.8%
All Cash
26.8%
>50% Down
19.5%
21-50% Down
42.7%
20% Down
7.3%
<20% Down
3.7%
Hillsborough Neighborhoods
Brewer Subdivision
A small neighborhood framed by El Cerrito Avenue and Crystal Springs Road to the north and south, and Bowhill and Ranelagh Roads to the east and west, Brewer Subdivision is...
Carolands
Carolands real estate ranges in price from the mid-$3 million all the way up to eight figures. The community’s housing inventory leans toward sprawling, three-, four- and...
Country Club Manor
Country Club Manor borders Burlingame Park and Hillsborough’s Carolands neighborhood. Within its borders is the Burlingame Country Club, epicenter of “original”...
Hillsborough Heights
Hillsborough Heights’ name isn’t entirely accurate. Most of the neighborhood lies in the region informally called “Lower Hillsborough” by locals, who value its proximity to...
Hillsborough Hills
Hillsborough Hills has an accurate name. It is the westernmost district in upper Hillsborough, offering gracious homes on wooded lots, many with San Francisco Bay views....
Hillsborough Knolls
坐落在居家地小区以北和希尔斯伯勒公园以南之间,希尔斯伯勒岗很容易被错过。这人烟稀少的住宅区包括圣雷蒙道、海恩路、拉昆布雷路和一些小路囊。从地理上来看,它桥接希尔斯伯勒的高低部。从圣雷蒙道往西,其环境变得愈发树木繁茂。这是一个静幽且独僻的小区,是一个由圣马刁前往高希尔斯伯勒的必经之地,同时也是800左右当地人的目的地。
Hillsborough Oaks
Hillsborough Oaks doesn’t announce itself with blaring horns and balloons. Instead, it simply evolves, appearing on quiet residential lanes as they head west out of...
Hillsborough Park
Visitors to Hillsborough Park, located just north of Crystal Springs Road in upper Hillsborough, might be left wondering if anyone at all lives in the neighborhood. From...
Homeplace
It’s not too far off the mark to refer to Homeplace as the “heart of lower Hillsborough.” The neighborhood, which is west of San Mateo Park and just south of the Burlingame...
Lakeview
The neighborhood is located at Hillsborough’s western edge, and according to local lexicon is often referred to as “Upper Hillsborough”. It is also very convenient to...
Parrot Drive
An extremely sparsely-populated neighborhood consisting of a handful of homes and considered a “hidden gem” by many, Parrot Drive is a place in which sales are very rare....
Ryan Tract
Many of my colleagues would concur that the Ryan Tract is “lower Hillsborough’s most desirable location.” Ryan Tract is Hillsborough’s past and present come to life. Home...
Skyfarm
Measuring in at more than one mile square, Skyfarm – the neighborhood bordered east and west by the Burlingame Country Club and the Crystal Springs Golf Course,...
Tobin Clark Estate
Tobin Clark Estate, Hillsborough’s southernmost district, is surrounded on most sides by San Mateo, and part of it abuts the College of San Mateo. Most of Tobin Clark...
Hillsborough Real Estate Market Review
In my 12th annual review of the Hillsborough residential real estate market, I examine 2023 market trends and relevant sales statistics. You'll learn first-hand what’s happening in your neighborhood.
Schools & History
History
Hillsborough is a town of rare affluence, number five on Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2009 list of “Wealthiest Towns in America.” It’s a unique place, with no shops, no restaurants, and no commercial entities of any kind within its borders. Its citizens live on half-acre minimum lots, many behind gates and rows of tall trees.