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san mateo neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Baywood & Aragon, San Mateo Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
San Mateo west of El Camino from West Santa Inez Avenue to Highway 92: the 1927 Baywood tract, the 1929 Aragon tract, the older Homestead blocks and 1940s Baywood Knolls, up to the Hillsborough line.
Baywood & Aragon by the numbers
baywood & aragon by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Baywood & Aragon (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in baywood & aragon · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Baywood & Aragon
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Baywood & Aragon 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 (Baywood & Aragon (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Baywood & Aragon came to be
Before the tracts, this hillside was estate country. The city's 2026 historic context statement describes El Cerrito, an early country estate named for a small hill near San Mateo Creek, whose main house stood on what is now De Sabla Road, and a neighboring estate west of El Camino whose 1868 mansion was called Baywood for the property's many trees. Neither house survives. One garden does: a Japanese tea garden laid out around 1906, with a teahouse built about 1907 to 1909, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a private home with no public access.
The subdividing started in 1927. In April that year the city annexed the former Baywood estate, and the Dunn-Williams Company subdivided it, with a new Baywood Park Company selling lots. Its engineers were told to plan streets that would avoid 'sacrificing trees,' which is why Baywood's streets bend with the ground. By late 1927 roads and about a dozen houses were in, many on Cornell Avenue. In 1930 a newspaper-sponsored model home on Fordham Road, a Monterey Colonial Revival design by Grimes and Schoening called 'The Californian,' drew more than 30,000 visitors; it is now a private home.
Aragon followed in 1929: a 10-block, roughly 100-acre tract between Baywood and the older San Mateo City Homestead. Meyer Brothers opened display houses such as the Cordova (Spanish Colonial Revival) and the York (Tudor Revival). In 1933 about 82 acres passed to the Aragon Company, which sold lots to several builders, so Streamline Moderne houses turn up too. The Homestead was surveyed in 1870 and annexed in January 1927, but a 1920 fire-insurance map shows houses only near El Camino on Hobart, Madison and Barneson Avenues and Maple and Nadina Streets. Assessor years show how the rest filled in: one-story Elmwood houses south of Barneson in 1940 to 1942, Baywood Knolls mostly 1940 to 1952, and Foothill Terrace, Vernon Terrace and the Ashwood and Murphy Drive streets from the late 1940s into the 1970s. North of Crystal Springs Road, developer David D. Bohannon built El Cerrito Manor on part of the El Cerrito estate.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Three street patterns meet here. Baywood and Baywood Knolls climb from El Camino toward Crystal Springs Road on curving streets, many named for colleges: Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, Colgate, Bucknell, Tulane, Fordham, Dartmouth, Amherst and Georgetown, with Parrott Drive as the long spine. Aragon uses Spanish names (Aragon Boulevard, Seville Way, Avila Road, Castilian Way, Sonora Drive), and the 1940s Parrott Park tract next door adds Alhambra Road, Capistrano Way and Mission Drive. Below Aragon the old Homestead grid runs on Hobart, Madison and Barneson Avenues, crossed by plant-named streets such as Maple, Oak, Locust, Kalmia and Tilia.
County assessor fields count about 2,400 single-family houses, roughly two-thirds of them one story. The original Baywood tract runs older and taller: its median house dates to 1937 and more than half are two stories. The city's historic context statement names Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and French Eclectic as styles found here, and Aragon adds Streamline Moderne. Baywood Knolls and the Elmwood blocks are mostly one-story houses from about 1940 to 1952 on lots near 6,600 and 5,000 sq ft. Full rebuilds are rare: only about 30 houses carry assessor build years after 1999, so change here mostly comes as remodels, second stories and rear additions.
Apartments and condominiums cluster along El Camino Real, on the West 3rd to 5th Avenue blocks and on Mounds Road, Crystal Springs Road and Madison Avenue: about 620 condominium parcels, most built from the 1970s through the 2000s, plus older apartment buildings such as the 1929 Casa Baywood at the El Camino entrance, designed by Ernest L. Norberg. The north end around Gramercy Drive, Ericson Road and El Cerrito Avenue is zoned R1-A, with 10,000 sq ft minimum lots.
streets in baywood & aragon
- Parrott Drive
- Aragon Boulevard
- Seville Way
- Avila Road
- Castilian Way
- Sonora Drive
- Hobart Avenue
- Barneson Avenue
- Madison Avenue
- Maple Street
- Edinburgh Street
- Nevada Avenue
- Virginia Avenue
- Georgetown Avenue
- Oregon Avenue
- Fairfax Avenue
- Harvard Road
- Cornell Avenue
- Fordham Road
- Yale Drive
- Columbia Drive
- Capistrano Way
- Alhambra Road
- Foothill Drive
- Murphy Drive
- Crystal Springs Road
- De Sabla Road
- Gramercy Drive
- El Cerrito Avenue
- Mounds Road
- West 3rd Avenue
- Alameda de las Pulgas
- El Camino Real
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Baywood & Aragon
- park
Borel Park
A 1.15-acre city park in the Homestead blocks between Barneson and Borel Avenues, with two children's play areas, lawns, shade structures and picnic tables.
- park
Bay Tree Park
A 0.4-acre city mini-park at 150 Dartmouth Road in the original Baywood tract.
- landmark
San Mateo Main Library
The city's main library is at 55 West Third Avenue, inside the area's El Camino strip; the city replaced the old main library at Dartmouth Road and 3rd Avenue with the current building in 2006.
- shopping
Downtown San Mateo and Central Park
Across El Camino: the downtown blocks on B Street and 3rd and 4th Avenues, and the city's 16.3-acre Central Park with its Japanese Garden, about half a mile straight-line from the middle of the area.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Census school-district maps put every city address in this area in the San Mateo-Foster City School District for elementary and middle school and the San Mateo Union High School District. Three public schools sit inside it: Baywood Elementary at 600 Alameda de las Pulgas (its building is on the California Register of Historical Resources), Borel Middle School on Barneson Avenue and Aragon High School at 900 Alameda de las Pulgas. Homes across the town line are in Hillsborough and its own school district. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
San Mateo Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- San Mateo Caltrain station (385 First Avenue, Zone 2) is about 0.8 mile straight-line from the middle of the area, across El Camino; Hayward Park station (401 Concar Drive, Zone 2) is about 1 mile.
- SamTrans ECR (Daly City BART to Palo Alto Transit Center) connects at both stations; SamTrans Route 250 links downtown San Mateo and College of San Mateo.
- State Route 92 runs along the south edge, with interchanges at El Camino Real and Alameda de las Pulgas; west it reaches I-280, east it reaches US 101 and the San Mateo Bridge.
- US 101 is about 1.2 miles straight-line east of the middle, via 3rd Avenue or Highway 92.
- El Camino Real and Alameda de las Pulgas are the north-south arteries; Crystal Springs Road follows the Hillsborough line.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Baywood & Aragon: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm the city. The west edge is the Hillsborough town line along Crystal Springs Road, Oak Valley Road and Woodland Drive and behind Gramercy Drive and De Sabla Road. Hillsborough parcels use the 94010 ZIP, the Hillsborough City School District and town planning rules, so check the tax bill and county parcel record.
- Fire maps differ. CAL FIRE's February 24, 2025 local map shows a Moderate fire hazard zone only along the uphill edge (Oak Valley Road, upper Parrott Drive, Wildwood Drive, Treetop Lane, Melrose and Verano Courts). The city's older GIS layer still shades about 270 addresses on Parrott, Columbia, Yale, Princeton and nearby streets as Very High and marks much of the area as a fire-retardant roof zone. San Mateo Consolidated Fire says local adoption of the new map is in progress; read the hazard disclosure and ask about roofing and vents.
- San Mateo Creek runs through the north end. FEMA's map puts De Sabla Road, Baywood Avenue, Baytree Way and part of Crystal Springs Road in the 0.2-percent-annual-chance zone (shaded X), with a handful of Arroyo Court and El Camino Real addresses in Zone AE. Check the specific address on FEMA's map.
- The city's slope-failure layer marks moderate potential on Mounds Road, around Gramercy Drive and on the Foothill, Murphy and Ashwood streets near Highway 92. Hillside projects fall under the city's slope and hillside development standards (municipal code chapter 27.83), so ask about soils before planning a big addition.
- Most houses date from 1925 to 1955: budget for original wiring, galvanized pipes, older foundations and the sewer lateral, and ask for permits on past additions. The city adopted a new historic preservation ordinance in May 2026; if the house is an intact period-revival original, ask planning whether it is listed or eligible before changing the exterior.
Selling here
- Name the tract. Buyers search for Baywood, Baywood Knolls, Aragon and Parrott Park, and the legal description on your title report tells you which one you are in.
- Have hazard answers ready: which fire map applies (CAL FIRE 2025 versus the city's older layer), the FEMA zone near San Mateo Creek, and permits for any additions.
- If the house keeps original revival details such as clay tile, arched openings or half-timbering, document them along with what has been updated.
- Condominiums on El Camino, West 3rd Avenue and Mounds Road: pull HOA documents, the reserve study and any assessments early, and check current dues.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Baywood & Aragon questions, answered
Is Baywood in San Mateo or Hillsborough?
The streets in this guide are in the City of San Mateo. The Hillsborough line runs along Crystal Springs Road, Oak Valley Road and Woodland Drive and behind Gramercy Drive and De Sabla Road, and a few addresses near it are in Hillsborough with 94010 ZIPs. Check the county parcel record.
When was Baywood built?
The former Baywood estate was annexed and subdivided in 1927. By late 1927 roads and about a dozen houses were in, and assessor records date the original tract's median house to 1937. Baywood Knolls, uphill, was built mostly from 1940 to 1952.
What is the Aragon tract?
A 10-block, roughly 100-acre subdivision started in 1929 by Meyer Brothers and continued from 1933 by the Aragon Company, which is why its Spanish-named streets mix Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Streamline Moderne houses.
What does 'Homestead' mean in a listing here?
It refers to the San Mateo City Homestead, a 345-acre subdivision surveyed in 1870 and annexed in 1927, covering the Hobart, Madison and Barneson Avenue blocks and the plant-named streets toward Highway 92.
Is Baywood in a fire or flood zone?
Partly. CAL FIRE's 2025 map shows a Moderate fire zone on the uphill edge, while the city's older layer marks more of the Baywood Knolls slope Very High. Near San Mateo Creek, FEMA shows a 0.2-percent-annual-chance strip and a few Zone AE addresses.
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