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.
Half Moon Bay questions, answered
Figures are September 2026 single-family data from SAMCAR/MLSListings, refreshed monthly. The rest is how Lisa works.
What do homes sell for in Half Moon Bay?
The median single-family sale in Half Moon Bay was $1,940,000 in September 2026, or $973 per square foot. Across all of 2025, the median was $1,750,000. Individual homes range widely around the median by size, condition, lot, and street, so Lisa prices from the closest comparable sales rather than the citywide figure.
How long does it take to sell a home in Half Moon Bay?
The average Half Moon Bay single-family sale took 36 days in September 2026. Homes that are prepared before launch and priced from current comparables usually clear faster than the average; homes priced above the market sit past it and often sell for less after a reduction.
Do homes in Half Moon Bay sell over asking?
On average, yes. Half Moon Bay sellers collected 103% of list price in September 2026, so the typical home sold at or above asking. Pricing to invite competition, rather than at the ceiling, is what produces that result.
What does a real estate agent cost in Half Moon Bay?
Commissions are negotiable and are set in writing before any work starts: the listing agreement for sellers, and the buyer representation agreement for buyers. Lisa walks through the fee, what it covers, and the other closing costs (county transfer tax, title and escrow, any preparation you choose) before you sign anything.
Does Lisa M. Lum work with both buyers and sellers in Half Moon Bay?
Yes. Lisa represents buyers and sellers in Half Moon Bay from the Coldwell Banker Realty office at 1706 El Camino Real in Menlo Park (DRE #02005150). Sellers can use her Home Refresh program, which manages repairs, paint, staging, and curb appeal before launch with every estimate approved first. She works with clients in English, Chinese, Japanese, and French.
