Half Moon Bay Real Estate Agent
Nearly every Half Moon Bay project needs a Coastal Development Permit. Representation that reads the coastal rules before the price.
Lisa M. Lum is a Half Moon Bay real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty, working from the office at 1706 El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Half Moon Bay sits on the San Mateo Coast, 28 miles south of San Francisco, along Highway 1 and Highway 92.
It’s the principal city on the Coastside. Miramar, Princeton-by-the-Sea, El Granada, Moss Beach and Montara are unincorporated, and San Mateo County governs them.
Pillar Point Harbor in Princeton is a working fishing marina. The shoreline includes Francis State Beach and miles of coastal trail along the Half Moon Bay State Beaches.
Inside city limits, Ocean Colony Estates surrounds the Half Moon Bay Golf Links, and The Highlands sits east of Highway 1.
The whole city lies within the California Coastal Zone. That fact, along with flood maps and bluff erosion, shapes what you can build and what you must disclose.
Lisa walks you through those rules for a specific property before you commit to a number.
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 Half Moon Bay home
A Half Moon Bay sale is priced by its place on the coast. A golf-frontage home in Ocean Colony Estates and a mid-century home in The Highlands answer to different buyers.
Lisa manages the marketing, showings and negotiations.
Disclosure is where coastal sales get detailed. If your parcel is blufftop, beachfront or erosion-prone, disclose prior Coastal Development Permit conditions, public access easements and any shoreline-protection policy affecting it.
If your home is in an HOA such as Ocean Colony Estates, gather the governing documents early.
If your home is on private septic, confirm with San Mateo County Environmental Health what inspection applies to your sale, and schedule it ahead of launch.
Through her Home Refresh program, Lisa manages the vendors for repairs, paint, staging and curb appeal, and you approve every estimate before work begins.
Home Refresh also covers a pre-listing inspection and a disclosure package, ready before the first showing.
Total documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000, split between city and county. How it affects your proceeds is a question for your tax advisor.
When offers arrive, Lisa reviews each one with you on price, terms, contingencies and the buyer’s financing.
Go deeper: current Half Moon Bay seller data 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 Half Moon Bay
Start with the permit layer. Because the entire city is in the Coastal Zone, nearly all development requires a Coastal Development Permit under Municipal Code Chapter 18.20, on top of standard zoning review.
Single-family zoning falls under Chapter 18.06, where R-1 is the predominant zone. If you plan to remodel or add on, talk with the Community Development Department before you sign.
Next, read the hazard disclosures. They can include FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, coastal erosion and bluff retreat zones, tsunami inundation zones, the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.
On blufftop and beachfront parcels, look for public access easements and prior permit conditions.
Trees count too. The Heritage Tree Ordinance covers any tree with a trunk at least 12 inches in diameter, on public or private property, and removal requires a permit.
Know which side of the city line you’re on. In the unincorporated communities, the county governs, and many homes use private septic systems regulated by San Mateo County Environmental Health. Ask the county what inspection applies before you write an offer.
Cabrillo Unified School District serves the city and the surrounding Coastside. Elementary schools are assigned by residence, and students converge at Cunha Intermediate and Half Moon Bay High School. Confirm the assignment for the exact address with the district before you write an offer.
For the full picture of the market, see the Half Moon Bay community guide and Lisa’s buyer’s guide.
Half Moon Bay neighborhoods served
- Ocean Colony EstatesA master-planned HOA community around the Half Moon Bay Golf Links, with golf-frontage and ocean-view lots.
- The HighlandsMid-century single-family homes on tree-lined streets east of Highway 1.
- MiramarUnincorporated blufftop and hillside parcels north of city limits, from beach cottages to ocean-view custom homes.
- El GranadaA grid of alphabetical streets between Pillar Point Harbor and Highway 1, with mid-century homes on flat lots.
- Moss BeachLots from urban-scale to multi-acre coastal bluff, near the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve tidepools.
- MontaraThe northernmost Coastside community, with homes near Montara State Beach and Gray Whale Cove.
Every neighborhood above has a full profile in the Half Moon Bay community guide.
