Hallmark homes are at the top of the Belmont market, lately selling for $1.575 million and up. At the other end of the property spectrum is Belmont Woods’ large collection of apartment buildings, located at the neighborhood's northeast corner along Carlmont Drive and Lake Road. Here you will find studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with parking and private terraces in complexes like Carlmont Woods (efficiency studios beginning at $1,507 per month) and Davey Glen (one-bedrooms for $2,840, two-bedrooms for $3,365). Some are located within a short walk of Carlmont Village, Carlmont High School and the Belmont Public Library.

In-between are single-family homes like those found in the tidy neighborhood belittled in 1946 by Russell Estep. Buyers on Yosemite, Lassen and Tahoe Drives pay between $1.5 and $2.4 million for their late 1950s-vintage one- and two-story homes. These properties range in size from approximately 1,300 to 1,700 square feet and sit on lots measuring 6,000 – 8,000 square feet and – contrary to Mr. Estep’s original evaluation – list among their charms proximity to the 280 freeway, giving them easy access to Silicon Valley and San Francisco.

Another area Belmont Woods neighborhood clings to steep, winding Hastings Drive, offering its residents solitude and wide-open views. This housing tract, built in 1977 and 1978, is comprised of two-story single-family homes and town homes with three bedrooms and over 2,000 square feet of living space, generally selling for between $1.6 and $1.9 million. Meanwhile, one of Belmont’s newest neighborhoods sits at the end of Carlmont Drive, giving residents excellent access to the city’s network of hiking trails. Homes here were built in the late 1990s, measure approximately 2,000 – 2,200 square feet in size, sit on large lots and sell for upwards of $1.5 to 3 million.

Its population is smaller than that of its surrounding neighborhoods, but Belmont Woods, still brims with the mostly post-war housing diversity that Belmont is known for. For its residents, it also offers great views, outdoors opportunities and serenity.

Belmont is a wonderful, serene town with a rural feel and a destination for families. Most of the streets do not have sidewalks, and since much of the town is built amidst the hills, many homes offer extraordinary views of the peninsula. Belmont boasts four parks, and is mostly made up of homes and retail stores. The town’s heritage harks back to William Ralston, the founder of the Bank of California and builder of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, who built his masterful summer residence, Ralston Hall, at the current site of Notre Dame University.

Ralston was offered to have the town of Modesto named after him, but at a Spanish ceremony he declined, and a Spanish lady dubbed him muy modesto, or very modest, and that is how the town got its name. To see a high resolution map of the image above, click here.