Millbrae Real Estate & Living Guide

What's the Millbrae, CA real estate market like right now? As of April 2026, the median sale price for a single-family home in Millbrae is $2,180,000 — with homes selling at 109% of list price, in an average of 17 days on market, and just 0.8 months of supply.

Overview

Millbrae is the transit capital of the Peninsula. The Millbrae Intermodal Station is the only place in the Bay Area where BART and Caltrain meet under one roof — one of the largest intermodal stations in the western U.S. — with SFO a single BART stop away. No other city in San Mateo County can put downtown San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and an international airport within one seamless connection, and that fact quietly underwrites Millbrae home values year after year.

The city itself is compact — about 23,000 people — and climbs from the flats around El Camino Real and downtown Broadway into hillside neighborhoods with some of the best bay views in the county. Broadway is the heart of it: a walkable main street that has become one of the Bay Area's best-known destinations for dim sum and Cantonese dining, anchored every Labor Day weekend by the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival, one of the largest street festivals in Northern California.

Millbrae's market profile sits right at the county's center of gravity on price — the $2.18M median runs within a hair of the county median — but its competitive metrics are anything but average: 109% of list, 17 days on market, and 0.8 months of supply, tied with Burlingame for the tightest inventory in the county. With only 7 active listings at the end of April, Millbrae is fundamentally a scarcity market: demand is steady, supply is not.

Add strong, well-regarded schools, the Gateway development bringing new housing and offices to the station area, and a hillside-to-flats range of housing that runs from mid-century tracts to $3M+ view homes, and Millbrae reads as one of the most complete small-city packages on the Peninsula.

Market Snapshot — April 2026 (Single-Family Homes)

Source: SAMCAR / MLSListings. Single-family residential only.

Millbrae is one of the most competitive markets in San Mateo County right now. Homes are selling at 109% of list price — above the county's already-aggressive 107% — in about 17 days, and with just 0.8 months of supply and 7 active listings, buyers are competing over a genuinely scarce pool of homes. Keep the small sample in mind (10 sales in the month), but the pattern here is consistent: Millbrae inventory is chronically tight because owners hold on. For sellers, this is about as favorable a setup as the Peninsula offers; for buyers, preparation — financing, terms, and speed — matters more here than in almost any neighboring city.

Neighborhoods

Millbrae organizes itself the way most of the corridor cities do: flats near El Camino and the station, then hillside neighborhoods climbing west toward I-280, with prices and views rising together. The neighborhoods below run roughly from the hills down to the flats.

The Hills & View Neighborhoods

Millbrae Highlands — The city's signature established hillside neighborhood, with early-20th-century cottages, Tudors, and Spanish-style homes on the lower streets and newer, larger homes higher up the hill — where bay views get serious and prices climb into the $3M+ range. The Highlands is what many buyers picture when they think of classic Millbrae.

Mills Estates — A high-end mid-century neighborhood in the hills at the Millbrae–Burlingame border, built out from the mid-1950s. Large, stylish homes — many with sweeping bay views — make this one of Millbrae's most desirable addresses, and its top sales set the city's high-water marks.

Millbrae Meadows — At the city's northwestern edge behind Capuchino, bordered by I-280: a well-preserved mid-century suburban neighborhood with hilltop homes and bay views, popular with buyers who want hill character at a step below Highlands and Mills Estates pricing.

Green Hills — Wrapped around the Alister MacKenzie–designed Green Hills Country Club, with single-family homes from the 1940s–70s on quiet streets. The club's fairways give parts of the neighborhood a green, open feel that's rare this close to the corridor.

Mid-City & The Flats

Capuchino — Toward the San Bruno border, known for its mix of mid-century modern and Spanish Mission Revival homes. A solid mid-tier neighborhood with quick access to both downtowns.

Downtown / El Camino corridor flats — The blocks around Broadway and El Camino Real hold Millbrae's older, more compact housing stock plus most of its condos and townhomes — including newer transit-oriented buildings near the station. This is the entry point to Millbrae ownership, with the trade-offs you'd expect: maximum walkability and transit access, more corridor and airport noise exposure.

A note on edges: the Lomita Park area to the north is an unincorporated county pocket between Millbrae and San Bruno — addresses there can carry Millbrae mailing addresses while sitting outside city limits, which affects services and permitting. Confirm jurisdiction on any specific property.

Getting Around

The Intermodal Station — the headline: Millbrae's BART/Caltrain station is the only cross-platform connection between the two systems anywhere in the Bay Area. BART runs north to San Francisco (and one stop to SFO); Caltrain runs the Peninsula corridor to Palo Alto and San Jose, with express service. For commuters, this is the single best transit address in San Mateo County — and homes within walking distance price it in.

Highways: US-101 along the eastern edge, I-280 on the west, with El Camino Real (CA-82) through the middle and Millbrae Avenue connecting all three. San Francisco is roughly 20–30 minutes by car; SFO is about 5 minutes.

SFO: The airport sits immediately northeast of the city. The convenience is unbeatable; the trade-off is aircraft noise in parts of town, heaviest toward the flats and the eastern side. As in San Bruno and Burlingame, visit at different times of day and pull the SFO noise contour maps for any address you're serious about.

Schools

Millbrae's public schools are split between two districts: the Millbrae School District for elementary and middle grades — neighborhood elementary campuses including Green Hills, Meadows, Spring Valley, and Lomita Park, feeding Taylor Middle School — and the San Mateo Union High School District, anchored locally by Mills High School, which sits right in Millbrae and is a major draw for families settling here.

School assignment is address-specific — boundaries and programs change over time, so verify the exact address directly with each district before you write an offer if schools are central to your search.

Life in Millbrae

Broadway is the center of gravity — a genuinely walkable downtown strip that has earned a regional reputation for Cantonese seafood, dim sum, boba, and bakeries, drawing diners from across the Bay Area on weekends. Every Labor Day weekend, the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival takes over downtown with hundreds of thousands of visitors — one of the largest festivals of its kind in Northern California.

For recreation, the hillside side of the city connects quickly to the Sawyer Camp Trail and the Crystal Springs watershed via Skyline, while the Green Hills Country Club anchors the city's golf scene. Central Park and the city's neighborhood parks handle the everyday — playgrounds, courts, and the farmers' market. The Gateway at Millbrae Station development has added new restaurants, offices, housing, and a hotel at the transit hub, the first phase of a station area that will keep evolving.

Health care is close by too: the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center campus sits just down El Camino at the Burlingame border — a quiet but real factor for move-down buyers choosing where to settle.

What Homes Look Like

Millbrae's housing follows its hillside: early-20th-century cottages, Tudors, and Spanish-style homes in the lower Highlands; large mid-century view homes through Mills Estates and the upper Highlands; preserved 1950s–60s tracts in Millbrae Meadows; mid-century modern and Mission Revival in Capuchino; and 1940s–70s homes around Green Hills. The flats hold the city's older compact homes, and the condo/townhome inventory clusters near the station and El Camino — including newer transit-oriented construction at Gateway.

Rough price tiers, April 2026 (approximate):

• Condos & townhomes: ~$800K–$1.5M (station area, El Camino corridor, including newer TOD buildings)
• Entry single-family: ~$1.6M–$1.95M (flats and compact homes near downtown and the corridor)
• Mid-tier: ~$1.95M–$2.5M (Capuchino, Green Hills, Millbrae Meadows, lower Highlands)
• View & top of market: ~$2.5M–$3.5M+ (upper Millbrae Highlands, Mills Estates, premium view streets)

Tiers are approximate, derived from SAMCAR MLS data and local listing activity for April 2026. Individual properties vary widely by view, lot, condition, and block.

What to Know Before You Buy or Sell

Scarcity is the story: With under a month of supply and single-digit active listings, the right Millbrae home may only come up once in a season. Buyers should be fully underwritten before touring; sellers should know that even in a strong market, preparation and pricing strategy determine whether you capture the 109% dynamic or sit.

SFO noise: Aircraft noise varies block by block, heavier toward the flats and the eastern side of the city. Tour at different hours and check the SFO noise contour maps — the hills are dramatically quieter than the corridor.

Transit-adjacency trade-offs: Walking distance to the Intermodal Station is a premium feature, but the closest blocks also carry BART/Caltrain corridor noise and station traffic. Stand on the street at commute hour before you decide which side of that trade you're on.

Jurisdiction edges: Between the Lomita Park unincorporated pocket and the Burlingame border at Mills Estates, several Millbrae-feeling streets sit outside Millbrae city limits. Confirm the actual jurisdiction, school assignment, and services for any edge address.

Older housing stock and permits: Much of Millbrae's housing is 50–90 years old, with decades of remodels and additions. Pull permit history with the city before closing — unpermitted square footage affects appraisal and resale, especially at Millbrae's price points.

Hillside basics: For Highlands, Mills Estates, and Meadows homes, drainage, foundation, and retaining-wall inspections are money well spent — standard practice for Peninsula hillside properties.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the median home price in Millbrae, CA? As of April 2026, the median sale price for a single-family home in Millbrae is $2,180,000, according to SAMCAR/MLSListings data — almost exactly the San Mateo County median of $2,167,500, though Millbrae's $1,278 per square foot runs above the county's $1,227.

Is Millbrae a buyer's or seller's market right now? As of April 2026, Millbrae is one of the strongest seller's markets in the county: homes sell at 109% of list price in about 17 days, with just 0.8 months of supply — tied for the tightest inventory in San Mateo County. Well-prepared homes routinely draw multiple offers.

Does Millbrae have BART and Caltrain? Yes — and uniquely, both at the same station. The Millbrae Intermodal Station is the only place in the Bay Area where BART and Caltrain connect under one roof, with SFO one BART stop away. It's the single best transit address on the Peninsula.

How far is Millbrae from San Francisco and SFO? SFO borders the city — about 5 minutes by car or one BART stop. Downtown San Francisco is roughly 20–30 minutes by car on 101 or 280, or about 30 minutes on BART.

What is Millbrae known for? Beyond the transit hub: a downtown (Broadway) regionally famous for dim sum and Cantonese dining, the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival every Labor Day weekend, hillside neighborhoods with sweeping bay views, and schools — including Mills High School — that keep family demand consistently strong.

Work With Burt on Your Millbrae Home

Millbrae is a scarcity market — the inventory is thin, the competition is real, and the difference between winning and watching often comes down to preparation and local read. Whether you're a buyer trying to land a Highlands view home or a Meadows mid-century, or a seller deciding how to position into 0.8 months of supply, I can help you navigate this market with real data and real local context.

Call or text Burt Tsuei: 650-274-3598

Burt Tsuei | Team Lead, Burt Tsuei Real Estate Group | Keller Williams Peninsula Estates | DRE# 01906450 | 650-274-3598