Balboa Terrace, San Francisco: Homes, HOA & Real Estate Guide
Balboa Terrace is a 1920s residence park of about 280 detached houses between Monterey Boulevard, Junipero Serra Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, below Mount Davidson on San Francisco’s southwest side. It is subdistrict 4A in the MLS’s District 4, and every homeowner is automatically a member of the Balboa Terrace Homes Association.
The tract is small, almost entirely single-family and eligible for the California Register as a historic district. For a buyer, the association’s design review and dues, and the limits that come with historic eligibility, matter as much as the house itself.
Balboa Terrace homes for sale
Balboa Terrace market report
Where it is and what surrounds it
Its streets are short, and several carry Spanish names. The Assessor’s roll lists addresses on Darien Way, San Rafael, San Fernando, San Benito and San Leandro ways, Santa Ana Avenue and Upland Drive, plus the south side of Monterey Boulevard roughly from the 1400 to the 1900 block.
Across Monterey Boulevard to the north is St. Francis Wood. Mount Davidson Manor adjoins it on the east, Ingleside Terrace lies across Ocean Avenue to the south, and Lakeside is across Junipero Serra Boulevard to the west.
How the tract was built
The Balboa Terrace Homes Association’s history page says Baldwin & Howell filed the subdivision in 1912, that Hueter Homes built most of the houses in the 1920s to designs by Harold G. Stoner, and that the Lang Realty Company handled promotion and sales. It calls Balboa Terrace one of the earliest subdivisions on Mount Davidson.
The same page describes houses set back from the street, wiring placed underground and landscaped streets with grassy pedestrian walkways. The association also notes a collection of Batchelder tile fireplaces in the houses.
Planning’s California Register layer records a Balboa Terrace Historic District with a period of significance from 1921 to 1939 and Harold G. Stoner as its builder-designer. The district is eligible, not listed, and is not an Article 10 city district.
The houses on the 2025 roll
The Assessor’s 2025 closed roll lists about 296 parcels in 4A, and almost all are houses or residential lots:
| Measure (4A) | Value |
|---|---|
| Single-family parcels | 281 |
| Vacant residential parcels | 10 |
| Median single-family lot | 4,042 sq ft |
| Median single-family building area | 2,286 sq ft |
| Median recorded year built | 1926 |
| Recorded before 1930 / after 1945 | 224 (about 80 percent) / 9 |
| Recorded as one / two / three stories | 146 / 116 / 18 |
The figures place Balboa Terrace between its neighbors. Its median lot is smaller than St. Francis Wood’s or Ingleside Terrace’s but larger than most of District 4’s postwar tracts, and about half its houses are recorded as one story. There are no condominiums, flats or commercial buildings on the roll.
The ten vacant residential parcels deserve a look in any purchase. If a house is offered with an adjoining lot, confirm that both parcels convey and how each is taxed.
The homes association
Membership is not optional. The association’s FAQ says every homeowner in Balboa Terrace is automatically a member and must pay the annual assessment, which is based on lot square footage, billed in late January and due March 1.
The association maintains the entry monuments, medians, portals, trees, landscaping and irrigation in its common areas, as well as easement concrete and alley paving, and it uses a reserve study to plan that work. Its common areas include the grass strips along Monterey Boulevard between Junipero Serra Boulevard and San Benito Way, a large lawn along Junipero Serra and the east-west walkways it calls breezeways.
An Architectural Review Committee reviews exterior construction against the association’s Design Guidelines and CC&Rs. New and replacement windows need its approval, and solar installations are reviewed to limit their visual impact; interior work with normal DBI permits generally is not reviewed. The FAQ also describes notices, a hearing and fines for landscape violations.
Ask for the current assessment, any pending approvals and the recorded CC&Rs before removing contingencies. This is general information, not legal advice; a California real estate attorney can tell you what the recorded CC&Rs require of a particular house.
Historic eligibility, zoning and extra units
Apart from two public parcels, all 294 parcels carry RH-1(D), one-family detached, on the Assessor’s roll. At the San Benito Way parcel we checked, Planning’s map agrees, adds a 40//40-R-4 height district and places the lot in the Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District.
Historic eligibility is the main limit on adding units. Planning Code Section 249.94 rules out SUD projects that would demolish a building listed in or determined eligible for the California or National Register, individually or as a district contributor. California’s SB 9 excludes contributing structures in historic districts on the State Historic Resources Inventory or designated by local ordinance (Government Code section 65852.21(a)(5)), so whether an eligible district qualifies is a question for Planning and an attorney. See our SB 9 lot split guide.
The association’s design review applies in addition to any city permit, so an addition needs both approvals.
A landmark on San Leandro Way
The Gregangelo Museum at 225 San Leandro Way became City Landmark No. 318 in 2024. Planning’s record describes a 1920 Mediterranean Revival house designed by Walter C. Falch and notes its associations with LGBTQ+ and counterculture history. It is one of the few individual landmarks in a District 4 residence park.
Ground, transit and getting around
Planning’s seismic hazard layers show no mapped liquefaction or landslide zone within Balboa Terrace; the nearest liquefaction polygons lie west of Junipero Serra Boulevard and south of Ocean Avenue. A Natural Hazard Disclosure report is still part of the sale; see our San Francisco hazard maps page.
The K Ingleside runs along two edges of the tract. SFMTA’s route page describes it traveling on Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard between Balboa Park BART and West Portal Avenue, with a stop at St. Francis Circle. Along the Monterey Boulevard side, the 23 Monterey bus is named for the street; our route list for it dates from 2022, so check SFMTA for current service.
Selling a home in Balboa Terrace
Buyers who look here may also tour St. Francis Wood and Ingleside Terrace, so they compare original detail, lot size and the house’s condition. The association’s records are part of the package.
- Association file: assessment status, Architectural Review Committee approvals for past work (windows included) and the recorded CC&Rs.
- Permit history: permits for additions and lower-level rooms, matched to the association approvals.
- Original features: fireplaces, tile and period detail that survive, documented with photos.
- Historic status: whether Planning treats the house as a district contributor.
- City requirements: listed on our San Francisco selling requirements page.
The bigger, better-preserved houses here can compete for the same buyers as the city’s high-end listings, and our San Francisco luxury homes page explains how those are marketed. The market report on this page shows current 4A figures.
Questions people ask
Is membership in the Balboa Terrace Homes Association required?
Yes. The association’s FAQ says every homeowner is automatically a member and that the annual assessment, based on lot size, is not optional.
Do I need approval to replace windows in Balboa Terrace?
Yes, according to the association. New and replacement windows need Architectural Review Committee approval, in addition to any city permit.
Is Balboa Terrace a historic district?
Planning has found a Balboa Terrace Historic District eligible for the California Register, with a period of significance of 1921 to 1939. It is not listed and is not a city Article 10 district.
Who built Balboa Terrace?
Baldwin & Howell filed the subdivision in 1912, and Hueter Homes built most of the houses in the 1920s to Harold G. Stoner’s designs, according to the homes association.
How many homes are in Balboa Terrace?
The 2025 Assessor’s roll lists 281 single-family parcels and 10 vacant residential parcels, with no condominiums or commercial buildings.
What Muni line is closest?
The K Ingleside, which runs on Ocean Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard along the tract’s edges and stops at St. Francis Circle, per SFMTA.
Planning a sale in Balboa Terrace? Ask us for a valuation of your house that accounts for its lot, era and association file, and read our approach to selling in San Francisco. Our San Francisco guide links every other neighborhood.
Sources & notes
- Balboa Terrace Homes Association: History of Balboa Terrace
- Balboa Terrace Homes Association: Frequently Asked Questions
- DataSF / SF Assessor-Recorder: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by class, build years, stories, median lot and building area, zoning codes, street and block listings and subdistrict extents for 4A, 4E, 4H, 4P, 4R and 4S; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning, height and special use districts, landmarks, California Register historic districts, seismic hazard zones, FEMA flood zones, supervisor districts; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.94, Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District
- California Government Code section 65852.21 (SB 9 two-unit projects), via California Public Law
- SFMTA: K Ingleside route page
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route names and termini; page states service as of July 2022)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
