The Peninsula Plays brief
One email a week on the Peninsula teardown and spec-build market: what the dirt actually sold for, what got permitted, and the land-and-rebuild candidates our screen surfaced.
Built from public records: permits, county parcels, and sold comps. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
What an issue looks like
Sample issue, permit and sales data as of August 3, 2026Market pulse
| City | Median price | Avg DOM | Sale/List | Demo permits | New-build permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo | $1,698,000 | 58 | 106% | 0 | 53 |
| Burlingame | $2,912,500 | 38 | 107% | 14 | 48 |
| San Carlos | $2,388,000 | 48 | 105% | 0 | 2 |
| Redwood City | $2,259,000 | 45 | 105% | 6 | 2 |
| Hillsborough | $9,890,000 | 160 | 103% | 26 | 0 |
| Menlo Park | $2,988,000 | 45 | 105% | 5 | 1 |
| Atherton | $9,984,000 | 35 | 101% | 5 | 4 |
What the dirt is selling for
Recent sales of small homes on big lots, i.e. land buys. This is what builders are paying for the lot.
- Belmont$1,908,000 · 1,490 sqft home on a 8,709 sqft lot ·$219/lot-sqft(sold 2026-07-10)
- San Carlos$2,235,000 · 1,760 sqft home on a 11,362 sqft lot ·$197/lot-sqft(sold 2026-07-09)
- San Mateo$1,915,000 · 1,090 sqft home on a 5,283 sqft lot ·$362/lot-sqft(sold 2026-07-09)
- Menlo Park$3,250,000 · 1,735 sqft home on a 6,397 sqft lot ·$508/lot-sqft(sold 2026-07-09)
- Redwood City$2,503,000 · 1,680 sqft home on a 6,000 sqft lot ·$417/lot-sqft(sold 2026-07-09)
Live opportunities
Candidates the screen surfaced in a recent issue, most under-built lot first. Figures are recorded listing and assessor data. We don't publish a projected return, because we can't yet back one.
- Los Gatos, land-and-rebuild candidate · $3,890,000 · 2,877 sqft house · 33,977 sqft lot (8% covered) · 2 days on marketExact address in the full brief.
- Burlingame, land-and-rebuild candidate · $2,950,000 · 2,280 sqft house · 19,010 sqft lot (12% covered) · 18 days on marketExact address in the full brief.
The data behind it is browsable
The brief is the weekly read on the same live dataset that powers the site: scored listings in the screener, and every building permit we track across San Mateo County and the mid-Peninsula.
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Free, weekly, and written from the data. That's the whole pitch.