Atherton Real Estate Agent
One-acre lots and protected native oaks shape the Atherton market. Representation grounded in the land and the town’s rules.
Lisa M. Lum is an Atherton real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty, based in neighboring Menlo Park. Atherton is a town of large lots and no commercial zoning, where supply is tight and few homes compare directly.
Its pockets differ in lot size and setting. West Atherton is known for estates of one to three acres behind tall hedges, near the Menlo Circus Club and Alameda de las Pulgas.
Lindenwood, in the flat northeast, has its own homes association. Lloyden Park, near Marsh Road, offers smaller parcels with good access to the Menlo Park Caltrain station.
Most streets have no streetlights, and the Planning Department’s review keeps the town’s character strictly residential.
Atherton protects every native oak regardless of size, and the town reviews new construction closely. Before you decide on a home or a price, Lisa walks through how the lot, the trees and the review process bear on it.
Meet Lisa M. Lum
Lisa is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty, working from the brokerage’s Menlo Park office at 1706 El Camino Real. She has been licensed in California since 2018 (DRE #02005150) and studied Legal Studies at UC Berkeley.
More about Lisa →Selling your Atherton home
Selling in Atherton starts with an accurate valuation. Every estate differs in acreage, architecture and age.
Lisa builds the number from a hyperlocal comparable analysis: the street, the lot size, the school attendance area and the micro-neighborhood.
Through her Home Refresh program, Lisa manages the vendors for repairs, paint, staging and curb appeal, and you approve every estimate before work begins.
If any tree work is under consideration, permits and arborist reports belong on the calendar well before photography.
Home Refresh also covers a pre-listing inspection and a disclosure package, so buyers' questions are answered early.
Standard California disclosures apply, including the Transfer Disclosure Statement, the Natural Hazard Disclosure and the smoke and CO alarm certifications.
San Mateo County’s documentary transfer tax applies at recording and is customarily paid by the seller; confirm current rates and any city tax with the title company.
When offers arrive, Lisa reviews each with you on terms, contingencies, timing and the buyer’s financing.
Go deeper: current Atherton seller data, how to choose a listing agent in Atherton and the Home Refresh program.
Lisa’s guide
The Home Refresh Guide
How Lisa prepares a home before it goes to market, from the pre-listing inspection to staging.
Buying a home in Atherton
In Atherton, the land drives the purchase. Flat-area subdivision standards call for roughly one acre, and hillside areas require two to five acres.
Setbacks, floor area and lot coverage limits shape what you can build. If you plan to renovate or rebuild, talk with the town’s Planning Department early, because its review process can extend project timelines significantly.
Trees come next. The Heritage Tree Ordinance (Atherton Municipal Code Chapter 8.10) protects every native oak regardless of size. Removal requires a permit and may require a certified arborist’s report, and unauthorized removal carries civil penalties.
A site plan that works on paper can fail because of an oak, so an arborist’s review belongs in due diligence.
School assignment varies within the town. Menlo Park City School District serves Atherton for K-8, and Las Lomitas Elementary School District covers western portions. Confirm the district for the exact parcel before you write an offer.
Inspections and disclosure packages are typically more involved here, given the age and scale of the properties. Plan your inspection period with that in mind.
For the full picture of the market, see the Atherton community guide and Lisa’s buyer’s guide.
Atherton neighborhoods served
- West AthertonFlat one- to three-acre estates near the Menlo Circus Club, set behind tall hedges.
- LindenwoodRoughly one-acre lots in the flat northeast of town, with an active homes association.
- Lloyden ParkHalf-acre to one-acre lots under mature oak canopy near Marsh Road.
- Atherton OaksA small enclave shaped by heritage oak canopy, on lots that meet the town’s one-acre standard.
- West of AlamedaOne- to three-acre lots on quieter cul-de-sac streets between Alameda de las Pulgas and the Menlo Park border.
- East AthertonResidential streets between Middlefield Road and El Camino Real, on the eastern side of town.
Every neighborhood above has a full profile in the Atherton community guide.
