Blog > Fixer-Upper Homes in San Mateo: Prices, Neighborhoods and Homes for Sale (2026)
Fixer-Upper Homes in San Mateo: Prices, Neighborhoods and Homes for Sale (2026)
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Looking for fixer-upper homes in San Mateo? Of the 1,009 houses that sold in San Mateo in the two years to October 27, 2026, 34 (3%) were described in their listings as a fixer, sold as-is or needing work (tear-downs included); across Silicon Valley it’s 3%. Here’s what they sold for, by size, price and neighborhood, and a one-click search of the ones for sale now.
The short answer
- Median price: $1.4M (all San Mateo houses: $2.15M), 14% less per square foot than the typical San Mateo house.
- Typical size: 1,285 sq ft, 3 bedrooms.
- Bidding: 74% sold over asking (all San Mateo houses: 72%).
- Where they sold most: Shoreview & Parkside (7), Beresford & Hillsdale (4) and North Central & San Mateo Heights (4).
Shopping now?
- See fixer-upper homes for sale in San Mateo now: our Feature Finder reads every live listing’s description and opens on this search.
- Search all homes for sale, then use Save Search to get new listings by email.
- Talk to a Property Nerd about the streets you’re weighing.
By bedrooms
Fixer-upper homes sold in San Mateo in the two years, by bedroom count (groups with at least 3 sales).
| Bedrooms | Sales | Median price | Median sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 7 | $1.4M | 1,240 |
| 3 | 20 | $1.39M | 1,135 |
| 4 | 6 | $1.72M | 1,720 |
By price
How the 34 sales spread across price bands.
| Sale price | Sales | Share |
|---|---|---|
| under $1M | 1 | 3% |
| $1M to $1.5M | 20 | 59% |
| $1.5M to $2M | 9 | 26% |
| $2M to $2.5M | 3 | 9% |
| $2.5M and up | 1 | 3% |
By neighborhood
Our San Mateo neighborhood guides with at least 3 such sales, placed by map position; “share” is of all house sales in the neighborhood.
| Neighborhood | Sales | Share | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoreview & Parkside | 7 | 5% | $1.21M |
| Beresford & Hillsdale | 4 | 2% | $1.83M |
| North Central & San Mateo Heights | 4 | 8% | $1.14M |
| San Mateo Village & Lauriedale | 4 | 5% | $1.36M |
| Sunnybrae & 19th Avenue Park | 3 | 4% | $1.55M |
Before you buy
- Get the full set of inspections first: foundation, roof, sewer line, electrical panel and any pest report. Our Inspection Decoder helps you read them.
- Price the work before you write the offer: bids, permits and time. Some loans need a house that’s livable at closing; ask your lender about renovation loans.
- Some fixers sell for the land. Our Lot Value Lab shows what lots alone are worth, and the Build Lab what a lot can hold.
How we counted
Closed sales of houses (MLS property type “single family home”) with a San Mateo address between October 28, 2024 and October 27, 2026, reported to the MLS and read through the IDX feeds that power our home search, with repeat records from different feeds removed (normalized address plus sale date). A house counts when its listing description says fixer, as-is, needs work, TLC, tear-down, contractor’s special or similar; some of these sell mostly for the land. Price per square foot uses sales with 400 sq ft or more and is compared with the median for all San Mateo houses. Neighborhoods are our guides’ outlines, placed by each sale’s map position. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.
Go deeper
Fixer-upper homes across Silicon Valley, every home type in San Mateo, San Mateo neighborhoods compared, remodeled homes in San Mateo and the neighborhoods with the most single-story homes, pools and ADUs.
Looking for fixer-upper homes in San Mateo?
A Property Nerd will tell you which streets have them, what the recent ones sold for, and set up a search that catches new listings the day they hit. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a strategy call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.