home / burlingame / burlingame terrace
burlingame neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Burlingame Terrace, Burlingame Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The flat grid between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks from Oak Grove Avenue past Broadway to Mills Avenue: 1910s and 1920s houses, duplex blocks, McKinley School and the Broadway shops.
Burlingame Terrace by the numbers
burlingame terrace by the numbers · live from the mls
- for sale now…
- median list price…
- homes sold, last 12 months…
- median sale price, 12 mo…
- median price per sq ft, sold…
- sale price vs. list…
Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Burlingame Terrace (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in burlingame terrace · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Burlingame Terrace
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Burlingame Terrace from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Loading listings…
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 (Burlingame Terrace (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Burlingame Terrace came to be
This stretch of Burlingame was subdivided in pieces, and county parcel records still show the seams. The local historical society says the earliest Easton subdivision map filed with the county, Easton Addition No. 1 of 1905, covered the land from California Drive to El Camino Real between Sanchez Creek and Broadway. Those lots on Chula Vista, Laguna, Paloma, Capuchino and Sanchez avenues are still recorded as Easton Addition even though they sit on the downtown side of El Camino Real. Southeast of the creek, toward Oak Grove Avenue, the lots are recorded as Burlingame Terrace; northwest of Broadway they are recorded as Burlingame Grove.
The Burlingame Terrace lots near Oak Grove Avenue break the grid into curving Acacia Drive, Palm Drive, Edgehill Drive, Crossway Road and Farringdon Lane, and their houses date to a median assessor year of 1922. One more small subdivision sits inside the Terrace: about 20 houses on Willborough Road and Willborough Place, built in 1931 to 1935 on lots of roughly 3,300 square feet. Most of the rest filled in during the 1910s and 1920s, when the General Plan says the city's older neighborhoods were built with Craftsman and vernacular houses, joined by Tudor and Mediterranean styles by the mid-1920s.
Broadway is the neighborhood's main street. The General Plan describes the Broadway commercial district as a neighborhood retail and service center for north Burlingame, and its Broadway Mixed Use designation keeps shops and restaurants on the ground floor, allows homes only on upper floors and caps buildings at three stories. At the tracks, the weekend-only Broadway Caltrain station and the city's planned Broadway grade separation sit at the same corner.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Paloma, Capuchino and Laguna avenues run parallel to El Camino Real and California Drive for much of the neighborhood's length, crossed by Oak Grove Avenue, Sanchez Avenue, Carmelita Avenue, Broadway and Mills Avenue. The Burlingame Grove end adds shorter streets such as Grove, Summer, Marquita, Juanita, Rhinette and Lincoln avenues. Chula Vista Avenue and Majilla Avenue run close to the tracks.
City and county records count about 760 single-family homes, and the assessor lists about four in five of them as one story. The median house dates to 1924; 78 percent were built before 1930 and only about 4 percent since 2000. Lots are modest: a median of about 5,750 square feet, with the middle half between about 4,700 and 6,000. The Burlingame Terrace lots run a bit larger (median about 6,400), the Burlingame Grove lots about 6,000.
Zoning is mixed block by block. About half the non-condo parcels are R-1; about a fifth are R-2, mostly on Sanchez, Laguna, Paloma, Capuchino, Chula Vista and Edgehill; and about a fifth are R-3, concentrated on the El Camino Real frontage and parts of Chula Vista, Capuchino, Paloma and Laguna. County use codes show the result: about 37 duplexes, 42 houses converted to two units, 38 lots with more than one detached unit, about 40 three- and four-unit buildings and about 90 small apartment buildings, alongside condominiums on El Camino Real and Broadway.
streets in burlingame terrace
- El Camino Real
- California Drive
- Oak Grove Avenue
- Acacia Drive
- Palm Drive
- Edgehill Drive
- Crossway Road
- Farringdon Lane
- Fairfield Road
- Willborough Road
- Willborough Place
- Neuchatel Avenue
- Paloma Avenue
- Capuchino Avenue
- Laguna Avenue
- Chula Vista Avenue
- Majilla Avenue
- Sanchez Avenue
- Carmelita Avenue
- Broadway
- Lincoln Avenue
- Rhinette Avenue
- Juanita Avenue
- Grove Avenue
- Summer Avenue
- Marquita Avenue
- Mills Avenue
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Burlingame Terrace
- park
Paloma Playground
At 1328 Edgehill Drive in the Terrace blocks. The city lists picnic tables and a playground and notes the site is for limited day use.
- park
Laguna Park
At 1414 Laguna Avenue in the Burlingame Grove blocks, about half an acre in the city's park map layer, with picnic tables, a playground and a tennis court.
- shopping
Broadway
The shops and restaurants on Broadway between El Camino Real and California Drive are the neighborhood's own commercial street, zoned for ground-floor retail with homes above.
- landmark
Easton Branch Library
Just across El Camino Real at Easton Drive and Cabrillo Avenue, about 0.2 mile from the nearest edge (straight-line). The city library says the branch opened in 1943 in the former North Burlingame Women's Club building and was remodeled in 2004 keeping its 1920s-era style.
- park
Bayside Park and the Bay Trail
Across US 101 via the Broadway interchange, about a third to half a mile from the Broadway end (straight-line). Bayside Fields at 1125 Airport Boulevard has lighted fields, and the city says its trails connect with the Bay Trail.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Census school district maps put the whole neighborhood in the Burlingame School District (TK-8) and the San Mateo Union High School District. McKinley Elementary is inside it at 701 Paloma Avenue, by Oak Grove Avenue. Lincoln Elementary (1801 Devereux Drive) and Roosevelt Elementary (1151 Vancouver Avenue) are across El Camino Real, about 0.3 to 0.4 mile from the nearest edge, and Burlingame Intermediate School (1715 Quesada Way) about 0.8 mile; Burlingame High School (1 Mangini Way) is about 0.2 mile across the tracks (all straight-line). The Burlingame district says placement is capacity-based and a neighborhood school is not guaranteed. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Burlingame School District guide · San Mateo Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Caltrain: Broadway station (1190 California Drive, 119 parking spaces) is at the Broadway corner but is served on weekends only, per Caltrain. On weekdays use Burlingame station (290 California Drive), about 0.4 to 1.6 miles away, or Millbrae station, with BART, about 1.1 to 2.3 miles (straight-line).
- Broadway grade separation: the city's preferred design, approved in 2016, would partially lower Broadway and partially raise the tracks. The city's project page lists construction from April 2024 to July 2027, dependent on funding; check the current schedule.
- US 101 is about 0.3 mile from the middle of the neighborhood (straight-line) at the Broadway interchange; the city's project page describes its reconstruction to replace the 1947 original, with construction notices from 2014 to 2017. El Camino Real (SR 82) runs the west edge; I-280 is about 2 miles west (straight-line).
- Bikes: the city's Carmelita, Paloma and Capuchino neighborhood bicycle boulevard is planned as a quick-build project with speed cushions, curb extensions and high-visibility crosswalks, from the 2020 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
- On foot: Broadway's shops are within about half a mile for most of the neighborhood; Burlingame Avenue is about 0.2 to 1.5 miles from the Oak Grove end to the Mills end (straight-line).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Burlingame Terrace: what we check
Buying here
- Check the FEMA flood zone for the address. About a fifth of the non-condo parcels are in Zone AH, FEMA's shallow-flooding Special Flood Hazard Area, with base flood elevations of 16 feet on the Terrace side and 14 feet in the Grove, mostly on the blocks toward California Drive (California, Laguna, Grove, Paloma, Chula Vista, Edgehill, Sanchez, Mills, Marquita). Federally backed loans there require flood insurance; ask for an elevation certificate. The city's flood page notes that its 1981 flood map already designated a 'Laguna Area.'
- Read the zoning of the lot and its neighbors. R-1, R-2 and R-3 sit side by side here, so a duplex, fourplex or small apartment building can be next door, and what you can add depends on the district.
- Pull permit history for any second unit. County records show 42 houses converted to two units and 38 lots with more than one detached unit; confirm each unit is permitted before you count its rent or square footage.
- Plan for design review on any new house or second story; with about four in five houses one story, many buyers plan to add up, and the city reviews that against its Residential Design Guidebook and R-1 floor-area limits.
- Ask for the natural hazard disclosure and look at the tracks. The General Plan's liquefaction map shows moderate risk on the California Drive side, and its sea-level-rise map shows some blocks near California Drive affected in the 6-foot scenario. The city counted 104 weekday trains in its grade separation study and expects more.
Selling here
- Put the flood facts first: the FEMA zone for your address and, in Zone AH, an elevation certificate so buyers can price insurance.
- Document every unit and conversion with permits; on R-2 and R-3 lots, a short zoning summary from the planning division answers what a buyer could build.
- Lead with walkability: McKinley School, Paloma Playground, Laguna Park and the Broadway shops are inside or at the edge of the neighborhood.
- Give the real lot size and story count from county records; a larger lot or an approved second-story plan stands out where most houses are one story on about 5,750 square feet.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Burlingame Terrace questions, answered
Where does Burlingame Terrace end?
The recorded Burlingame Terrace lots cover the Oak Grove Avenue end, around Acacia Drive, Edgehill Drive and Crossway Road. The MLS area of that name also covers the blocks between El Camino Real and California Drive up to Broadway, which were recorded as Easton Addition No. 1. This guide continues past Broadway to Mills Avenue to include Burlingame Grove.
Is Burlingame Grove part of this guide?
Yes. The Burlingame Grove streets between Broadway and Mills Avenue, such as Laguna, Capuchino, Grove and Lincoln avenues, share the same grid, era and flood map, so they are covered here.
What is Zone AH?
A FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area for shallow flooding. About a fifth of the parcels here are in it, mostly toward California Drive, with base flood elevations of 14 or 16 feet. Federally backed loans there require flood insurance.
Do weekday trains stop at Broadway?
No. Caltrain serves Broadway station on weekends only. Weekday riders use Burlingame station on California Drive or Millbrae station, which also has BART.
Which schools serve the neighborhood?
The Burlingame School District for TK-8, with McKinley Elementary inside the neighborhood at 701 Paloma Avenue, and the San Mateo Union High School District for high school. Placement is capacity-based, so check the exact address with each district.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Burlingame Terrace? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
Questions about Burlingame Terrace? Send us a note.
