home / millbrae / mills estates (millbrae side)
millbrae neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Mills Estates, Millbrae Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The Millbrae half of the old Mills estate hills: 1950s and 1960s houses on big sloping lots and condo buildings on Vallejo Drive, between Millbrae Avenue, I-280 and the Burlingame line.
Mills Estates (Millbrae side) by the numbers
mills estates (millbrae side) 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 Mills Estates (Millbrae side) (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in mills estates (millbrae side) · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Mills Estates (Millbrae side)
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Mills Estates (Millbrae side) 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 (Mills Estates (Millbrae side) (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Mills Estates (Millbrae side) came to be
The name is literal. These hills were part of the Mills estate, which gave Millbrae its name. Burlingame's city history says the estate later sold the property to the Trousdale Development Corporation and that, after a prolonged annexation dispute between the two towns, the land was divided in 1954 along what is now Murchison Drive, with the southern part toward Mills Creek going to Burlingame. Today's city line runs a few blocks south of Murchison and crosses Frontera Way, Sebastian Drive, Loyola Drive and Castenada Drive, so the tract that listing records call Mills Estates sits in both cities.
The Millbrae side filled in over several decades. Census estimates for the tract that covers it put about half of its housing units in the 1950s and 1960s and about a third in the 1970s through the 1990s. The city's General Plan designates the area along Murchison Drive, Skyline Boulevard and Vallejo Drive for high-density housing, and that is where the condominium buildings stand today; the hillside streets around them are single-family houses on larger lots, as the General Plan notes for Millbrae's hillside areas generally.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Murchison Drive is the spine, climbing from El Camino Real past Mills High School and Spring Valley Elementary toward Skyline Boulevard. On the upper, western streets near I-280 are Vallejo Drive and Vallejo Court, Conejo Drive, Madera Way, Valencia Drive, Spring Valley Lane and Chadwick, Sherwood and Terra Linda courts. The middle of the hill holds Manzanita Drive and Court, Encina Drive, Lasuen Drive, Gavilan Way, Sebastian Drive, Lake Street, Roble Road, Toyon Drive, Loyola Drive and Frontera Way, plus Loree Lane, View Terrace and Millbrae Circle tucked into the bends of Millbrae Avenue. Toward El Camino Real the ground flattens on South Ashton Avenue, Sequoia Avenue, Castenada Drive, Marcella Way, Hawthorne Way and Pinon Avenue.
Lots are larger here. County parcel polygons give a median single-family lot of about 9,100 square feet, with the middle half from about 8,000 to 12,300 square feet and about one lot in ten over 16,000. About 900 parcels are single-family houses. The roughly 225 condominium parcels are concentrated on Vallejo Drive (about 145), Murchison Drive, Frontera Way and Vallejo Court, with a few more on Magnolia Avenue near El Camino Real.
Expect hillside rules on almost any project: the General Plan requires design review of new houses and large second-story additions, erosion and drainage plans for hillside grading, and special geotechnical studies where a hazard is known. Its view policy asks additions to limit blocking a neighbor's primary bay view.
streets in mills estates (millbrae side)
- Murchison Drive
- Vallejo Drive
- Vallejo Court
- Conejo Drive
- Madera Way
- Valencia Drive
- Manzanita Drive
- Manzanita Court
- Encina Drive
- Lasuen Drive
- Gavilan Way
- Sebastian Drive
- Lake Street
- Roble Road
- Toyon Drive
- Loyola Drive
- Frontera Way
- Castenada Drive
- South Ashton Avenue
- Sequoia Avenue
- Marcella Way
- Hawthorne Way
- Pinon Avenue
- Loree Lane
- Millbrae Circle
- Spring Valley Lane
- Chadwick Court
- Terra Linda Court
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Mills Estates (Millbrae side)
- park
Mills Estates Park
At Lake Street and Sebastian Drive, an open-space park with a trail and a view over the Bay Area, according to the city; the park parcel is about 4.6 acres in county records.
- park
Spur Trail, first phase
Starts at Magnolia Avenue and Millbrae Avenue and runs past the skate park, Mosta Grove, Rotary Park and Josephine Waugh Park under large eucalyptus trees; Phase II continues up to Richmond Drive.
- park
Rotary Park and Mosta Grove
Rotary Park, on South Ashton Avenue just south of Millbrae Avenue, has a small playground, a shaded picnic area, a lawn and a walking path; Mosta Grove across the road, renovated in 2008, has grass, benches, tables and barbecues.
- landmark
Mills High School
The San Mateo Union High School District campus covers about 35 acres on Murchison Drive in county parcel records.
- shopping
El Camino Real and downtown
The nearest shops are on El Camino Real and Broadway, about 0.3 to 1.5 miles away (straight-line).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
The Millbrae side of Mills Estates is in the Millbrae School District and the San Mateo Union High School District, according to Census district maps; the Burlingame side of the tract is in the Burlingame School District. Spring Valley Elementary (Millbrae School District) and Mills High School (San Mateo Union) are both on Murchison Drive inside the area, and Taylor Middle School, which the district says serves all of its grades 6 through 8, is north of Millbrae Avenue. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Millbrae guide: school districts · San Mateo Union High guide
Getting around
- I-280 at the Millbrae Avenue/Skyline Boulevard interchange is about 0.1 to 1.4 miles away (straight-line); Trousdale Drive in Burlingame has the next interchange south.
- Millbrae Station (BART, Caltrain and SamTrans) is about 0.2 to 1.6 miles away (straight-line), down Murchison Drive or Millbrae Avenue.
- US 101 at Millbrae Avenue is about 0.6 to 1.9 miles away (straight-line).
- The Spur Trail runs along Millbrae Avenue toward downtown, and the Sawyer Camp trail starts at the west end of Hillcrest Boulevard, about 0.2 to 1.4 miles away (straight-line).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Mills Estates (Millbrae side): what we check
Buying here
- Check the city on every listing. The Burlingame line crosses Frontera Way, Sebastian Drive, Loyola Drive and Castenada Drive; Millbrae addresses have ZIP 94030, Millbrae schools and Millbrae permits, Burlingame addresses ZIP 94010 and Burlingame schools.
- Check the fire map. CAL FIRE's 2025 local-area map puts about 540 of roughly 1,160 residential parcels here in High or Very High zones and about 160 more in Moderate, led by Vallejo Drive, Murchison Drive, Conejo Drive, Frontera Way, Madera Way, Lasuen Drive and Manzanita Drive. Ask about defensible-space and building rules for the address; for condos, ask what the association does.
- Check slope stability. About 140 parcels, many on Vallejo Drive, Murchison Drive, Castenada Drive, Toyon Drive and Conejo Drive, are in the state's earthquake-induced landslide zone (Montara Mountain quadrangle). Ask for geotechnical reports and look at retaining walls and drainage.
- Check the airport plan. The county's map of the SFO Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan puts about 300 parcels (South Ashton Avenue, Castenada Drive, Lake Street, Marcella Way, Frontera Way, Toyon Drive and Loyola Drive, among others) in the Outer Approach/Departure Zone and about 120 near Murchison Drive, Sequoia Avenue and Hawthorne Way in the Inner Approach/Departure Zone; these zones can limit some new development. An airport disclosure is part of every Millbrae sale.
- Budget for the sewer lateral video inspection required before close of escrow (Municipal Code 8.20.450); condo buyers should ask how the association handles it, and review association documents and current dues.
Selling here
- Confirm city, ZIP and school district in the listing, especially on Frontera Way, Sebastian Drive, Loyola Drive and Castenada Drive.
- Have the fire-zone, landslide-zone and airport disclosures ready, plus any geotechnical reports and permits for retaining walls.
- Order the sewer lateral video inspection, or find the active compliance certificate, early.
- Lead with the lot: single-family lots here run about 9,100 sq ft (median), compared with about 6,000 sq ft in the Highlands grid north of Millbrae Avenue.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Mills Estates (Millbrae side) questions, answered
Is Mills Estates in Millbrae or Burlingame?
Both. A 1954 settlement split the old Mills estate between the two cities, and today's line crosses Frontera Way, Sebastian Drive, Loyola Drive and Castenada Drive. This guide covers the Millbrae side; Mills Estates Park is in Millbrae.
How big are the lots?
County parcel data gives a median single-family lot of about 9,100 square feet on the Millbrae side, with the middle half from about 8,000 to 12,300 square feet.
Are there condos?
Yes, about 225 condominium parcels, mostly in buildings on Vallejo Drive and Vallejo Court near Skyline Boulevard, on Murchison Drive and on Frontera Way.
Is it in a fire hazard zone?
Much of it. CAL FIRE's 2025 map rates about 46 percent of residential parcels High or Very High, mostly on the upper streets near I-280; the lower streets near El Camino Real are unzoned. Check the exact address.
Which schools are nearby?
Spring Valley Elementary (Millbrae School District) and Mills High School (San Mateo Union) are both on Murchison Drive. Check the address with each district.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Mills Estates (Millbrae side)? 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 Mills Estates (Millbrae side)? Send us a note.
