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foster city neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Bay Vista, Foster City Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Foster City's Neighborhood 2, between the lagoon and the bay levee: bird-named streets of 1960s and 1970s houses, some Eichlers, Audubon Elementary, Gull Park's sand beach and the levee trail.
Bay Vista by the numbers
bay vista by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Bay Vista (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in bay vista · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Bay Vista
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Bay Vista 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 (Bay Vista (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Bay Vista came to be
Bay Vista is the city's Neighborhood 2, the curve of land between the lagoon and the bay levee. Like the rest of Foster City it sits on Brewer Island fill: the salt ponds were drained in the early 1960s and about 18 million tons of fill raised the ground about four feet, per the city's land use element. Developer T. Jack Foster's 1961 master plan grouped the town into nine residential neighborhoods around a lagoon built for drainage and recreation.
This is where the lagoon began. The city's general plan says the first segment was completed in Neighborhoods 2 and 3 in 1964, and that the lagoon was laid out with islands to create as many waterfront lots as possible, which explains Shearwater Isle and Surfbird Isle reaching into the channel. Eichler Homes built here too: an Eichler history places Foster City's 1963 to 1968 Eichlers in Neighborhoods One, Two and Four, with Neighborhood Two's on bird-named streets. Census estimates for the tract covering Bay Vista give a median year built of 1973, split between the 1960s (about 36%) and the 1970s (about 39%).
The west end changed later. The general plan notes that the Port O' Call shopping center at East Hillsdale Boulevard and Gull Avenue was redeveloped as the Miramar Apartments, and the north tip by the San Mateo Bridge became Bridgeview Park after the city acquired the land next to Werder Pier, including the parking lot and restrooms, from the county. The levee along Beach Park Boulevard was rebuilt in the city's Levee Improvements Project, which reached final completion in February 2024.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Nearly every street is a bird. Gull Avenue and Crane Avenue run through the middle; Widgeon, Swan, Egret, Teal, Sanderling and Grebe Streets cross them; and short courts named for the Sandpiper, Puffin, Killdeer, Curlew, Loon, Pelican, Stilt, Duck, Turnstone and Avocet end in cul-de-sacs. Shearwater Isle and Surfbird Isle are the lagoon-front fingers on the west side, and Flying Fish Street and Marlin Avenue mark the line with Carmel Village.
City land-use records count about 799 single-family lots and about 201 townhouse lots. The houses sit on R-1 lots with a median of about 5,800 square feet (computed from county parcel maps); the townhouses run along Marlin Avenue, Gull Avenue, Beach Park Boulevard and Grebe Street, plus the Lark, Eagle, Condor and Dove Lane groups that listing records file as Treasure Isle-Birds. Sea Island Lane is a small single-family group zoned R-1 with a planned-development overlay. The apartment buildings are at the edges: the Miramar Apartments on East Hillsdale Boulevard and a complex at the north end of Beach Park Boulevard.
Expect 1960s and 1970s houses, some Eichlers with flat or low-pitched roofs and atrium plans, and a steady run of second-story additions and rebuilds. New houses and additions on R-1 lots go through the city's architectural review, which weighs scale, privacy, sunlight and bay or lagoon views. The Foster City Eichler homes page on this site covers the Eichler models.
streets in bay vista
- Gull Avenue
- Crane Avenue
- Beach Park Boulevard
- Marlin Avenue
- Flying Fish Street
- Widgeon Street
- Grebe Street
- Swan Street
- Egret Street
- Teal Street
- Sanderling Street
- Shearwater Isle
- Surfbird Isle
- Sandpiper Court
- Puffin Court
- Killdeer Court
- Curlew Court
- Loon Court
- Turnstone Court
- Lark Lane
- Eagle Lane
- Sea Island Lane
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Bay Vista
- park
Gull Park
About 3.1 acres on Gull Avenue with a sand beach on the lagoon, two playground areas, a large lawn, restrooms and reservable picnic tables, per the city.
- park
Killdeer Park and Turnstone Park
Two small neighborhood parks tucked among the bird-named courts, on Killdeer Court and Turnstone Court (public maps).
- park
Bridgeview Park
At the north tip next to the San Mateo Bridge and the old Werder Pier, on land the city took over from the county; the city lists a bike path, picnic areas and restrooms.
- landmark
The levee trail
Beach Park Boulevard runs beside the levee, whose rebuilt trail is a 12-foot asphalt path with gravel shoulders and a 15 mph limit; it is part of the Bay Trail.
- shopping
Beach Park Blvd and Foster City Blvd centers
A small strip center sits on Beach Park Boulevard near Marlin Avenue, about 0.6 mile straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood; Marlin Cove on Foster City Boulevard is about a mile away.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Bay Vista is in the San Mateo-Foster City School District for elementary and middle grades and the San Mateo Union High School District for high school; Census district maps put every home here in both. Audubon Elementary sits inside the neighborhood at 841 Gull Avenue, and Bowditch Middle School is just south in Carmel Village. Foster City has no high school; the city's general plan says the majority of its students attend San Mateo or Hillsdale High in San Mateo. Attendance areas change, so check the exact address with each district's school locator.
Foster City guide: school districts · San Mateo Union High guide
Getting around
- Caltrain: Hillsdale station (50 E. 28th Ave., San Mateo) is about 2.9 miles straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood.
- SamTrans route 251 runs on Foster City Boulevard and Beach Park Boulevard south of here, with stops at Marlin Cove and the civic center, about once an hour (timetable effective August 4, 2024); the current route map turns the loop onto Beach Park Boulevard at the south end of Foster City Boulevard, so the closest stops are on Foster City Boulevard.
- Freeways: SR-92 forms the north edge; its ramps are at Chess Drive and Metro Center Boulevard, and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge starts at the neighborhood's tip. US-101 is reached via East Hillsdale Boulevard.
- On foot and bike: the levee trail is about 0.2 mile straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood, and Beach Park Boulevard and the levee path are on the city's mapped bike network.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Bay Vista: what we check
Buying here
- Flood: FEMA's flood data show a map revision for Foster City (case 24-09-0381P) effective September 11, 2026, with these blocks in Zone X, an area with reduced flood risk due to the levee. The city says flood insurance stays optional for federally backed mortgages; get a quote anyway, and note the Measure P levee bond on the tax bill.
- Ground: nearly every parcel is inside a state-mapped liquefaction zone (San Mateo quadrangle, 2018; a few blocks near the bay fall on the Redwood Point map). Read the natural hazard disclosure and have the inspector look at foundation settlement and slab cracks.
- Lagoon lots on Shearwater and Surfbird Isles: owners maintain the lagoon side under city code chapter 9.52. Check the bulkhead, any dock and permits; the city raises the lagoon in mid-March and lowers it in mid-November.
- Bay-side lots back onto Beach Park Boulevard and the public levee trail; check fencing, privacy and road sound during a visit, and find the nearest levee access point.
- Townhouses on the Lane groups sit on private streets with an association; read the CC&Rs, reserve study and budget, and check current dues.
Selling here
- Name the street pattern buyers can picture: a court or isle lot, lagoon frontage, the walk to Gull Park and Audubon Elementary, and the distance to the levee trail.
- If the house is an Eichler, say which model if you know it and document any radiant heat, roof and electrical work.
- Have the FEMA zone with the case number, the liquefaction disclosure and the Measure P levy ready before listing.
- Gather permits and architectural review approvals for additions and second stories; a clean permit history shortens buyer questions.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Bay Vista questions, answered
Is Bay Vista an official Foster City name?
No. The city calls it Neighborhood 2. Bay Vista, Shearwater Isle, Sea Island and Treasure Isle-Birds are names used in listing records.
Are there Eichler homes in Bay Vista?
Yes. An Eichler history puts part of Foster City's 1963 to 1968 Eichler homes in Neighborhood Two, on the bird-named streets. They are mixed in with other 1960s and 1970s houses.
Is Bay Vista in a flood zone?
FEMA's flood data show Zone X, an area with reduced flood risk due to the levee, under a map revision effective September 11, 2026, after the city's levee rebuild was completed in February 2024. Check the zone for the exact parcel on FEMA's map.
Which schools serve Bay Vista?
The San Mateo-Foster City School District and the San Mateo Union High School District. Audubon Elementary is on Gull Avenue inside the neighborhood. Confirm the address with the districts.
How close is the bay?
Beach Park Boulevard runs along the bay levee on the east side, and the middle of the neighborhood is about 0.2 mile straight-line from the levee trail.
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