Burlingame, CA Homes for Sale | The City of Trees
Burlingame is one of the most consistently coveted communities on the San Francisco Peninsula — a city of approximately 28,000 residents that has maintained its old-world charm through nearly a century of Bay Area growth. Known as the "City of Trees" for its nearly 20,000 trees lining streets, parks, and hillside neighborhoods, Burlingame offers a rare combination: two thriving walkable downtown corridors, a nationally recognized public school system, a diverse range of neighborhoods from grand historic estates to accessible entry-level bungalows, and Caltrain access connecting residents to San Francisco in approximately 30 minutes and to Silicon Valley's tech corridor without a car. For buyers seeking Peninsula prestige, genuine community character, and long-term value in one of the Bay Area's most stable real estate markets, Burlingame consistently delivers.
Burlingame Real Estate
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Why People Choose Burlingame
Burlingame's appeal is built on a combination that is genuinely difficult to replicate elsewhere on the Peninsula. The city has two distinct downtown commercial corridors — Burlingame Avenue and Broadway — separated by about a mile, giving the city a dual-anchor retail identity that most Peninsula cities lack. Burlingame Avenue is the more upscale of the two: a tree-lined pedestrian-friendly strip of high-end boutiques, acclaimed restaurants, cafes, and a Sunday farmers' market that draws the entire community. Broadway offers a more neighborhood-scaled alternative — independently owned restaurants, local shops, and the kind of regular-customer familiarity that defines small-town commercial life.
The school system is a primary driver of demand. The Burlingame School District's six elementary schools and Burlingame Intermediate School consistently earn strong ratings, and Burlingame High School — part of the San Mateo Union High School District — has produced notable alumni including Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and offers first-class facilities including an aquatic center, tennis courts, and an extensive sports campus shared with the city's recreation center. For families, Burlingame's school quality is not simply a selling point — it is the reason many buyers choose the city over comparably priced alternatives on the Peninsula.
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Burlingame Neighborhoods
Burlingame Park (Old Burlingame)
Burlingame Park — often called Old Burlingame — is the city's most prestigious neighborhood and arguably its most desirable address. Bordering Hillsborough to the west, the neighborhood features some of the largest lots in the city on flat, pancake-level tree-canopied streets, with historic homes from the early 1900s sitting alongside carefully crafted contemporary rebuilds. The neighborhood is walkable to both Burlingame Avenue and Broadway, and its combination of lot size, architecture, location, and community identity makes it consistently the top of the Burlingame market. Homes here rarely trade, and when they do, prices range from approximately $1.9M on the entry end to $6M–$8.5M for the most exceptional properties. A small row of condominiums on the neighborhood's eastern border offers a lower entry point to the Burlingame Park address.
Easton Addition
Easton Addition is Burlingame's most architecturally celebrated neighborhood — a walker's paradise of tree-lined streets where every block offers a new discovery of historic homes spanning American Colonial, Craftsman, Tudor Revival, Spanish Mediterranean, and Victorian styles. Located west of El Camino Real, most lots are approximately 6,000 square feet and flat, producing a streetscape where original 1,400-square-foot Spanish cottages sit beside 3,000-square-foot newer Craftsman homes — a range that gives the neighborhood extraordinary visual interest. The Easton Branch Library, Our Lady of Angels private school (K–8), and Mercy High School are all in the neighborhood; Roosevelt and Lincoln Elementary schools are within walking distance. Prices for single-family homes range from approximately $2.2M to $6.5M, with condos and townhomes from $1.03M to $1.59M.
Ray Park
Ray Park is a family-favorite neighborhood anchored by its namesake park and Burlingame Intermediate School — the city's only public middle school, which sits in this neighborhood and draws families from throughout Burlingame. Streets are quiet and residential, with mid-century ranch homes, contemporary designs, and spacious estates that represent some of the city's most family-oriented real estate. Lincoln Elementary serves the neighborhood. Three-bedroom ranch homes in Ray Park trade around $3.4M, reflecting the neighborhood's combination of school quality, park access, and community character.
Burlingame Hills
Burlingame Hills occupies the hillside terrain west of the city center, rising toward Interstate 280 and offering the privacy, wooded views, and larger lot sizes that hillside buyers seek. Homes here are primarily single-family residences, many with spacious yards, private pools, and panoramic views of the surrounding hills and Bay. The neighborhood's proximity to I-280 makes it particularly convenient for Silicon Valley commuters. Prices for single-family homes range from approximately $1.7M to $4.1M. The more secluded Mills Estates, also on the hillside, offers larger 3–5 bedroom homes with breathtaking Bay and hill views at a median around $2.8M.
Lyon Hoag & Burlingables
Lyon Hoag — Burlingame's first subdivision, established in 1896 — and the adjacent Burlingables neighborhood occupy the eastern section of the city between Burlingame Avenue and Peninsula Avenue, east of California Drive toward Highway 101. These are Burlingame's most walkable neighborhoods for buyers on a relative budget: Washington Park, Burlingame High School, and both downtown corridors are within easy walking distance. Streets are wide and tree-lined, and the neighborhood hosts some of Burlingame's most spirited block parties. Washington Elementary serves the area. Single-family homes range from approximately $1.3M to $3.975M, making Lyon Hoag one of the city's more accessible entry points for first-time buyers targeting Burlingame schools.
Burlingame Gardens & Burlingame Grove
Burlingame Gardens, near Broadway and Highway 101, is the city's most affordable neighborhood — with 2–3 bedroom homes of 1,200–1,700 square feet starting around $1.1M–$1.6M — making it the primary entry point for first-time buyers and those prioritizing Burlingame schools at the lowest available price. Burlingame Grove, with a median around $2.3M and homes of 1,100–1,800 square feet, offers slightly more space with similar walkability to Broadway and the 101 corridor. McKinley Elementary serves Gardens; Lincoln Elementary serves Grove. Both neighborhoods benefit from proximity to Burlingame High and the Broadway retail district.
Downtown Burlingame & Burlingame Terrace
The neighborhoods immediately surrounding Burlingame Avenue — Downtown Burlingame and Burlingame Terrace — offer the highest walkability in the city, with the Burlingame Caltrain station, Burlingame Avenue's shops and restaurants, and Washington Park all on foot from most addresses. Homes here are a mix of single-family residences, condominiums, and townhomes spanning a wide price range. Washington Elementary serves the area, with Burlingame Intermediate and Burlingame High both accessible by a short drive or bike ride.
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Burlingame Real Estate Market
Pricing & Market Overview
Burlingame is one of the Peninsula's premium real estate markets, with median home prices currently in the $2.5M–$2.85M range and an average sale price of approximately $2.84M. Homes typically spend approximately 25–30 days on market, and well-priced properties regularly receive multiple offers. The market is highly competitive across all neighborhoods, though entry-level opportunities exist in Burlingame Gardens beginning around $1.1M and in Lyon Hoag beginning around $1.3M — price points that represent the accessible edge of the Burlingame market for buyers who prioritize school district access above neighborhood character.
At the top of the market, Burlingame Park and Easton Addition properties regularly trade between $3M and $8.5M, with the most exceptional Burlingame Park estates reaching $29M. The breadth of the market — from $1.1M bungalows to $29M estates — gives Burlingame an unusual range for a city of its size and reflects the diversity of its neighborhood character.
Property Types
Single-family detached homes dominate Burlingame's housing stock, built primarily from the 1900s through the 1970s with a growing number of contemporary rebuilds and new construction scattered throughout. Condominiums and townhomes are available in limited numbers, primarily along El Camino Real and in the downtown and Burlingame Gardens areas. The city's strict residential ordinances and strong homeowner investment have maintained property quality at a level that is rare even on the Peninsula — you would be hard-pressed to find a neglected home in most Burlingame neighborhoods.
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Parks & Recreation
Washington Park — Burlingame's central park and community gathering space, adjacent to Burlingame High School, offering sports fields, tennis courts, picnic areas, and a bandstand used for the city's popular summer jazz concert series. The park's Sunday farmers' market is a weekly institution.
Bayside Park & Bay Trail — On the eastern edge of the city along San Francisco Bay, Bayside Park offers shoreline access, a dog park, a driving range, and connection to the Bay Trail's multi-use path network. Bay views from the park extend across the water to the East Bay hills.
Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary — A preserved wetland sanctuary along the bay providing habitat for migratory and resident shorebirds, and a serene counterpoint to the city's well-manicured urban neighborhoods.
Burlingame also maintains numerous smaller neighborhood parks — Ray Park, Victoria Park, Centennial Park, Cuernavaca Park, and others — that give virtually every neighborhood its own walkable green space.
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Schools
Burlingame is served by two highly regarded school districts. The Burlingame School District covers K–8 education through six elementary schools — Roosevelt, Lincoln, Franklin, McKinley, Washington, and Hoover — and Burlingame Intermediate School, the district's single middle school located in the Ray Park neighborhood. All schools consistently earn strong ratings. At the high school level, students attend Burlingame High School in the San Mateo Union High School District, a school celebrated for its academic programs, distinguished alumni, and exceptional athletic facilities including a competition-grade aquatic center, tennis courts, and a track and field complex.
Private options in Burlingame include Our Lady of Angels (K–8), St. Catherine of Siena (K–8), and Mercy High School — an all-girls Catholic high school on the historic Kohl Mansion campus in the Easton Addition neighborhood. Crystal Springs Uplands School in neighboring Hillsborough is also accessible.
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Location & Commute Access
Burlingame's location — 25 miles south of San Francisco and approximately 25 miles north of San Jose — places it near the center of the Peninsula commute corridor. The Burlingame Caltrain station on California Drive provides service to San Francisco's 4th & King station in approximately 30 minutes, with both Baby Bullet express and local trains stopping in Burlingame. Highway 101 runs along the city's eastern edge, providing immediate freeway access north to San Francisco and south through San Mateo, Redwood City, and the Peninsula tech hubs. Interstate 280 is accessible via Trousdale Drive, providing a scenic and reliably traffic-friendly alternative north-south route particularly favored by Silicon Valley commuters. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is approximately 3–4 miles north — one of the closest residential communities to SFO in the Bay Area, making Burlingame especially attractive for frequent travelers.
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Why Buy in Burlingame
Burlingame has maintained its desirability across every Bay Area real estate cycle for well over a century, and the fundamentals driving that consistency have not changed: exceptional schools, genuine neighborhood character, two walkable downtowns, outstanding commute access, and a civic identity built on tree-lined streets and community investment. It is a city that buyers who find tend to stay in for decades — not because alternatives don't exist, but because the combination Burlingame offers simply isn't replicated anywhere else at a comparable price point on the Peninsula.
For buyers comparing Burlingame to neighboring Hillsborough to the west, the key distinction is scale and walkability: Hillsborough offers larger lots and greater privacy on a no-commercial-district residential estate model, while Burlingame provides the walkable downtown access and community street life that Hillsborough deliberately foregoes. Buyers comparing to San Mateo to the south will find Burlingame generally more expensive but with a stronger school system and a more cohesive neighborhood identity throughout. Buyers comparing to Belmont will find Burlingame more walkable and commercially vibrant, with Belmont offering more hillside character and slightly lower prices.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Burlingame, CA?
Burlingame is in northern San Mateo County on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco. It borders Millbrae to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Mateo to the south, and San Francisco Bay to the east. The city sits midway between San Francisco and San Jose on the Peninsula's primary commute corridor.
What are home prices like in Burlingame?
Median home prices in Burlingame are approximately $2.5M–$2.85M, with an average sale price of around $2.84M. Entry-level opportunities in Burlingame Gardens and Lyon Hoag begin around $1.1M–$1.3M. The top of the market in Burlingame Park and Easton Addition reaches $6M–$8.5M, with exceptional estate properties reaching significantly higher. Condominiums are available from approximately $625,000 to $1.6M.
Why is Burlingame called the City of Trees?
Burlingame earned the nickname for its nearly 20,000 trees within city limits — eucalyptus groves, mature street trees, and the canopy that defines its residential neighborhoods. The city has maintained strict tree protection ordinances that have preserved this character across generations of development.
What schools serve Burlingame?
The Burlingame School District covers K–8 through six elementary schools and Burlingame Intermediate School. Burlingame High School serves students in the San Mateo Union High School District and is consistently ranked among the Bay Area's top public high schools. Private options include Our Lady of Angels, St. Catherine of Siena, and Mercy High School.
How far is Burlingame from San Francisco?
Approximately 25 miles by road. The Burlingame Caltrain station provides rail service to San Francisco's 4th & King station in approximately 30 minutes. By car on Highway 101, the commute is typically 25–40 minutes depending on traffic. SFO is 3–4 miles north of Burlingame, providing exceptionally convenient airport access.
What is the best neighborhood in Burlingame?
The answer depends on priorities. Burlingame Park (Old Burlingame) is generally considered the city's most prestigious neighborhood for its historic homes, large lots, and walkability. Easton Addition is the most architecturally celebrated. Ray Park is the top family neighborhood for its school access and community character. Lyon Hoag and Burlingame Gardens offer the most accessible entry prices while still delivering Burlingame school district access.
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Work With Bruce Wagg
Bruce Wagg brings deep Peninsula market knowledge and a track record of helping buyers and sellers navigate Burlingame's competitive, multi-neighborhood market with confidence. Whether you're targeting a historic estate in Burlingame Park, a tree-lined Craftsman in Easton Addition, or an entry-level opportunity in Lyon Hoag, Bruce can help you identify the right neighborhood, the right property, and the right moment to act.
Call Bruce at (669) 202-8888 or use the contact form below to begin your Burlingame search.
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