Green Hills

Taking its name from the country club that makes up its western border and the elementary school built in the neighborhood in 1948, Green Hills was for many years the last holdout in what was once an area devoted almost entirely to flower-growing and florists. It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the area was subdivided and turned into a residential neighborhood. Its physical layout – a series of cul-de-sacs growing out of Green Hills Drive as it works its way westward and uphill – is a reflection of the era in which it was built.

Because it is newer than most of Millbrae, Green Hills differs from other Millbrae neighborhoods. Its population density is about half that of the greater city, for example, and it features a city park and a greenbelt within its borders. Homes are arranged in cul-de-sacs and reflect the prevailing design trends of the 1970s and 80s. Aesthetically, homes in Green Hills have all pitched roofs and wood siding. They have the “Lake Tahoe” sort of look common to late 1970s California construction. They are larger than most older homes, many with more than 2,000 square feet of living space, three or four bedrooms, family rooms and multiple baths. Large garages tend to dominate their front elevations.

Green Hills homes for sale offer good price-per-square-foot value in today’s overheated housing market. While homes here have begun their march toward the $2 million level, they deliver plenty of interior and exterior space. The neighborhood, once quintessentially Millbrae with its peaceful collection of nurseries and farms, is now uniquely comprised of cul-de-sacs full of newer homes who recorded recent sales between $1.3 and $2 million, a clear contrast to the post-war and 1960s ranches that populate so much of the surrounding areas.