Idyllic suburban neighborhood that’s now the hottest property market in the Bay Area
A surprising new suburb has become the Bay Area’s hottest real estate location, with prices rising rapidly.
The San Francisco suburb of Woodlands attracts young families who are priced out of the notoriously expensive city center.
Prices in this neighborhood have increased by 40 percent between February 2020 and the same month in 2024.
According to Zillow, the average home in the region is now worth $1.46 million.
This increase is in line with the general trend in the Bay Area, with buyers moving away from metropolitan areas and toward properties in suburban communities with good schools and space.
Walnut Creek, near the Lime Ridge hiking area, has also seen its prices rise by 30 percent
In San Francisco, prices rose 19 percent in those same four years. That’s a significant amount, but the increase is much greater than in the popular suburbs.
In the nearby Walnut Creek neighborhood, which borders the Lime Ridge hiking area, prices have also increased by 30 percent over the same period.
House prices in Woodlands rose the most in the first two years of the pandemic, when work-from-home policies allowed high-income earners in the city to move into larger homes with more greenery.
Although prices are still rising, higher mortgage rates due to increased interest rates have reduced buyer demand.
Homes in Woodlands and Walnut Creek increased in value by about 4 percent between February 2023 and February 2024.
Work-from-home residents have also added home offices and outbuildings to their properties, further driving up prices, said realtor and longtime Woodlands resident Dayna Wilson told the San Francisco Chronicle.
There is a primary school and several secondary schools near the neighborhoods.
Julie Rattaro, who grew up in Woodlands, returned to raise her own children there and now works at the local Valle Verde Elementary School.
Rattaro told the Chronicle she has seen prices rise since she and her husband bought their current home 12 years ago.
The mother said most of her neighbors are from San Francisco and other cities.
The Bay Area’s Woodlands is a little-known real estate hotspot
The suburb of Woodlands near San Francisco has attracted young families who are priced out of the notoriously expensive city center
Homes in Woodlands are typically 1,800 to 2,300 square meters in size, with wide roads and idyllic green verges.
The area is within walking distance of major grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Safeway, as well as other amenities such as shopping centers.
According to Sharon Vanni, a local resident, the area also attracts grandparents who want to live near their young grandchildren.
“There’s always been interest in the Woodlands,” she told the Chronicle.