sell · san mateo
Selling a home in San Mateo
In San Mateo, 58% of sales since January 2024 closed over asking, with a median overbid of $152K, but houses went over asking far more often than condos and townhomes, and the city adds its own transfer tax to the county’s. Here’s what the numbers say, what’s different about selling here, and what we’ve sold in San Mateo.
san mateo by the numbers
What the San Mateo market says right now
San Mateo closed 813 sales in the last 12 months, and 64% of them were single-family houses. Price per square foot reached $1,184 in the three months ending July 2026, its highest three-month reading so far; July–September 2026 came in at $1,137.
- median sale price$1.68Mlast 12 months, 813 sales; Silicon Valley $1.65M
- over asking58%of 2,194 sales since January 2024; median overbid $152K
- $1.5M–2M74%of 461 sales in that band since January 2024 closed over asking
- best closing monthMay73% over asking, against 52% in January; June is busiest
Source: closed MLS sales, Boyenga Team analysis, October 2026. Recent 12 months = October 2025 to September 2026; over and under asking = January 2024 to September 2026; best month = averaged over 2012–2025. See San Mateo by the numbers.
what’s different here
What sellers in San Mateo should plan for
What we plan for on San Mateo listings.
Bidding depends on the neighborhood
measured: 24 months
In the 24 months to October 27, 2026, counting all home types, Sunnybrae & 19th Avenue Park, The Highlands and Shoreview & Parkside sold furthest over asking, a typical 5.5% to 8.5% over. The typical sale in Mariner’s Island & Lakeshore and North Central & San Mateo Heights closed just under asking (0.4% and 0.7% under), but most sales there were condos and townhomes; houses alone sold a typical 6.9% and 7.9% over. A citywide figure won’t price your house, so we start from your neighborhood’s record and your kind of home.
Houses and condos sell differently
measured: houses vs. condos
64% of San Mateo’s sales in the last 12 months were single-family houses. In the two years to October 27, 2026, 72% of house sales closed over asking, against 30% of condo and townhome sales, and the median condo or townhome closed 0.9% under its list price. The typical townhome sold for $1.38M and the typical condo for $740K, against $2.15M for a house.
A city transfer tax on top of the county’s
city rule and county
Inside city limits, the City of San Mateo adds its own transfer tax to the San Mateo County tax of $1.10 per $1,000: 0.5% of the price under $10 million and 1.5% at $10 million or more (Measure CC, approved November 8, 2022). On a $2 million sale that’s $12,200 in all, $2,200 for the county and $10,000 for the city. By local custom the seller pays the county tax and the buyer and seller split the city tax 50/50; all of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides. Some homes with a San Mateo address, including the Highlands and most of Baywood Park & College Heights, are unincorporated county land, where only the county tax applies; your escrow officer confirms it from the parcel’s tax rate area.
Two Eichler neighborhoods, two sets of rules
our Eichler index
19th Avenue Park, almost 240 Eichlers built from 1953 to 1955, is inside the City of San Mateo. The San Mateo Highlands, about 650 houses built from 1955 to 1964, is unincorporated county land with San Mateo mailing addresses, so San Mateo County, not the city, governs remodels, and a sale there normally carries only the county’s transfer tax. We found no single-story overlay in the city or in the Highlands, though design review and neighborhood guidelines still apply in many places. Since 2020 we’ve listed 5 San Mateo homes whose listings described them as Eichlers or mid-century homes.
Flood, fire and earthquake zones
measured: city lots and our guides
Only 125 of the 17,738 single-family lots in the city’s parcel layer (1%) have their parcel center in a FEMA high-risk flood zone, and San Mateo Village & Lauriedale and Fiesta Gardens & Bay Meadows hold 112 of them, all in shallow-flooding zone AO. If the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance; a flood zone determination for the address settles it. In that layer, 532 lots (3%) are at least partly in a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone, all Moderate, 396 of them in Laurelwood & Sugarloaf. The unincorporated Highlands, outside the layer, has more: by county records, 630 of its 770 single-family lots (82%) are at least partly in one, 27 of them High. Across our 14 San Mateo guides, 9,115 of 19,146 single-family lots (48%) have their parcel center in a state liquefaction zone, including all 3,527 in Shoreview & Parkside, and sellers must disclose when a home is in one.
Lots, flood and fire zones by neighborhood · Earthquake zones
Timing
measured: 2012–2025
Averaged over 2012–2025, May closings sold over asking most often (73%) and January closings least (52%). June has the most closings, about 10% of the year’s sales. A May closing typically means an accepted offer in April, with the listing before that.
our sales
Homes we’ve listed and sold in San Mateo
Since 2016 we’ve matched 14 San Mateo sales to MLS records: 9 homes we listed and 5 where we represented the buyer. The most recent homes we listed:
sold Mar 2026 · san mateo
$2.30M
637 Vanessa Drive · Sunnybrae & 19th Avenue Park
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,400 sq ft
15.1% over the final list price of $2.00MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Oct 2025 · san mateo
$2.42M
2055 Ticonderoga Drive · The Highlands
4 bd · 3 ba · 1,890 sq ft
5.5% over the final list price of $2.30MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Aug 2023 · san mateo
$1.77M
2900 Monterey Street · Beresford & Hillsdale
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,170 sq ft
1.3% under the final list price of $1.80MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Apr 2022 · san mateo
$1.73M
1701 Peck Avenue · Shoreview & Parkside
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,150 sq ft
15.2% over the final list price of $1.50MListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Apr 2022 · san mateo
$2.00M
1711 Wolfe Drive · Sunnybrae & 19th Avenue Park
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,700 sq ft
Listed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
sold Jan 2022 · san mateo
$880K
1631 Marina Court #E · Mariner’s Island & Lakeshore
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,054 sq ft
0.6% under the final list price of $885KListed by the Boyenga Team at Compass
For 8 of the 9 homes we listed here, the sold record shows the final list price: 5 closed at or above it, 5 of them over asking. The final list price is the asking price after any price changes. Source: closed MLS records, read October 27, 2026.
Neighborhoods with the most of our sales (listing and buyer side): Shoreview & Parkside (4), The Highlands (3), Sunnybrae & 19th Avenue Park (2), Mariner’s Island & Lakeshore (2).
our plan
How we’d sell your San Mateo home
The same Property Nerd plan we run on every listing, tuned to San Mateo.
Price against the right sales
We start with the closest recent sales in your neighborhood and of your kind of house, then read the competition that week. In San Mateo that means pricing to your neighborhood’s record and your kind of home: houses and condos sell very differently here.
Prepare what buyers notice
Paint, light, landscaping and staging, budgeted in the Prep Lab, with Compass Concierge to front eligible costs. For a condo or townhome, where 30% of sales in the two years to October 27, 2026 closed over asking, price and preparation have to be right on day one.
Disclose early
Inspections and disclosures ready before launch, so buyers make offers on facts. In San Mateo that includes the Natural Hazard Disclosure report, and in San Mateo Village & Lauriedale and Fiesta Gardens & Bay Meadows a flood zone determination for the address.
Launch on purpose
A private or Coming Soon start if it fits, then the full launch; the Launch Lab shows the plan. May closings sold over asking most often; a May closing typically means an accepted offer in April.
Negotiate and close
We compare offers on price, terms and certainty, then run escrow to closing.
The San Mateo data series
our own analysis
More from the series
by price and place
Seller tools
plan your numbers
Looking for an agent rather than a plan? Meet Eric & Janelle Boyenga · San Mateo neighborhood guides
questions
Questions San Mateo sellers ask us
How often do San Mateo homes sell over asking?
From January 2024 to September 2026, 58% of 2,194 San Mateo sales closed above the final list price, with a median overbid of $152K. 30% closed below it, with a median discount of $39K. In the $1.5M–2M band, 74% of 461 sales closed over asking. Across Silicon Valley, 60% closed over asking.
When is the best time to sell in San Mateo?
Averaged over 2012–2025, San Mateo closings in May sold over asking most often (73%) and January closings least often (52%). June has the most closings, about 10% of the year’s sales. A May closing typically means an accepted offer in April, with the listing before that.
Does San Mateo charge a transfer tax?
Inside city limits, yes. The City of San Mateo charges 0.5% of the price under $10 million and 1.5% at $10 million or more (Measure CC, approved November 8, 2022), on top of the San Mateo County tax of $1.10 per $1,000, so $12,200 in all on a $2 million sale. Some homes with a San Mateo address, including the Highlands, sit on unincorporated county land, where only the county tax applies; your escrow officer confirms it from the parcel’s tax rate area. By local custom the seller pays the county tax and the buyer and seller split the city tax 50/50, and in San Mateo County the buyer usually pays the escrow fee and the owner’s title policy. All of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides.
Is my San Mateo house in a flood zone?
Few are: 125 of the 17,738 single-family lots in the city’s parcel layer (1%) have their parcel center in a FEMA high-risk flood zone (112 in AO, 8 in AH and 5 in AE), and San Mateo Village & Lauriedale and Fiesta Gardens & Bay Meadows hold 112 of them. The Highlands and most of Baywood Park & College Heights are unincorporated and outside that layer. If the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance; a flood zone determination for the address settles it, and we order one before you list.
Does San Mateo have a single-story overlay?
We found no single-story overlay in the City of San Mateo, and none in the unincorporated San Mateo Highlands, though design review and neighborhood guidelines still apply in many places. In the Highlands, San Mateo County, not the city, governs remodels, and we found no Eichler-specific county design review. We confirm your parcel’s rules before you list.
How do San Mateo condos and townhomes sell?
In the two years to October 27, 2026, 580 condos and townhomes sold in San Mateo: 153 townhomes and 427 condos. The typical one sold for $887K, or $785 per square foot, against $2.15M for a typical house. 30% closed over the final list price, against 72% of houses, and the median sale closed 0.9% under the list price.
What do you charge to sell a San Mateo home?
Commissions are negotiable. We offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about selling in San Mateo?
We’ll pull the closest sales to your house, walk through prep and timing, and tell you what we’d do. No pressure and no obligation.
eric boyenga dre 01254725 · janelle boyenga dre 01254724 · compass · equal housing opportunity
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Eric & Janelle Boyenga
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725
Realtors DRE01254724 / 01254725