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south san francisco neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood, South San Francisco Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The flats between I-280 and El Camino Real below Westborough Boulevard: 1940s-1950s tracts, apartments near El Camino, and two county islands, the private California Golf Club and Country Club Park.
Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood by the numbers
avalon, brentwood & southwood by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in avalon, brentwood & southwood · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood came to be
Brentwood came first. The city's neighborhood story map records bus service and street lighting for Brentwood in 1946, a 1947 aerial of the Brentwood tract and a Brentwood Market around 1950, and city subdivision records list Brentwood maps No. 1, 2 and 3 between 1940 and 1959. Census estimates for tract 6024 still show the early start: about a quarter of homes date from the 1940s and almost a third from the 1950s.
Avalon and Southwood followed. The story map pairs Avalon and Brentwood in early-1950s aerials and shows Southwood around 1950, along with a 1948 PG&E proposal for Southwood. The subdivision records list Avalon Park No. 2 through 4, Avalon Pines, Southwood No. 1 through 3, Parkhaven, Ponderosa Hills, Country Club Manor and Country Club Park No. 1, all recorded between 1940 and 1959, then smaller maps such as Alta Vista, Avalon Heights and Avalon Terrace from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Two pieces never joined the city. San Mateo LAFCo's 2018 report on unincorporated islands lists the California Golf Club (203.9 acres) and Country Club Park (53 acres) as county islands inside South San Francisco, and says the majority of Country Club Park homes are on septic systems. The golf club is private. Country Club Park's homes, on Country Club Drive, Alta Vista Drive, Dorado Way, Blondin Way and parts of Alida Way and Constitution Way per Census maps, have South San Francisco addresses but county planning and permits.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Brentwood, at the south end against the San Bruno line, is where the street names end in -wood: Rockwood Drive, Greenwood Drive, Northwood Drive, Briarwood Drive, Rosewood Way, Hazelwood Drive, Kenwood Way, Maywood Way, Mosswood Way, Ravenwood Way, Springwood Way and Wildwood Drive, around Brentwood Park. All -wood, no forest.
Avalon fills the middle along Avalon Drive, Ponderosa Road, Granada Drive, Valencia Drive, Zamora Drive, Alhambra Road and Rosa Flora Circle, with the Avalon Pines streets (Yellowstone Drive, Yosemite Drive, Mariposa Drive, Almanor Avenue, Valverde Drive) tucked between I-280 and the golf course. Southwood is the wedge between West Orange Avenue and El Camino Real: Southwood Drive, Hill Avenue, Knoll Circle, Haven Avenue, Rainier Avenue, Bryce Avenue and Fairway Drive, with the Southwood shopping frontage on El Camino.
Housing is mostly detached: city parcel records list about 1,830 single-family parcels, the middle half on lots of about 4,500 to 5,600 square feet, and Census estimates put about 70 percent of the tract's homes in detached houses. Nearly all the rest is in apartment buildings of 10 or more units, clustered near El Camino Real and Alida Way, where city zoning includes El Camino Real mixed-use and high-density residential districts.
streets in avalon, brentwood & southwood
- Westborough Boulevard
- El Camino Real
- West Orange Avenue
- Avalon Drive
- Ponderosa Road
- Alida Way
- Granada Drive
- Valencia Drive
- Zamora Drive
- Alhambra Road
- Rosa Flora Circle
- Yellowstone Drive
- Yosemite Drive
- Valverde Drive
- Southwood Drive
- Hill Avenue
- Knoll Circle
- Fairway Drive
- Rockwood Drive
- Greenwood Drive
- Northwood Drive
- Briarwood Drive
- Rosewood Way
- Hazelwood Drive
- Kenwood Way
- Maywood Way
- Wildwood Drive
- Country Club Drive
- Alta Vista Drive
- Dorado Way
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood
- park
Brentwood Park
About 3 acres at Rosewood Way and Briarwood Drive. The city's park inventory lists a play area, restrooms, picnic tables, tennis and basketball courts, ballfields and a walking trail.
- park
Avalon Park
About 2.4 acres off Dorado Way, with a play area, restrooms, picnic areas and ballfields in the city's park inventory.
- park
Zamora Park and Avalon Memorial Lots
Zamora Park is a 0.7-acre playlot on Zamora Drive; the Avalon Memorial Lots are about 1.4 acres of city green space at Avalon Drive and Valencia Drive (city park layer).
- shopping
El Camino Real
Shopping centers line the east edge, including the Southwood frontage near Westborough Boulevard and the Brentwood center near Rockwood Drive (public maps); the Tanforan center and San Bruno BART are just south in San Bruno.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Avalon, Brentwood and Southwood are in the South San Francisco Unified School District (K-12) at every point we checked against Census district maps, including the unincorporated pockets. Ponderosa Elementary (295 Ponderosa Rd) and Baden High School, the district's continuation high school (825 Southwood Dr), are inside the area; Los Cerritos Elementary and South San Francisco High School are just east across El Camino Real. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Getting around
- I-280 runs along the west edge, with interchanges at Westborough Boulevard and at Avalon Drive near the San Bruno line (public maps).
- El Camino Real (SR 82) runs along the east edge, with SamTrans' ECR line; check SamTrans for current stops.
- San Bruno BART, at the Tanforan center, is about 1.2 miles straight-line from the middle (closer from Brentwood); South San Francisco BART is about 1.4 miles.
- The Centennial Way trail runs along the BART line just east of El Camino Real, about three miles between the South San Francisco and San Bruno BART stations (city trails page).
- The South San Francisco Caltrain station is about 1.9 miles straight-line northeast.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood: what we check
Buying here
- Check the parcel's jurisdiction. Country Club Park (Country Club Dr, Alta Vista Dr, Dorado Way, Blondin Way and parts of Alida Way and Constitution Way, per Census maps) is unincorporated county land with South San Francisco addresses: county planning and permits, and the majority of homes there are on septic per LAFCo. Ask for septic inspection and pumping records and whether the house is connected to city sewer.
- About 190 of roughly 1,860 residential parcels (about 10 percent, by our count) sit in a state-mapped liquefaction zone (2021), mainly Granada Dr, Avalon Dr, Valverde Dr, Valencia Dr, Mira Vista Way, Alta Vista Dr, Alhambra Rd and Tahoe Ct near the golf course. Check the parcel.
- FEMA maps a narrow band of its 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood zone (shaded X) along parts of Wildwood Dr, Maywood Way, Hazelwood Dr and Kenwood Way in Brentwood; it is not a mandatory-insurance zone, but check the FIRM panel for the address.
- Many houses date from the 1940s: check foundations, electrical, water and drain pipes, the sewer lateral and the permit record for additions.
- All of South San Francisco is inside SFO's airport influence area (2012 land use compatibility plan), which requires an airport-proximity disclosure; if the house was treated under SFO's noise insulation program, ask for the records, and check eligibility with SFO's Noise Office.
Selling here
- Say which tract the house is in (Brentwood, Avalon, Avalon Pines or Southwood) and, if it applies, that it is in unincorporated Country Club Park; buyers need to know who issues permits.
- For Country Club Park homes, gather septic inspection and pumping records, any sewer agreement and county permits before listing.
- Order the natural-hazard disclosure report early, especially for streets near the golf course in the liquefaction zone.
- Give the BART distances: San Bruno BART is about a mile straight-line from Brentwood, and South San Francisco BART about 1.4 miles from the middle.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Avalon, Brentwood & Southwood questions, answered
Is Country Club Park part of South San Francisco?
Not legally. It is an unincorporated San Mateo County island surrounded by the city, about 53 acres per LAFCo, with South San Francisco mailing addresses. County planning and permits apply, and the majority of homes there are on septic systems.
Is the California Golf Club open to the public?
No. It is a private club on unincorporated county land along Westborough Boulevard, and membership is separate from owning a home nearby.
How old are the homes?
Mostly 1940s through 1960s. Census estimates date about a quarter of homes in the tract to the 1940s, almost a third to the 1950s and about a sixth to the 1960s.
Which BART station is closest?
From Brentwood, San Bruno BART at the Tanforan center, about a mile straight-line. From the Southwood end, South San Francisco BART is about 1.1 miles straight-line.
Which school district serves Avalon and Brentwood?
South San Francisco Unified School District, including the unincorporated pockets. Ponderosa Elementary and Baden High School are inside the area. Check the exact address with the district.
next door
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