Francisco Terrace

Tucked into a corner off of busy Spruce Avenue and El Camino Real is Francisco Terrace, a small residential neighborhood of single-family homes built between 1948 and 1950 on marshy land that had scared off developers for years. Francisco Terrace is only three streets deep by two streets wide, a quirky little community of modest three-bedroom, one-bathroom homes with steeply-pitched roofs, between 1,000 and 1,350 square feet of interior living space, on 3,700 to 4,600 square-foot lots. Some Francisco Terrace homes have been expanded and remodeled over the years, but this conveniently-located district is still one of South San Francisco’s best for entry-level and first-time homebuyers. Homes here can be had for well under $1 million, with only two of the past ten Francisco Terrace sales coming in (slightly) above that benchmark. Homes here can generally be had for between $650,000 and $900,000.

Francisco Terrace may be seeing a boost in prices soon, however, as long-time owners (and their children) have begun turning over properties that have been off the market for decades. Buyers looking for single-family detached homes in a convenient location — Francisco Terrace is roughly one mile from both downtown South San Francisco and The Shops at Tanforan, and a 15-minute walk from the San Bruno BART station — may find tiny Francisco Terrace irresistible.

Favorable

• Very convenient location; equidistant from downtown SSF and Tanforan

• Entry-level homes, many with longtime owners, are ripe for updating and remodeling

• Small community feel

Adverse

• Located in a triangle between two very busy traffic streets — Spruce Avenue and El Camino Real

• Neighborhood in transition, so some homes are in disrepair