Mills Estates continued its march toward Burlingame’s top end in 2020, posting double-digit increases in average and median price and an 8% increase in price per square foot, while reducing its average DOM by 21%, from 14 in 2019 to 11. In 2020 19 homes sold in Mills Estates, one more than in 2019, for an average price of $2.91 million — third-highest in Burlingame behind Burlingame Park and Easton Addition. Since 2017, home values in Mills Estate have increased by 26% (median by 23%), a clear sign that this neighborhood of sprawling, post-war homes with views — ideally configured to take advantage of the priority changes COVID has inspired in buyers — is ready to take its place among Burlingame’s most desirable neighborhoods.

To view a detailed google map of the Mills Estates neighborhood, click here. The MLS area is 472.

Favorable

• Open floorplan homes mostly built in the 1960s
• Opportunity for larger square footage and larger lot
• Close to 280 and easy to pop down Trousdale to the Millbrae BART station
• Many homes have sweeping bay views

Adverse

• Does not have a typical Burlingame older home feel
• Not close to Burlingame Ave and Broadway
• Hilly, though some streets are level

Schools

The elementary school for the neighborhood is Franklin Elementary, which is just down the hill on Trousdale.

There is one public middle school, Burlingame Intermediate School, which is located in the Ray Park neighborhood. It’s a 5 minute drive at the most from anywhere in Mills Estates.

There is one public high school, Burlingame High, which is a 10-12 minute drive across town.

History

As late as 1954, the 42-room Mills Mansion built in the 1860s still stood proud near the present location of Mills High School. Although parts of the original 1,500-acre Mills estate had been developed earlier (Burlingame Village and Ray Park, for example) several hundred acres still surrounded the home. After the newly formed City of Millbrae and the City of Burlingame ended an eight-year legal battle regarding title to the mansion and its remaining property, the mansion was destroyed and the land was subdivided. In its place, new homes were built to provide for the Peninsula’s growing post-WWII population. Today many homes in Mills Estate enjoy great views of the Bay and easy access to I-280. The area includes numerous Eichler homes, known for their large windows, open atriums and mid-century design that reflected the fabled California lifestyle.