2026 San Carlos Neighborhood Check-In: Howard Park

This is the third in a series of data-centric check-ins on each of the six San Carlos neighborhoods, where we take a closer look at how each neighborhood performed in 2025.

Howard Park

Howard Park is one of three neighborhoods that comprise the “flats” of San Carlos, the other two being Clearfield Park, which we highlighted last week, and El Sereno Corte. Howard Park is the northern section of the flats that spans from Brittan Avenue to San Carlos Avenue, and then from El Camino Real to the Alameda, as you can see on the map below:

Howard Park has rapidly become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in San Carlos, primarily because of its proximity to the northern stretch of Laurel Street, where all the popular shops and restaurants are located. It is also home to the largest public park in San Carlos, Burton Park, and the elementary and middle schools are centrally located. It even hosts one of the most popular Christmas Tree Lanes on the Peninsula on Eucalyptus Avenue.

Essentially, most of the popular spots in San Carlos are either right in this neighborhood or just a short jaunt away.

Most of Howard Park consists of single-family homes, many of which were originally built in the 1940's but have been remodeled and updated over time. This is especially true for the homes along Knoll Drive, most of which are large homes on spacious lots with fabulous bay views. The portion of Howard Park that is close to Laurel Street is zoned for multi-use, so there are several high-end condominium complexes, such as Wheeler Plaza and 1001 Laurel Street, that provide housing very close to downtown.

The Numbers

As I noted in this post, Howard Park held the crown for the highest average price-per-square-foot of all neighborhoods in San Carlos in 2025. Let's take a dive into the numbers below. This first graph shows the number of single-family homes that have sold in this area each year since 2021:

This chart mirrors the performance of the other San Carlos neighborhoods. Specifically, 2021 was a banner year for new listings and home sales because home mortgage interest rates were at rock-bottom levels due to the pandemic. After rates began their rapid rise in 2022, the number of listings and home sales dropped dramatically and have been struggling to get back on track ever since.

The second chart is the average and median sales prices for these very same homes.

Howard Park has emerged as one of the most expensive neighborhoods in San Carlos, even surpassing White Oaks. With the exception of a slight dip in 2024, home prices have remained fairly steady over the past 5 years in this neighborhood. The average sold price of a Howard Park home increased by about 7% between 2021 and 2025, while the median sales price increased by only 2%. Regardless, the fact that both figures were over $2,500,000 for 2025 is incredible.

The other metric that is worth checking when determining value is the average price-per-square-foot of those homes that sold. That data is below.

The $1,556/square foot mark that Howard Park achieved in 2025 was the highest in all of San Carlos, yet it was only the third-highest in the average sales price behind Beverly Terrace and Alder Manor. This would indicate that the average home sold in Howard Park is still on the smaller side:

Indeed, the average house sold last year in Howard Park was well below 2,000 square feet.

Key Takeaways on Howard Park:

There are a lot of great characteristics about very popular neighborhood.

• It's home to some of the most sought-after streets in San Carlos: Carmelita Drive, Knoll Drive, Eucalyptus Avenue, Morse Boulevard, Rosewood Boulevard, and many more.
• The proximity to the prime part of the downtown shopping and dining district makes it one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city and, consequently, one of the most expensive.
• Conveniently close to mass transit and the normal commute routes.
• Since the neighborhood is almost entirely flat, it's very easy to get around without having to drive, which is a big hit with the residents.

I hope you enjoyed this check-in. If you live in Howard Park, please drop a comment below about what you like (or don't like) about living in this part of San Carlos. And stay tuned next week when I do a similar check-in on a different San Carlos neighborhood!