builder filesfile 02 of 42built c. 1922–1972boyenga team at compass
Sunstream homes
Carl and Fred Gellert built their first Sunset house around 1922 and founded the Standard Building Company in 1932. Their Sunstream brand, launched in 1939 for Sunset row houses under $6,000, went on to Lakeshore, Midtown Terrace and, in the 1960s, Serramonte in Daly City. Here’s where they are, how to spot one and what they sell for.
- builder
- Standard Building Company
- brand
- Sunstream Homes, from 1939
- founders
- Carl Gellert (b. 1899) and Fred Gellert (b. 1902)
- first house
- Sunset District, about 1922
- office
- 2222 19th Ave, San Francisco, from 1946
- architects
- none listed by SF Planning
- listings say
- “Sunstream”
- sales on record · live…
- median $/sq ft, last 2 yrs…
- for sale now · live…
- Bay Area homes, per SF Planningabout 25,000
where they are
Where the homes are
From San Francisco Planning’s Sunset and Parkside context statements and a Lakeshore local history.
| tract | city | built | homes | streets and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardenwood Way | San Francisco | 1932 | 24 | Off Sloat Blvd: the brothers’ first full-block subdivision, detached Period Revival houses. Carl Gellert lived next door on Sloat Blvd from 1939 to 1968. |
| Sunset District row houses | San Francisco | mid-1930s–1940s | — | Dozens of blocks of attached row houses, including the first Sunstream block on 31st Ave between Quintara and Rivera in 1939. |
| Pine Lake Park | San Francisco | 1939–late 1940s | 240+ | North of Sloat Blvd near Stern Grove: more than 240 houses in 1939–40, then Sunstream ranch-style houses in the late 1940s. |
| Lakeshore Park | San Francisco | 1941–early 1950s | — | Between Sloat Blvd, Lake Merced Blvd, Inverness Dr and Sunset Blvd: prewar row houses, then detached split-levels and ranch houses with double garages after the war, plus the Lakeshore Plaza shopping center. |
| Midtown Terrace | San Francisco | 1950s | — | A large tract near Twin Peaks; Sunstream brochures for it date from 1950 to 1958. |
| Forest Knolls | San Francisco | about 1961 | — | On the southwest slope of Mount Sutro. |
| Country Club Acres and other tracts | San Francisco | 1940s–1960s | — | SF Planning also credits the firm with Country Club Acres beside Lakeshore and tracts in Forest Hill, Lake Merced and Mount Sutro. Years and counts aren’t on record. |
| Serramonte | Daly City | 1960s | — | A planned community around Serramonte Center near I-280, which SF Planning credits to the firm. A 1966 article described it as 10,000 units, likely the plan rather than the count. |
Listings also call homes in St. Francis Heights in Daly City, Crocker-Amazon in San Francisco and Westborough in South San Francisco Sunstream homes; we couldn’t confirm those from records. During World War II the firm built defense housing in Oakland, Richmond, Pittsburg, Stockton and on Treasure Island.
how to spot one
How to spot a Sunstream home
From SF Planning’s context statements. The look changed a lot over 40 years.
- 1932
Detached Period Revival
Ardenwood Way’s 24 houses are detached and ornate, in the Tudor and Period Revival styles of the early 1930s.
- mid-1930s
Sunset row houses
Attached houses on 25-foot lots with a garage at street level and living space above, some with a curved side stair.
- 1939
The Sunstream look
Plainer fronts with little ornament, built a whole block at a time. A newly furnished model home opened about every six weeks.
- postwar
Split-levels and ranches
After the war, Lakeshore Park and Pine Lake Park got detached split-level and ranch-style houses with double garages.
- 1960s
A planned suburb
Serramonte added hillside tract homes around a regional shopping center.
- myth check
Gellert Blvd isn’t a builder credit
Daly City’s Gellert Blvd, Gellert Park and Gellert Marketplace carry the family name, and SF Planning notes postwar builders’ houses can look nearly identical, so confirm with the permit or deed.
the sales ledger
Every recorded Sunstream sale
Each dot is a sale whose listing names Sunstream or the Gellert brothers, in San Francisco or northern San Mateo County. Hover a dot for the address, date and price.
- sales on record…
- median price…
- median $ per sq ft…
- latest sale…
one recorded salemedian for the yearprice per sq ft = sale price ÷ listed living area
| sold | address | price | $/sq ft | bd / ba | sq ft |
|---|
Most Gellert-built houses sell without the builder named, so the ledger undercounts them. Listings that only mention Gellert Blvd or Gellert Park are left out. Sales come from the MLS records available to us and include every sold listing whose description names the builder, so a few homes may be labeled by the listing agent rather than confirmed from tract records. Sold data is shown with the listing brokerage. Price per square foot uses the living area in the listing. Ask us for a full comparable-sales report on any address.
on the market
For sale now
Active listings whose description names Sunstream or the Gellert brothers.
Checking active listings…
owning one today
Owning one today
- San Francisco historic reviewMost older San Francisco houses are age-eligible for historic review. Check the Property Information Map before planning changes; a Historic Resource Review can settle a house’s status.
- Older systemsPlan for foundation, seismic, electrical and plumbing checks. Our Inspection Decoder covers what to order.
- Old deed languageDeeds from this era sometimes carry discriminatory covenants. They’re void, and California lets owners record a modification that strikes the language; San Mateo County’s recorder explains how.
the nerd check
Buying or selling one
What we check when you buy
- Which era?We match the address to its tract and year, since a 1930s row house and a 1950s split-level are different houses to own.
- Permits and historyWe check the permit history and, in San Francisco, the historic status before you plan a remodel.
- Seismic and systemsWe plan for foundation, seismic and system checks on a house of this age.
- The right comparablesWe compare against similar houses in the same tract, separating originals from expanded ones.
How we market one when you sell
- Tell the storyThe Sunstream name and model are part of the value; we document them from records.
- Photograph the detailsOriginal stairs, fireplaces and period details, shot to show what’s original.
- Prep with a planOur Prep Lab budgets repairs that respect original features.
- Price from real salesWe price from recent sales in the same neighborhood.
questions
Questions we hear
What is a Sunstream home?
A house sold under the brand Carl and Fred Gellert’s Standard Building Company launched in 1939 for Sunset row houses priced under $6,000. The name was later used on costlier houses into the 1970s, per SF Planning.
Who were the Gellert brothers?
Carl (born 1899) and Fred (born 1902), sons of a German immigrant house painter. They built their first Sunset house around 1922 and founded the Standard Building Company in 1932.
Did the Gellerts build Serramonte?
SF Planning credits their firm with Serramonte in Daly City in the 1960s, and Daly City’s Gellert Blvd and Gellert Park carry the family name.
How many homes did they build?
SF Planning cites about 25,000 Bay Area housing units, from a 1979 study. A 1983 study counted about 20,000 houses built in San Francisco from 1920 to 1945.
sources
Sources
San Francisco Planning, local history and state records, checked October 2026.
- SF Planning: Sunset District historic context statement (adopted 2013)The Gellerts, Standard Building Company, Sunstream and their tractsdefault.sfplanning.org/Preservation/sunset_survey/Adopted_SunsetHCS.pdf
- SF Planning: Parkside historic context statement (2008)Pine Lake Park and postwar builderssfplanning.s3.amazonaws.com/archives/documents/4976-parkside-statement%20march%202008.pdf
- OutsideLands: Lakeshore historyArdenwood Way, Pine Lake Park and Lakeshore Parkwww.outsidelands.org/lakeshore.php
- California Government Code § 12956.2Recording a modification to strike unlawful covenantscalifornia.public.law/codes/ca_gov't_code_section_12956.2
- San Mateo County Recorder: restrictive covenant modificationsHow owners remove covenant languagesmcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/restrictive-covenant-modifications
builder files
Every builder file, by era
Bars show the years each builder was building here. See all builders or the home styles field guide.
- Fernando Nelson1880–1920s
- Gellert (Sunstream)1922–1972
- Birge Clark1922–1970s
- Stoneson1920s–1960s
- Doelger1927–1960s
- McKeon1927–early 1970s
- Gardner Dailey1930s–1960s
- William Wurster1930s–1960s
- Rousseau1931–1933
- Bohannon1936–1955
- Cliff May1950s
- Stern & Price1951–1953
- Mackay Homes1950s
- Mardell1955–1959
- Hayman Homes1960s–1970s
- Ditz-Crane1962–1984
- Brown & Kauffmann1960s–1981
- Bahl1968–1986
- Ponderosa Homes1970s–1990s
- Shapell1971–2000s
- SummerHill Homes1976–today
- Pinn Brothers1976–today
- Robson Homes1989–today
- Pacific Peninsula Group1989–today
- Barry Swenson Builder1990s–2010s
- Classic Communities1990s–2010s
- Warmington1990s–2020s
- DeNova Homes2000s–today
- City Ventures2011–today
- Trumark Homes2012–today
- Dividend Homes2010s–today
- KB Home1980s–today
- Brookfield1990s–today
- Pulte Homes2000s–today
- Shea Homes2000s–2010s
- Lennar2000s–today
- Toll Brothers2000s–today
- Taylor Morrison2007–today
- D.R. Horton2010s
- Tri Pointe Homes2012–today
- K. Hovnanian2014–2018
- Meritage Homes2010s
talk to a property nerd
Own a Sunstream home?
We can document its era and tract, check the historic rules and value it against recent sales nearby. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
