The Town of Hillsborough, celebrating its Centennial on May 5, 2010, got its start as a rural, estate-dotted landscape incorporated back in 1910. While the population has increased from those first days of 750 mostly San Franicsco-based residents to its current size of approximately 10,800, there is still a rare sense of exclusivity and space with a minimum lot size restriction of a half-acre (and minimum home size of 2500 sf), The zoning of the town’s 6.2 square miles has always been restricted to SFR (single family residences), meaning no commerce, no apartments, condominiums or townhomes.
Hillsborough is considered one of the wealthiest towns in the country (median income: $370,945) with one of the most expensive housing markets and was named in the Top 100 Best Places to Live by Money magazine in 2007. The lowest priced home on the Hillsborough real estate market is a short sale on Darrell Road in the Carolands area listed at $1,499,000, considered as a remodel project or lot value. Inventory never really balloons, so it can be challenging awaiting new listings. Out of a total of 3804 housing units, there are only 76 for sale, which is less than 2%. Not to fear, I always have insider data on non-MLS happenings, so please email me to stay on my subscriber list: geoffrey@geoffreynelson.com
Diversity abounds amongst Hillsborough’s rolling hills and winding drives, with a current price range from $1,499,000 to $29,950,000 (350 West Santa Inez) and sized between a modest rancher of 1840 square feet to a palatial estate of 18,000 square feet. Lot sizes on those available range from the half-acre to just under 4 acres.
Given the niche market for higher-end real estate, you tend to see homes on the market for a longer period of time, but even so, 24 of those currently available have been on for less than 30 days. And given the stability and established heritage of the town, only 3 of those are short sales. Five-bedroom homes dominate the listings (27), but you can find anything between 2 and 8 bedrooms to suit your needs, and 30 of them come with a pool.
Currently the Carolands neighborhood of Hillsborough has the most homes available, with 13 listings ranging in price from $1,499,000 to a high of $9,950,000, with the median listing price running about $2,690,000. I recently sold my Carolands listing at 3635 Ralston, (HillsboroughPrivateEstate.com) a 4/4.5 gated estate on a half acre+ that featured a mid-century modern home of 4,760 square feet closing this year at $2,565,000. Also to be found in this neighborhood are the aforementioned $1,499,000 rancher at 670 Darrell, a 3 year old one-level Spanish Revival priced at $4,375,000 at 2768 Ralston, and an 8-year-old custom estate at 435 Pullman that evokes a Tuscan postcard—now reduced to $9,950,000 from a 2007 peak of $15,000,000 and a 2008 peak of $12,800,000. Incidentally Ralston and Pullman are both currently listed by McGuire Real Estate.
If you’re making the open house rounds this weekend, you can check out my handy and newly installed Open Home Finder on the GeoffreyNelson.com homepage. Filter by city and price, and hit the ground running!
*Centennial Event Today at Hillsborough Town Hall, 4pm-6pm a short program, music, cake, burial of the time capsule and dedication of the new Centennial Park! We'll have vintage cars as well as a historic exhibit inside Council Chambers...plus some other surprises.*