sunnyvale neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Fairbrae, Sunnyvale Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
A run of Eichler tracts built from 1958 into the early 1960s between Fremont Avenue and Remington Drive, with a member-owned swim and tennis club and block-by-block single-story zoning.
Fairbrae by the numbers
fairbrae by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Fairbrae. Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in fairbrae · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Fairbrae
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Fairbrae from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Get alerts for new Fairbrae listings: open this neighborhood in our full search and tap Save Search.
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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 (Fairbrae); it may not match every local definition.
sold by the property nerds
Our sales in Fairbrae
Since 2012 we’ve handled 6 sales inside the Fairbrae outline that we can match to MLS records: 4 homes we listed and 2 where we represented the buyer. The other photos are our closest listings outside it, measured from its edge.
We also represented the buyer at 1134 Strawberry Court (Jun 2023), 1161 Sesame Drive (May 2016).
All 96 of our Sunnyvale sales, on a map Selling in Fairbrae? Book a strategy call
the story
How Fairbrae came to be
Fairbrae is a series of Eichler tracts rather than a single subdivision. Joseph Eichler's company built it in units, and city maps still label them Fairbrae No. 1 through 5 plus a Fairbrae Addition. The Addition, east of Hollenbeck Avenue on Torrington, Sesame and Vanderbilt drives and the courts around them, went up in 1958 and 1959 and has close to 200 homes, according to an Eichler publication. Fairbrae No. 5 is better known as Rancho Verde, the tract between Mary and Pome avenues, and it has its own guide.
The neighborhood's one big shared amenity is the Fairbrae Swim and Racquet Club, a member-owned club at 696 Sheraton Drive, just east of Hollenbeck Avenue. City records describe its parcel as 1.06 acres, zoned for low-density housing like the homes around it.
Fairbrae is also where Sunnyvale's single-story zoning took off. In December 2015 the new owners of an Eichler on Sesame Drive signaled plans to replace it with a two-story house of about 3,600 square feet. Neighbors appealed, arguing that the city's 2009 Eichler Design Guidelines should shape the project, but the Planning Commission approved the house in May 2016. The guidelines discourage second stories without banning them. So neighbors went block by block for zoning instead. On August 9, 2016 the City Council created a single-story combining district for 48 homes between Vanderbilt and Torrington drives. On October 4 it added two more: 28 homes on Sesame Drive, Sesame Court and Winggate Drive, and 37 homes between Remington and Spinosa drives. A fourth, 59 lots bounded by Hollenbeck Avenue and Torrington, Spinosa and Sheraton drives, went to the council in December 2016. The swim club's parcel, whose board opposed the change, was left out of that one.
The city's parcel records flag 271 houses inside this guide's outline as Eichlers, built from 1959 to 1961 in county tracts 2228, 2229, 2622 and 2824 plus a few lots with no tract number; 251 of them are in a single-story district. Fairbrae Unit 1, the 1958 tract the city names on Pome and Quince avenues, Pomegranate and Pulora courts and Sheraton Drive (county tract 2227), sits just outside the outline, with 76 more flagged Eichlers. Every Sunnyvale Eichler, counted has the tract-by-tract numbers.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Fairbrae's streets are short, with plenty of cul-de-sacs and courts off a few through streets. East of Hollenbeck Avenue you'll find Torrington, Sesame, Vanderbilt, Winggate, Royal Ann, Spinosa and Templeton drives, plus Tiffany, Regia, Ribier, Sesame, Templeton and South Sage courts. Farther east, Rockport Drive, Strawberry Court and Tangerine Way were part of an October 2016 single-story district. West of Hollenbeck, Sheraton Drive continues past Quince Avenue and Pulora and Pomegranate courts toward Pome Avenue. Many of the street names are fruit, so giving directions here can sound like reading a grocery list.
The houses are late-1950s Eichlers: single-story post-and-beam construction, low flat or gently pitched roofs, glass walls facing the back yard, and radiant heat in the floor slab as originally built. Atrium plans turn up too; MLS records on W. Remington Drive describe atrium-style homes. Most blocks are still one story. In the 59-lot district that went to the council in December 2016, city staff counted 55 single-story Eichlers, four two-story Eichlers and two single-story non-Eichlers.
What you can build depends on the block. Inside a single-story district, the S overlay limits a house to one habitable story and 17 feet (down from 30), caps lot coverage and floor area at 45 percent of the lot, and allows a basement only if it rises no more than 2 feet above grade, according to the 2016 city staff report. Outside those districts the base zoning allows taller houses, and design review uses the Eichler Design Guidelines, which focus on compatibility and privacy. The same report shows the Hollenbeck-Sheraton block zoned R-1 before the S was added, so check the base zone for any lot you're considering.
streets in fairbrae
- Torrington Drive
- Sesame Drive
- Sesame Court
- Vanderbilt Drive
- Winggate Drive
- Royal Ann Drive
- Spinosa Drive
- Templeton Drive
- Templeton Court
- Tiffany Court
- Regia Court
- Ribier Court
- South Sage Court
- Sheraton Drive
- Quince Avenue
- Pulora Court
- Pomegranate Court
- W. Remington Drive
- Hollenbeck Avenue
- Rockport Drive
- Strawberry Court
- Tangerine Way
house sales by street, 2021–2026
| Street | Sales | Median price | Per sq ft | Typical lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torland Court | 3 | $3.21M | $1,405 | 8,360 sq ft |
| Tioga Court | 3 | $3.15M | $1,343 | 7,840 sq ft |
| Tangerine Way | 3 | $2.96M | $1,303 | 9,600 sq ft |
| Strawberry Court | 3 | $2.9M | $1,652 | 9,580 sq ft |
| West Remington Drive | 12 | $2.42M | $1,477 | 7,040 sq ft |
| Hollenbeck Avenue | 5 | $2.18M | $1,217 | 5,720 sq ft |
Single-family house sales inside this guide’s outline, Oct. 1, 2021 to Oct. 21, 2026, from MLS records, with each sale counted once. Streets with at least 3 sales; prices, price per square foot and lots are medians. The whole city, ranked: The most expensive streets in Sunnyvale.
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Fairbrae
- club
Fairbrae Swim and Racquet Club
Member-owned club at 696 Sheraton Drive with a lap pool kept at 81 degrees year-round, two lighted tennis courts, pickleball and a clubhouse, per its website. In October 2026 the club's site said it was closed for renovations, with demolition under way and a reopening hoped for in the new year, so check its status and membership terms with the club directly.
- park
Las Palmas Park
A 24.3-acre city park at 850 Russet Drive, a few blocks north of Remington Drive, with tennis, a playground, water play, picnic areas and a dog park. A city tennis center sits next to it.
- landmark
Orchard Heritage Park and Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum
About 0.8 mile east at the Sunnyvale Community Center on E. Remington Drive: a 10-acre apricot orchard of about 800 trees, and a free museum built in 2008 as a replica of Bay View, the Murphy ranch house that once stood where Murphy Park is now.
- shopping
Fremont Corners
A shopping center on the southeast corner of Fremont Avenue and Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, across the intersection from Fremont High School.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Recent MLS records for homes in and next to Fairbrae list Sunnyvale School District for elementary and middle school and Fremont Union High School District for high school. Fremont High School's campus, at 575 W. Fremont Avenue, sits at the neighborhood's southeast corner. Some nearby parts of south Sunnyvale are in Cupertino Union instead, and attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Sunnyvale School District guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Sunnyvale Caltrain station (121 W. Evelyn Ave., Zone 3) is about 1.6 miles north in a straight line.
- VTA Rapid 523 stops at Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road and Fremont Avenue, at the southeast corner, and runs north to the Sunnyvale Transit Center and south toward Cupertino and San Jose.
- Highway 85 has a Fremont Avenue interchange in Sunnyvale, a short drive west on Fremont.
- Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road leads south toward Interstate 280 at De Anza Boulevard; El Camino Real is north via Hollenbeck Avenue or Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road.
- Las Palmas Park and the Community Center are each roughly a mile or less from most Fairbrae streets (approximate).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Fairbrae: what we check
Buying here
- Look up the zoning for the exact parcel. If it ends in /S, the house is limited to one habitable story and 17 feet; four Fairbrae-area blocks got that overlay in 2016. Off those blocks, a second-story plan still goes through design review under the Eichler Design Guidelines.
- Ask for the radiant heat history and get a pressure test from a radiant specialist. An Eichler publication notes that leaks in copper lines are often repairable, while corroded steel lines may not be.
- Check the roof type, age and insulation. Original Eichler roofs had about half an inch of fiberglass insulation; foam and most single-ply systems can often go over an existing roof.
- Compare the permit history with the house, especially any enclosed atrium, rear addition, garage conversion or replaced glass.
- If an ADU or SB 9 project is part of your plan, ask the planning division how it works on an S-zoned lot. The 2016 staff report limited ADUs in these districts to single-story units on lots over 9,000 sq ft, and state ADU law has changed since.
Selling here
- Know your zoning before you list. Buyers ask early whether a lot is in a single-story district, and the answer changes what they can plan.
- Collect the radiant heat pressure-test results, roof age and type, and permits for past work. Inspectors on Eichlers focus on those.
- Show off the original Eichler features you still have: glass walls, post-and-beam ceilings, the atrium, original siding.
- If your house has a second story or a large addition, have the permits and any design-review approvals ready.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Fairbrae questions, answered
How many homes are in Fairbrae?
There's no single official count. An Eichler publication puts the Fairbrae Addition alone at close to 200 homes. City maps divide the area into Fairbrae No. 1 through 5 and the Addition, and No. 5 is the Rancho Verde tract west of Pome Avenue.
When was Fairbrae built?
The Fairbrae Addition was built in 1958 and 1959, and MLS records for individual homes on Torrington Drive and W. Remington Drive show 1959. The Rancho Verde unit (Fairbrae No. 5) followed in the early 1960s.
Is a second story allowed in Fairbrae?
It depends on the block. Four Fairbrae-area districts created or taken up by the council in 2016 carry the single-story (S) overlay, which limits homes to one story and 17 feet. Elsewhere a second story may be possible, but design review applies the Eichler Design Guidelines, which discourage second stories. Check the zoning map and talk with the planning division first.
Does buying in Fairbrae include the swim club?
The Fairbrae Swim and Racquet Club is a separate, member-owned club at 696 Sheraton Drive. Ask the club directly about membership.
Which school districts serve Fairbrae?
Homes we checked list Sunnyvale School District for K-8 and Fremont Union High School District. Boundaries change, so confirm the exact address with the districts.
next door
More Sunnyvale neighborhood guides
From the blog: Sunnyvale Eichlers · Fairbrae Eichler Neighborhood — A Deep Dive (Sunnyvale, 94087) · Fairbrae Eichler Home: A Modern Oasis in Sunnyvale
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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.