Blog > San Mateo Home Types by the Numbers: Styles, Features and What They Sell For (2026)

San Mateo Home Types by the Numbers: Styles, Features and What They Sell For (2026)

by Eric & Janelle Boyenga

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What kinds of houses sell in San Mateo, and what does each one cost? We read the listing descriptions of all 1,011 San Mateo houses sold in the two years to October 27, 2026 (median $2.15M) and sorted them by style and feature, from mid-century modern to pools and ADUs, then compared each group’s price per square foot with the typical San Mateo house.

The short answer

  • Houses: 1,011 sales, median $2.15M; 72% sold over asking. Condos and townhouses: 931 sales, median $823K.
  • Style named most often: mid-century modern (93 sales).
  • Biggest premium (15+ sales): Eichler, +16% per sq ft vs. the typical San Mateo house. Biggest discount: waterfront or water views, −8%.
  • How common: 12% single-story, 9% pool, 8% ADU and 14% air conditioning.

Next steps

By style

Styles named in at least 5 listings, most sales first. “vs. the city” compares price per square foot with the median for all San Mateo houses (shown where there are at least 10 sales). Each style links to its Silicon Valley-wide post.

StyleSalesShareMedian price$/sq ft vs. the city
Mid-century modern939%$2.35M+9%
Modern or contemporary606%$2.46M+3%
Eichler525%$2.42M+16%
Ranch323%$2.09M+8%
Modern farmhouse or new construction313%$2.5M+5%
Tudor, storybook or traditional313%$2.33M+10%
Spanish or Mediterranean242%$3.59M+9%
Craftsman or bungalow172%$1.82M+3%

By feature

Features mentioned in at least 5 listings, most sales first.

FeatureSalesShareMedian price$/sq ft vs. the city
Home office19119%$2.34M+1%
Air conditioning13714%$2.22M+3%
Remodeled12713%$2.3M+3%
Single-story12512%$2.31M+8%
View899%$2.55Mabout even
Pool889%$2.58M+1%
ADU, in-law unit or guest house828%$2.04M−2%
EV charging808%$2.4M+2%
Solar707%$2.45M+5%
Cul-de-sac616%$2.15Mabout even
Main-floor bedroom (two-story houses)596%$2.85M−9%
Corner lot465%$1.93M−5%
Three-car garage or bigger303%$2.81M−5%
Waterfront or water views273%$1.6M−8%
Wine cellar or wine room151%$2.75M−7%
Basement131%$2.4M+2%
Gated entry131%$3.68M+4%
RV or boat parking101%$1.98M−7%

By neighborhood

Our San Mateo neighborhood guides with at least 15 house sales, placed by map position; the share of each one’s sales whose listing mentions each feature. See the neighborhoods with the most single-story homes, pools and ADUs across Silicon Valley.

NeighborhoodHouse salesMedian priceSingle-storyPoolADUA/C
Beresford & Hillsdale200$2.27M14%6%7%13%
Shoreview & Parkside144$1.45M6%1%8%12%
Baywood & Aragon124$3.02M15%7%5%11%
San Mateo Village & Lauriedale74$1.82M15%3%7%19%
Sunnybrae & 19th Avenue Park73$1.92M14%1%10%18%
North Central & San Mateo Heights50$1.55M4%2%30%14%
The Highlands50$2.7M4%26%4%14%
San Mateo Park48$4.15M15%25%6%6%
Baywood Park & College Heights41$2.68M24%10%2%15%
Laurelwood & Sugarloaf38$2.42M5%16%0%8%
Fiesta Gardens & Bay Meadows29$1.85M14%48%3%34%
Mariner's Island & Lakeshore29$1.6M31%24%7%14%
Downtown & Central28$1.55M0%4%21%18%
Hayward Park & Glazenwood17$2.78M6%0%29%24%

Condos and townhouses

931 condo and townhouse sales in the same two years.

TypeSalesMedian price
Condos760$738K
Townhouses171$1.32M

How often their listings mention:

FeatureShare of sales
In-unit laundry29%
Attached or private garage8%
Air conditioning9%
End or corner unit15%
New construction1%
Pool (usually the community’s)39%

See condo and townhome features ranked for what each one sells for across Silicon Valley.

Reading it right

  • It’s what listings say. A house counts for a style or feature when its description names it; many never do.
  • Associated with, not caused by. Houses with a feature differ in other ways too: size, age, lot and street.
  • Price per square foot favors smaller houses, so features that come with bigger houses (a main-floor bedroom, a three-car garage, a view) often show a discount; they’re left out of the short answer’s premium and discount.
  • Small groups swing. A style or feature with a few dozen sales can move a lot from year to year; we show the premium only with 10 or more sales.

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). Price per square foot uses sales with 400 sq ft or more. Condo and townhouse figures are from a separate pull of the same two years. Past sales aren’t a forecast or the value of any one home.

Go deeper

In San Mateo: San Mateo neighborhoods compared, San Mateo Eichlers, single-story homes in San Mateo, homes with a pool in San Mateo, homes with an ADU in San Mateo, homes with a view in San Mateo, mid-century modern homes in San Mateo and modern and contemporary homes in San Mateo. Every city side by side: home features by city. Every home-type post: Silicon Valley home types by the numbers.

Buying or selling in San Mateo?

A Property Nerd will pull the recent sales closest to the home you’re weighing, on the same streets, and show you what buyers paid for the features it has. 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.

Questions about this post? Ask a Property Nerd.

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