Where the Peninsula Meets the Horizon: Inside 205 Hillcrest’s Elevated Living Experience

205-hillcrest-san-carlos-bay-view-home.jpg

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY APRIL 18th & 19th 2:00-4:00

5 Bedrooms | 3 Baths | 3,148 ft² | 7,000 ft² lot | $3,200,000

Perched above the Peninsula, this is not a home that whispers—it unfolds. Light, air, and horizon become part of the architecture, with sweeping views from the San Francisco Bay to Mt. Diablo, shifting from crisp morning clarity to a warm evening glow.

An inviting front patio entry creates a sense of arrival before the home reveals itself in a series of thoughtfully designed spaces. A gracious reception room offers a moment to pause, then opens to a grand living room where walls of glass frame cinematic views and draw the outdoors in. 

The multi-level perimeter decking doesn’t simply wrap the home—it enhances the living experience. Each vantage point extenuates with views that evolve throughout the day, offering distinct settings for morning coffee, afternoon gatherings, and evenings under an open sky. A level rear yard with mature rose bushes offers a softer, more relaxed outdoor retreat.

Five generously proportioned bedrooms and three updated full baths, two private ensuites—one on the main level—provides flexibility for guests, extended living, or changing needs. The galley-style kitchen and dining area balance efficiency with warmth and features a KitchenAid® five-burner glass cooktop, Broan® Rangemaster stainless hood, GE® TrueTemp self-cleaning oven, LG® dishwasher, and GE®stainless French door refrigerator—all designed for reliable everyday performance.

Interior features include recessed lighting and real wood parquet flooring, adding texture and continuity. Additional amenities include a distinctive slate-style roof, a two-car attached garage and included washer/dryer. ADU potential on the lower level.

Moments from downtown San Carlos and Belmont, the location offers easy access to a vibrant mix of dining, shopping, commute routes and daily conveniences. With approximately 3,148 sq. ft. of living space on a 7,000 sq. ft. lot, it is also within the boundaries of Carlmont High, a California Distinguished School. 

This home balances presence with practicality.

  • Stunning views of the San Francisco Bay and Mt. Diablo
  • Generous five bedrooms, including two ensuites 
  • Three updated full baths
  • Multi-level perimeter decking with breathtaking views
  • Enticing patio entrance
  • Gracious reception room
  • Grand living room with stunning views
  • Galley-style kitchen adjacent dining room 
  • KitchenAid® Five-Burner glass stovetop
  • GE® True Temp self-cleaning oven
  • LG® Dishwasher
  • GE® stainless French door refrigerator
  • BROAN® Rangemaster stainless hood
  • Recessed lighting
  • Parquet hardwood flooring
  • Large level rear yard area studded with mature rose bushes. 
  • Two-car attached garage
  • Distinctive Slate-style roof
  • Washer & Dryer included
  • Close to downtown San Carlos and Belmont
  • Inside Carlmont High boundaries
  • Built in 1962
  • Living area 3,148 sf (per appraisal)
  • Lot Size, 7,000 sf (per County)
  • ADU potential

Belmont City Council Quietly Exploring “View Impact Fee” for Certain Homes

Belmont View Fee

In a move that has already begun circulating among local homeowners, the Belmont City Council is reportedly exploring a new proposal aimed at addressing what officials are referring to as “view equity.”

According to early discussion drafts, the concept centers around a potential “View Impact Fee” that would apply to homes benefiting from partial or panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay.

The rationale?
Properties with premium outlooks, particularly those capturing unobstructed Bay and Mt. Diablo views, are seen as receiving a “disproportionate benefit from shared natural resources.”

How It Would Work

While still in the exploratory phase, the proposal outlines a tiered structure:

  • Tier 1: Glimpses of the Bay
  • Tier 2: Partial Bay views
  • Tier 3: Panoramic or unobstructed views

Annual fees would reportedly scale based on view classification, with funds allocated toward:

  • “Community aesthetic enhancements”
  • Tree canopy management programs
  • Public viewpoint improvements

The “View Equity” Argument

A council subcommittee is said to be evaluating how to “balance access to scenic resources” across neighborhoods.

One early draft reportedly states:

“While views are inherently tied to location and topography, the broader community contributes to the preservation and desirability of these assets.”

What This Could Mean for Homeowners

Although no formal vote has been scheduled, the concept has already sparked quiet conversations—particularly among homeowners in Belmont’s hill neighborhoods, where views are a defining feature of property value.

Some are questioning how views would be measured, how frequently classifications would be reassessed, and whether improvements (such as tree trimming or second-story additions) could impact a home’s “view tier.”

Early Takeaway

At this stage, the proposal remains informal and under review. However, it highlights an ongoing theme in Peninsula communities—how to balance property rights, natural assets, and neighborhood equity.

Oh, and Happy April Fool’s day neighbors…😉

All the Best,

Drew & Christine Signature

About the Authors

Drew and Christine Morgan are the founders of MorganHomes, their independent brokerage based in Belmont. They also maintain a strategic affiliation with RE/MAX GOLD, combining the flexibility of an independent firm with the resources of one of the largest real estate networks.

As longtime Belmont residents and real estate professionals with more than 30 years of experience, they have helped generations of local families buy, sell, and make smart real estate decisions. Drew is also a Notary Public, providing additional convenience and support for clients when it matters most.

Their consistent performance has earned them RE/MAX’s prestigious Diamond Award, placing them among the top agents nationwide and among the top performers in Northern California.

If you have questions about the Belmont market or would like to discuss your situation, you can reach them at (650) 508-1441 or info@morganhomes.com.

For ongoing insights about Belmont real estate, local market trends, and community updates, you can subscribe to this blog or follow MorganHomes on Facebook and X.

Disclaimer

This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as real estate, legal, tax, or insurance advice. Because every situation is unique, we recommend consulting with a qualified professional, like us, to understand your specific circumstances.

Why Are Interest Rates So Low and What Does it Mean to Me?

Unasked2 copy Whether you are thinking of buying or already own a home the current historically low interest rates may help you save thousands of dollars.

Rates in the last week have averaged the lowest point since records were first kept over 30 years ago. Refinancing today may help you save hundreds of dollars in monthly interest payments but even more important are the long term savings.

Rates are low right now because the financial crisis in Europe is driving the appetite for U.S. bonds which in turn raises the price and lowers the yield (interest) payment. And since mortgage rates roughly track the 10 Year Treasury Bond you can see where rates are headed and why. Rates are the lowest they’ve been–period.

If you think about the past 30 year trend of interest rates, which have averaged around 9%, it’s easy to guesstimate that the odds are good rates will be higher in the future rather than lower. What does that mean to you? If you are considering a purchase it means that there are two ways to look at it: if you buy a home at today’s rates either your monthly payment will be substantially lower or you can buy a considerably larger home for the same amount of money. In fact a payment on a $1,000,000 home ($800,000 loan) would be around $4,234 per month as opposed to $6,437 at the average historic 9% rate. But that doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story.

Not everyone stays in their home for Fhfb_contract_rate30 years but this offers up a substantial savings in interest payments. Most people aren’t aware of the long term costs of home ownership so you’ll be interested to note that at today’s rate your total interest payments over 30 years would total $725,000 and at the historical 9% rate it would be as high as $1,517,000–over double the interest payment for the same home. What could you do with an extra $793,000?

Perhaps rates will never be as high as they were back in the late 70’s and early 80’s but rates have still averaged 6.7% over the last 15 years during a time of historically low rates.

Case-shiller MSANow combine this with the recent decrease in home values and it’s hard to argue that waiting to buy a home will significantly benefit you.

Belmont’s Beautiful Mountain Blog Revisited

 

In 2008 we began several new series on our blog site. Most of our content centered around the turbulent real estate market on the Peninsula, but we also endeavored to comment about the market in general and small town happenings in Belmont.

Some of our posts simply required too much time away from the business of selling homes, and we’ve decided to eliminate a few of those.

What we will be discontinuing is the weekly update of new listings and sales. Rather, we encourage you now to subscribe to our automated system for getting listing alerts in real time—including new listings and recent sales; we just felt that we were being a little redundant and this trade-off will allow us more time to concentrate on our business.

You can still count on getting a monthly wrap-up of homes that have sold. We feature Belmont home sales in detail on this blog site and you can always get surrounding cities and the entire San Mateo county stats at our MorganHomes.com web site under “How’s the Market”; we also implemented the Fusion style graphs that are more interactive and interesting.

We’ll continue to add occasional posts in our series “Frequently Unasked Questions” Unasked3 whenever we stumble across an issue we think you should know about, and probably don’t.

 

The Podcasts we began in 2008 will still be around when we want to discuss the market in general and we hope that you continue to stay tuned to those.Podcast

We think this more focused and succinct blog format will help our readers get the real estate information they want, and know that they can rely on our regular posts whicht have attracted the most readership.

Thanks for being patient as we enjoy an exciting 2009.

Market Update-11.24.2008

Drew & Christine Morgan



 


Housing Update–November 2008

(650) 508-1441


dmorgan@morganhomes.com


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San Mateo County continues to out performed many of the nine bay area counties but a protracted deep recession could change all that.


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We’re very excited to bring you a new animated version of our graphs depicting the various housing market trends in San Mateo County and the cities which lie within.


Each month we download data from our Multiple Listing Service and analyze the market indicators. We provide this in-depth analysis for several of the many cities we serve on the Peninsula.


We’ve also added short audio tags to describe what we are depicting and help put the information in perspective.


Another feature will be our “Weekly Graph”. We’re not saying it will change each week but when an interesting trend develops you’ll find it under that tab.


We hope you’ll take a moment to check out our new graphical interface on our “How’s the Market?” link and give us some feedback.













Renters Hit Hard As Prices Climb

You’ve got to admit, renters have had a hard time. After being squeezed out of the homeownership market for years they now face getting squeezed out of the rental market as well.

But more to my point…ever notice that plane crashes come in three’s? Do they, or does the media just report them that way? Ever notice after a plane does crash you hear nothing but planes crashing all day. Are planes suddenly dropping out of the sky in some fit of protest? Hardly.Puzzled

I’ve also noticed a distinct pattern to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sunday Real Estate section. Each week they organize this section into a theme. Last week’s “theme” was the bad news for renters with headings such as these: “Bay Area rents still rising”, (James Temple, Chronicle Staff Writer, Friday, April 18, 2008), “Apartment rents throughout West still rising”, (MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer, Thursday, April 17, 2008), “A look at apartment rents in western United States”, (The Associated Press, Thursday, April 17, 2008).

The San Francisco Chronicle’s recent reports on the rental market have been rather telling in regards to the overall housing picture. With more buyers unable or unwilling to buy, competing with homeowners thrust back into the rental market due to either voluntarily or involuntarily leaving homeownership, it will be just a matter of time before rising rents and lower home values make owning vs. renting a no brainer. I’ve seen it before and I’m sure I’ll see it again.

But then I read what appeared to be an op-ed piece by Marcie Lewis of Bankrate.com. That headline read “Rental Market Hit by Mortgage Crisis”. I thought I was going to read more of the same—doom and gloom for renters. But the piece ended by stating the opposite of what all the other articles had to offer about the dwindling supply of rental units by saying:

“Other homeowners have opted to rent out their entire home because they’ve relocated, but can’t sell the home for enough money to pay off their debts, which might include a home equity loan or line of credit in addition to a first mortgage. This trend increases the supply of rental housing.” (Lewis 4/2008, p K11)

And…

”Many cities experienced a boom in conversions of apartments into condos, but now, due to lower condo prices, some builders and owners have opted to rent out units they’d intended to sell. This trend also adds to the supply of rentals.” (Lewis 4/2008 , p K11)

So wait a minute; do we have more available rental units or less? I guess they’ll follow up next week with the answer.

IF WE AREN’T ALREADY IN A RECESSION, WE COULD BE SOON

Bad_news A front page article in the Sunday edition of the San Francisco Chronicle titled "Lenders Retreat as Market Plummets" (Sam Zukerman-staff writer April 6, 2008) may frighten some people into cashing their home equity line checks fast.

The article states that many banks such as Bank of America, Country Wide Financial and Washington Mutual are freezing homeowner’s equity lines in fear of losing more money to foreclosures. Let’s hope Wells Fargo continues to believe in the Bay Area like Bank of America used to.

This could spell a downward spiral as lenders cut back on honoring equity lines that might just be the thing which could keep some folks from losing their homes. The opportunity to tap into existing equity to forestall a foreclosure, even just pay the bills may be just the shot in the arm credit worthy people might need yet now many banks appear poised to pull the plug.

Of course bank don’t want people spending their equity line of credit like they used to-especially if home values in their area have dropped significantly; but cutting them off may just send many more of their customers to the front of the foreclosure line.

IF WE AREN’T ALREADY IN A RECESSION, WE COULD BE SOON

This could spell more doom and gloom in the economy as less available cash for spending-or simply knowing that emergency cash flow could be cut, will likely be the nail in the coffin for economic growth this year.

It’s a calculated risk on the part of the banks-at least we hope they have calculated it. They don’t want to throw good money after bad but by freezing equity lines when people need them most they could mean they end up taking back more property than if they left these loans in place.