We Buy Houses in Half Moon Bay, CA

Measure D is the most Half Moon Bay-specific obstacle. Under the city's residential growth limit, the number of new dwelling units approved each year cannot exceed the number that would add 1 percent to the city's population, with an extra allowance for downtown. Applications regularly exceed the certificates available — staff cited about 70 allocations for 2026 — and the council has declined to exempt accessory dwelling units. For an owner with an unpermitted second unit, that means legalizing it is not simply a matter of paperwork, and a buyer who planned to rent it legally may back out.

Erosion and sea level are real along the city's shoreline. A 2022 study found at least 123 buildings in Half Moon Bay vulnerable to erosion with five feet of sea-level rise. Houses on the bluffs west of Highway 1 face setbacks, shoreline-protection limits under the city's Local Coastal Program and insurance questions that a financed buyer must clear before closing.

Low ground along Pilarcitos Creek, Frenchmans Creek and Naples Creek, which cross the city to the ocean, carries flooding questions that affect insurance requirements and lender conditions. A house that has taken water before, or sits in a mapped flood zone, often sells for less and more slowly through a listing.

Older houses near downtown and on the farm edges can carry original wiring, aging septic systems where they are not on city sewer, and outbuildings converted to living space. Each is a reason a financed buyer's inspection turns into a renegotiation. Where a Half Moon Bay house is sound and permitted, the market for it is deep and you should list; we are the right buyer only for the problem property.

Downtown and the blocks around Main Street hold the oldest houses, including the James Johnston House, one of four local sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Ocean Colony and the Half Moon Bay Country Club planned development at the south end were built from the 1980s onward as golf-course subdivisions and condominiums, near the Ritz-Carlton, the city's largest business.

Cañada Cove, a 55-and-over community built in 1972 with roughly 360 sites, is a different kind of property: homes there are manufactured units on leased land, titled through the state housing department, with a monthly site rent and park approval of any buyer. That is a separate transaction from selling a house, and we will tell you at the start whether it is one we can do.

Water comes from the Coastside County Water District. Sewage goes to the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside plant, which the city shares with the Granada and Montara districts; the city sued those districts over the authority's agreement in 2017, and the litigation has continued through several rulings. Schools include Half Moon Bay High, Cunha Middle and Hatch Elementary in the Cabrillo Unified district. Highway 92 over the hills to San Mateo is the main commuter route, and its congestion is a factor buyers weigh.