home / belmont / sterling downs & homeview
belmont neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Sterling Downs & Homeview, Belmont Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Belmont's flat northeast corner between Old County Road and US 101: Homeview's late-1940s houses south of Ralston Avenue, Sterling Downs' early-1950s tract north of it, and the Caltrain station a short walk west.
Sterling Downs & Homeview by the numbers
sterling downs & homeview 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 Sterling Downs & Homeview (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in sterling downs & homeview · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Sterling Downs & Homeview
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Sterling Downs & Homeview 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 (Sterling Downs & Homeview (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Sterling Downs & Homeview came to be
This is Belmont's flat corner. East of Old County Road and the rail line, the ground levels out toward the bay, and two small postwar tracts filled it. Homeview came first: county parcel records tie about 184 lots south of Ralston Avenue to Homeview Map No. 1 (county map book 25, page 5) and Homeview Map No. 2 (book 28, page 5), and the assessor dates three-quarters of its houses to 1947 and the rest mainly to 1949 and 1951. Its streets run in alphabetical order from the station side toward the freeway: Elmer, Furlong, Granada, Hiller, Irwin, Judson and Kedith.
Sterling Downs followed north of Ralston. Its recorded map (book 35, page 25) and two later units account for about 455 lots, and the assessor puts the houses at 1952 and 1953 almost without exception. The street names lean on English counties and towns: Middlesex, Sussex, Wessex, Yorkshire, Cornish, Oxford and Cambridge, along with Chesterton Avenue, the long street on the San Mateo side.
The east edge kept changing after that. Woodbridge Park added about 48 houses on Seagate Way, Briarwood Way and Oxford Way in 1985, Sterling Point added 48 condominium units on Old County Road in 1992, and Oxford Place (book 129, pages 32 to 33) added 22 lots on Oxford Way and Oxford Place in 2000. South of O'Neill Avenue the land use changes again: that is the Harbor Industrial Area, which is unincorporated San Mateo County.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Both tracts are a tight grid of short blocks. In Homeview the alphabetical streets run between Ralston Avenue and O'Neill Avenue, with O'Donnell Park on Ralston between Irwin and Judson. Sterling Downs is laid out between Old County Road and US 101 around Hiller Street and Chesterton Avenue, with Cambridge Street, Marine View Avenue, Yorkshire, Roxbury, Cornish and Wessex ways, and Middlesex Road filling in, and Nesbit School and Alexander Park in the middle.
The houses are small and mostly one story: 446 of 510 in Sterling Downs and 137 of 142 in Homeview, with median sizes of about 1,335 and 1,190 sq ft on the assessor roll. Lots are about 5,000 sq ft, which matches the R1C zoning minimum, so additions tend to go up or back, and two-story rebuilds stand out. Two streets were built for duplexes: Wessex Way has 27 two-unit parcels and Kedith Street 26, both zoned R2.
Newer housing sits on the edges. The 1985 Woodbridge Park houses and the 2000 Oxford Place houses near US 101 are planned-development lots of about 5,700 sq ft. Along Old County Road the zoning steps up to the Belmont Village plan's Village High Density Residential and Village Corridor Mixed Use districts, and Masonic Way, closest to the station, is zoned Station Core.
streets in sterling downs & homeview
- Chesterton Avenue
- Hiller Street
- Cambridge Street
- Oxford Way
- Oxford Place
- Wessex Way
- Yorkshire Way
- Roxbury Way
- Cornish Way
- Middlesex Road
- Marine View Avenue
- Seagate Way
- Briarwood Way
- Briarfield Way
- Mountain View Avenue
- Dale View Avenue
- Sterling View Avenue
- Masonic Way
- Biddulph Way
- Sussex Court
- Elmer Street
- Furlong Street
- Granada Street
- Irwin Street
- Judson Street
- Kedith Street
- Waltermire Street
- O'Neill Avenue
- Old County Road
- Ralston Avenue
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Sterling Downs & Homeview
- park
Alexander Park
A public park on a lot of about 1.4 acres in the middle of Sterling Downs, between Yorkshire Way, Marine View Avenue and Cambridge Street. Public maps show a playground, a tennis and pickleball court, a basketball court and a picnic area, and the city lists restrooms.
- park
O'Donnell Park
A small public parcel of about 0.9 acre on Ralston Avenue between Irwin and Judson streets, at the north edge of Homeview.
- landmark
Nesbit School
The Belmont-Redwood Shores district's school at 500 Biddulph Way, on a public parcel of about 11 acres in the middle of Sterling Downs.
- shopping
Ralston Avenue
Shopping centers and service businesses line Ralston Avenue between Old County Road and US 101, a short walk from both tracts.
- landmark
Belmont Caltrain station
At 995 El Camino Real, just west across the tracks from Old County Road, with 375 parking spaces and bike lockers (Caltrain).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Census school-district maps put both tracts in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District for elementary and middle school and the Sequoia Union High School District for high school. The district's Nesbit School (500 Biddulph Way) is inside Sterling Downs, and Central Elementary School (525 Middle Road) is about 0.4 mile straight-line west of the middle, across the tracks. Carlmont High School is about 1.5 miles away. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Belmont-Redwood Shores guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Belmont Caltrain station (995 El Camino Real, fare zone 2) is about 0.3 mile straight-line from the middle; every Homeview house and more than half of Sterling Downs is within half a mile of it. Hillsdale station is about 1.75 miles north.
- US 101 runs along the east edge, with the Ralston Avenue interchange at the Homeview corner.
- Old County Road is on the city's mapped bike route network, and Ralston Avenue leads east under the freeway to Island Parkway, the Belmont Sports Complex and the Belmont Slough trail, about 0.4 mile straight-line from the middle.
- SamTrans routes ECR (El Camino Real), 260 (San Carlos Caltrain to Carlmont Village) and 397 stop at the station.
- El Camino Real (State Route 82) is one block west of Old County Road, across the rail line.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Sterling Downs & Homeview: what we check
Buying here
- Soils near the bay: USGS liquefaction mapping rates the east side of Sterling Downs (parts of Chesterton Avenue, Oxford Way, Seagate Way, Briarwood Way, Dale View Avenue and Sterling View Avenue) very high and much of the rest moderate. Read the seismic hazard disclosure and ask about foundation work.
- Flood maps: Homeview is in FEMA's shaded Zone X (0.2 percent annual chance); Sterling Downs is almost all unshaded Zone X. Lenders usually do not require flood insurance in either, but check the parcel.
- A 5,000 sq ft lot leaves little room to spread out. Before you buy for an addition or ADU, check R1C setbacks and lot coverage with Belmont planning, and SB 9 options on the specific lot.
- Freeway and rail edges: houses closest to US 101 and to Old County Road get more noise; visit at commute hours. Woodbridge Park (1985) and the Sterling Point condominiums (1992) have planned-development or HOA documents to review; check current dues.
- Homeview's south side borders the unincorporated Harbor Industrial Area. Ask Belmont and the county what the industrial lots across O'Neill Avenue are permitted for and whether anything is pending.
Selling here
- Lead with distance: give the approximate straight-line distance to the Caltrain station, which is under half a mile for every Homeview house.
- For 1947 to 1953 houses, gather records of foundation bolting, electrical panel upgrades and sewer lateral work; small tract houses sell on condition.
- If the house has grown, have permits and final inspections ready; on 5,000 sq ft lots buyers check that additions meet setbacks.
- Duplex parcels on Wessex Way and Kedith Street are zoned R2; market the second unit with leases, permits and separate utility details.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Sterling Downs & Homeview questions, answered
Are Sterling Downs and Homeview the same neighborhood?
The city maps them as two neighborhoods split by Ralston Avenue: Homeview to the south, built mostly between 1947 and 1951, and Sterling Downs to the north, built mostly in 1952 and 1953. This guide covers both because they share the same flat ground between Old County Road and US 101.
How big are the lots and houses?
Typical lots are about 5,000 sq ft. On the assessor roll the median house is about 1,335 sq ft in Sterling Downs and about 1,190 sq ft in Homeview, and about nine in ten are one story.
Which schools serve the area?
Census maps place both tracts in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District and the Sequoia Union High School District. Nesbit School is inside Sterling Downs at 500 Biddulph Way. Confirm the exact address with the districts, because boundaries change.
Is any of it unincorporated?
No. Every parcel in the two city polygons is in the City of Belmont. The Harbor Industrial Area just south of O'Neill Avenue is unincorporated San Mateo County, under county planning and permits.
Is it in a flood zone?
FEMA maps Homeview in shaded Zone X (0.2 percent annual chance) and nearly all of Sterling Downs in unshaded Zone X, outside the high-risk zones. Check the FEMA map for the exact parcel.
How close is the train?
Belmont Caltrain is about 0.3 mile straight-line from the middle of the area, and every Homeview house is within about 0.4 mile.
next door
More Belmont neighborhood guides
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Sterling Downs & Homeview? 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 Sterling Downs & Homeview? Send us a note.
