belmont neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Cipriani, Belmont Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Northwest Belmont's hillside streets between the Alameda and San Juan Boulevard: mostly 1950s and 1960s houses on 6,000-square-foot zoning, around Cipriani Elementary and Cipriani Park, up to the San Mateo line.
Cipriani by the numbers
cipriani by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Cipriani (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in cipriani · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Cipriani
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Cipriani 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 (Cipriani (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Cipriani came to be
Cipriani is named on the map for its main street, Cipriani Boulevard, and for Cipriani Elementary School in its middle. It is the hillside wedge between the Alameda and the canyon along San Juan Boulevard, and it was part of Belmont's 1920s country-club push: a small kiosk on the Alameda handed out brochures for Country Club Estates (a local history column), and the city's facilities map still lists a kiosk at 790 Alameda de las Pulgas, on Cipriani's edge. Listing records still file many sales here under the area name Belmont Country Club Properties.
Few of the 1920s lots sold right away. County assessor records show a scatter of houses from the 1920s and 1930s, about 70 in all, on streets like Newlands, Pullman, Semeria, Arthur, Coronet and Covington. The neighborhood was really built in one long postwar run: about 650 of its single-family houses date from the 1950s and another 360 from the 1960s.
The steep western edge came last. Monte Cresta Drive and Alhambra Drive have median build years in the late 1970s, and Haskins Drive, Longfellow Drive and East Laurel Creek Road at the north end date mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. Listing records call that north end Haskins Estates. Past that, the land drops into canyon and hillside lots that still have no houses.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Two boulevards do the work. Cipriani Boulevard climbs from Ralston Avenue to San Juan Boulevard, and Coronet Boulevard loops from Ralston Avenue up to the Alameda; Monserat, Buena Vista, Casa Bona, Ponce, Lincoln and Newlands avenues cross the slope between them. West of the school the streets bend along the canyon rim: Alhambra Drive, San Ardo Way, Monte Cresta Drive, Barclay Way and Sequoia Way. Garden Cottage is a private street, and Monte Cresta Court is privately owned but city-maintained (city street data).
Zoning is almost uniform: R-1B, 6,000 sq ft minimum per house, and the median single-family parcel is about 6,800 sq ft. The ground is not uniform. The city's parcel-slope estimates put the median R-1B lot at about a 22 percent average slope, with a bit more than a quarter at 30 percent or more. Along the western canyon about 80 parcels are zoned HRO-2, the city's subdivided hillside residential and open space zone, with median slopes above 50 percent; most of them have no house on them.
Houses run to one story: about 1,020 of the 1,570 single-family parcels in assessor data, with a median size of about 1,720 sq ft. The common house is a 1950s ranch on a sloping lot, and many have since gained a second story or a full rebuild; about 47 houses have been built since 2000. Downhill lots and uphill lots on the same street can live very differently, so look at driveways, steps and yards as carefully as floor plans.
streets in cipriani
- Cipriani Boulevard
- Coronet Boulevard
- Monserat Avenue
- Buena Vista Avenue
- Casa Bona Avenue
- Ponce Avenue
- Lincoln Avenue
- Newlands Avenue
- Pullman Avenue
- Read Avenue
- Semeria Avenue
- De Koven Avenue
- Carmelita Avenue
- Prindle Road
- Sequoia Way
- Barclay Way
- Monte Cresta Drive
- Alhambra Drive
- San Ardo Way
- San Juan Boulevard
- Haskins Drive
- Longfellow Drive
- East Laurel Creek Road
- Covington Road
- Arthur Avenue
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Cipriani
- park
Cipriani Park and dog exercise area
Behind Cipriani Elementary at 2525 Buena Vista Avenue: a ball field, a playground and a dog exercise area run by the City of Belmont (public maps).
- park
Semeria Park
A neighborhood park with a playground near Semeria and Casa Bona avenues (public maps).
- park
Waterdog Lake Open Space
The city's Waterdog Lake open space starts across Ralston Avenue, about 0.6 mile straight-line from the middle of Cipriani, with the lake and a web of trails (city trail data).
- shopping
Ralston and the Alameda
A supermarket at 2100 Ralston Avenue sits at the neighborhood's southeast corner; the Carlmont Village center (groceries, hardware, cafes) is across the Alameda, and more shops line Ralston to the east.
- landmark
The country-club kiosk
The city's facilities map lists a small kiosk at 790 Alameda de las Pulgas; a kiosk on the Alameda was the 1920s brochure stand for Country Club Estates (local history column).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Cipriani is in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District for TK-8 and the Sequoia Union High School District for high school. Cipriani Elementary School is inside the neighborhood at 2525 Buena Vista Avenue, and Ralston Middle School is about 0.6 mile straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood at 2675 Ralston Avenue. The elementary district assigns students by walking distance to the closest school that has room rather than by neighborhood zones, so living near a campus is not a guarantee. Rules and boundaries change; check the exact address with each district.
Belmont-Redwood Shores guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Ralston Avenue is the way out: west to Highway 92 (about 1.3 miles straight-line from the middle) and on to I-280, east to El Camino Real and US 101 (about 2 miles).
- Belmont Caltrain is about 1.6 miles and Hillsdale Caltrain about 1.7 miles straight-line from the middle of the neighborhood.
- SamTrans route 260 runs between San Carlos Caltrain and Carlmont Village at Ralston and the Alameda; route 295 (Hillsdale to Redwood City) also lists Belmont. Check current stops.
- Ralston Avenue carries a city-mapped bike route along the south edge. Inside the neighborhood the climbs are real; Cipriani Boulevard is a workout in either direction.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Cipriani: what we check
Buying here
- Slope is the big variable. Check the city's estimated slope for the parcel, and ask about drainage, retaining walls, foundation repairs and any geotechnical reports; ask the planning division what review an addition or second story would need.
- The state's February 2025 fire map puts the northwest edge (Haskins Drive, Longfellow Drive, Alhambra Drive, Sequoia Way, East Laurel Creek Road and parts of Monte Cresta Drive and San Juan Boulevard) in a Moderate zone, and the city's own hazard layer shades much of the neighborhood as High. Check the parcel's designation, defensible-space rules and insurance early.
- USGS landslide mapping in the city's hazard viewer marks landslide deposits under a few pockets near Sequoia Way, Lincoln Avenue, Newlands Avenue, De Koven Avenue and Monte Cresta Drive. Read the natural hazard disclosure closely there.
- Vacant HRO-2 lots along the canyon come up now and then. Building on them means hillside zoning, access and utility questions, and geotechnical work; budget time for review.
- Most houses are 1950s and 1960s: check the electrical panel, original plumbing, the sewer lateral and permits for past additions.
Selling here
- Gather permits for additions and second stories; on a slope, buyers want proof the work was engineered and signed off.
- Have drainage, retaining-wall and foundation records ready, plus any geotechnical report.
- Check whether the parcel sits in the state Moderate fire zone or the city's mapped High area and disclose it; defensible-space work done before listing helps.
- Photograph the lot from the street and the yard: on Cipriani's slopes, usable flat yard space and parking are what buyers ask about first.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Cipriani questions, answered
Where is the Cipriani neighborhood?
In northwest Belmont, west of Alameda de las Pulgas and north of Ralston Avenue, running up to San Juan Boulevard and the San Mateo city line. That is the city's own neighborhood map.
Where does the name Cipriani come from?
The neighborhood takes its name from Cipriani Boulevard and Cipriani Elementary School. We did not find a source that says when or why the boulevard and school took the name.
How old are the homes?
Assessor records give a median year built of about 1958. About 70 houses are from the 1920s and 1930s, about 650 from the 1950s and 360 from the 1960s, and about 47 have been built since 2000.
Is Haskins Estates part of Cipriani?
Yes. Listing records use Haskins Estates for Haskins Drive, Longfellow Drive and East Laurel Creek Road at the north end, which the city's map includes in Cipriani.
Which schools serve Cipriani?
Belmont-Redwood Shores School District for TK-8 and Sequoia Union High School District. Cipriani Elementary is in the neighborhood, but the district assigns students to the closest school with room, so check the address.
Is Cipriani in a fire hazard zone?
Partly. The state's 2025 map puts the northwest edge in a Moderate zone and leaves the rest unzoned, while the city's own hazard layer shades much of the area as High. Check the exact parcel.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Cipriani? 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.
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