Westwood Knolls real estate grows in size as it moves south and west. Homes closest to El Camino Real and Hillsdale Boulevard predate 1950 and have three or four bedrooms. Square footage ranges from around 1,200 to 1,600 for these single-story ranchers. Homes to the south and west are also usually single-story, many with finished daylight basements and excellent bay views, perhaps the best in San Mateo. Both features come thanks to these homes’ hillside orientations. Some have been expanded, pushing them over the 2,500 square-foot (and $2 million) mark.

Overall, homes for sale in Westwood Knolls can range in price from $1.3 million to more than $2 million, with a median hovering around $1.5 million. Local public schools – Laurel Elementary, Abbott Middle School and Hillsdale High School – are well-regarded and proximity to shopping and dining at the Hillsdale Shopping Center, El Camino and 37th Avenue is a plus. With its subdued, tasteful mid-century suburban style and west-of-El Camino location, Westwood Knolls is an attractive option for buyers priced out of neighborhoods like Baywood and Aragon.

To view a detailed google map of the Westwood Knolls neighborhood, click here. The MLS area is 425.

Schools

Prior to World War II, Westwood Knolls was a different place. Its hilly terrain discouraged building during the early days of San Mateo. Many of today’s Westwood Knolls streets did not exist. Those that did were unpaved. Fortunately for those who now live in Westwood Knolls’ sturdy 1940s and 1950s homes, Axel Johnson of the San Mateo Investment Company took on the challenge of taming San Mateo’s southern hills. Johnson was one of the first investors to see the potential windfall in expanding San Mateo south from downtown. He began in the 1930s by creating a commercial strip at 25th Avenue then continued south into the former McClellan Estate, to where the fledgling San Mateo Hospital had set up shop in 1923. Westwood Knolls grew up around here. Most Westwood Knolls real estate was built after this, Johnson and the San Mateo Investment Company began building in 1939. By 1951 they’d completed 1,000 homes.