Homeplace

Situated west of San Mateo Park, Homeplace is an elegant community with a diverse housing stock and classy residential aesthetics. The neighborhood spans about 0.6 square miles of leafy hillside terrain with a very sparse population (just under 900). As a result, residences can be few and far between, either because houses and properties are enormous or because the community’s dense green foliage. In any respect though, it is a quiet community space that is very rarely visited by the general public.

Homeplace is an affluent and exclusively residential neighborhood set in one of the nicest district’s around--Hillsborough. Homes are gorgeous with great, and usually trendy, house fronts. They tend to be of the 1950’s ranch home variety owning the same shape and style as it was when it was built. But for those with deeper pockets, you can find some grand, pre-war estates in the style of Tudors and Cheateaus that dot the area. These newer homes, which have been built within the past decade, rival the more traditional homes, affording 6,000 square feet of interior living space and four to five bedrooms. So I’m sure you’ll have enough room for all your house guests. Also, these residences tend to be situated on large, sometimes multi-acre estate-like properties. And although divergent in style and shape, properties have many similarities including large driveways with two and sometimes three-car garages (with nice, luxurious cars parked outside). They also lay ground to perfectly landscaped gardens with vines lapping over fences as if intentionally arranged that way.

According to the 2010 US Census, the demographic of Homeplace is largely white. Its average household income is above $230,000/year while homes can vary from $2 million to as much as $8 million. For young families, Crocker Middle School sits along Chateau Drive and is considered one of the best of the best by the local community. Elsewhere, Burlingame Country Club straddles the northern border and is one of the most luxurious country clubs in the San Francisco peninsula. The community is also equidistant to El Camino Real (downtown San Mateo) and Highway 280, which makes for convenient shopping/dining and commuter friendly territory.

My daughter’s best friend from CSUS lived here in Homeplace, so I got to know this neighborhood relatively well from dropping her off and exploring a bit afterwards on a couple of occasions. This neighborhood is deep into Hillsborough, located just to the south of Crocker Middle School and the Burlingame Country Club.

As throughout the rest of Hillsborough, the homes here are (as mandated by city ordinance) large—usually around 3500 ft.

One of the nice the nice things about this neighborhood is the sprinkling of French chateau style homes, with Tudor accents like faux half-timbering, bow windows, weathered brickwork and thatch tiled roof. The look is elegant and makes you feel like you are in the south of France more than in California. The narrow streets and high hedges also add somewhat to this continental feel.

For the most part this area is hooked on classically symmetrical styles with a fair number of Corinthian columns, square paned windows, and walls of various kinds. It’s a nice clean look.

What’s the price tag?

On the low end, for a 3-bedroom, 3000 ft. house dating from the around 1950, you are looking at $2 million. On the high end, for a 1920s Mediterranean style mansion on a 1.25 acre lot, you are looking at $15 million. On average you are looking at around $5 million in this area.