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 24, 2026Market pulse
| City | Median price | Avg DOM | Sale/List | Demo permits | New-build permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo | $1,575,000 | 44 | 107% | — | 18 |
| Burlingame | $3,091,500 | 33 | 107% | 2 | 3 |
| San Carlos | $2,495,000 | 34 | 105% | — | 3 |
| Redwood City | $2,595,000 | 37 | 106% | 8 | 3 |
| Hillsborough | $9,800,000 | 44 | 104% | 4 | — |
| Belmont | $1,998,000 | 45 | 105% | — | — |
| Menlo Park | $2,650,000 | 40 | 104% | 5 | 9 |
| Atherton | $13,750,000 | 37 | 104% | 6 | 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.
- San Mateo$1,800,000 · 1,550 sqft home on a 5,100 sqft lot ·$353/lot-sqft(sold 2026-08-21)
- San Mateo$2,850,000 · 1,940 sqft home on a 5,392 sqft lot ·$529/lot-sqft(sold 2026-08-21)
- San Mateo$2,730,000 · 1,614 sqft home on a 14,905 sqft lot ·$183/lot-sqft(sold 2026-08-20)
- San Mateo$1,910,000 · 1,530 sqft home on a 7,086 sqft lot ·$270/lot-sqft(sold 2026-08-20)
- Menlo Park$3,250,000 · 1,950 sqft home on a 8,956 sqft lot ·$363/lot-sqft(sold 2026-08-20)
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.
- Woodside, land-and-rebuild candidate · $2,995,000 · 3,680 sqft house · 174,115 sqft lot (2% covered) · 37 days on marketExact address in the full brief.
- Hillsborough, land-and-rebuild candidate · $3,998,000 · 3,671 sqft house · 24,479 sqft lot (15% covered) · 17 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.