From The Peninsula Letter
Burlingame sits on the northern Peninsula between Millbrae and San Mateo — a city of 30,000 known for its tree-canopied residential streets and the elegant Burlingame Avenue and Broadway shopping districts. The Easton Addition and Lyon-Hoag neighborhoods deliver classic Craftsman charm; the Hillsborough-adjacent streets along Vancouver Avenue offer larger lots and mature gardens.
What makes Burlingame specific: it has the established old-Peninsula prestige of Hillsborough without the gated-estate isolation, and the walkable downtown character of San Mateo with stronger schools. Buyers who tour Burlingame alongside Hillsborough almost always end up choosing the everyday walkability that Burlingame Avenue gives them.
August 2026, from the KW Advisors San Mateo County market report: single-family supply, the condo and townhome market, and the countywide benchmark.
Source: MLS Listings Inc., InfoSparks and Trend Graphix via KW Advisors Peninsula Estates — single-family homes, condos and townhomes closed in August 2026. Sale counts are small, so the median reflects which homes happened to close that month; sale-to-list and days on market are the steadier signals. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Ask Elaine for a property-specific analysis.
Four things that come up on every Burlingame tour.
Old-Peninsula character close to Hillsborough’s, but on ordinary streets with sidewalks and a downtown you can actually walk to. That combination is the whole pitch.
Burlingame School District for K-8 and Burlingame High consistently rank in the state’s top tier, and the Easton Addition’s sidewalks make walking to school realistic.
Two shopping districts, not one — Burlingame Avenue for restaurants and the train station, Broadway quieter and more local.
About 17 miles south of San Francisco and 17 north of Palo Alto, with Caltrain steps from downtown and SFO five minutes away.
Burlingame sits in two strong districts: the Burlingame School District for K-8, and the San Mateo Union High School District for 9-12.
For families relocating, the question isn't whether Burlingame schools are good — it's which specific attendance zone matches your home search. I can walk you through the differences before we tour homes.
Burlingame sits on the northern Peninsula — about 17 miles south of San Francisco and about 17 miles north of Palo Alto. The Caltrain Burlingame stop is steps from downtown; SFO is 5 minutes away; 101 and 280 both connect minutes from any home.
I preview homes in person before I recommend them, and I pay attention to which streets feel different at 8 a.m. school drop-off vs. 6 p.m. commute. That on-the-ground knowledge is what separates a buyer who pays median from a buyer who pays $80,000 under list.
Whether you're buying, selling, or just exploring the market — let's have a focused 15-minute conversation about your specific goals and what's actually possible in Burlingame right now.
