Real estate direct mail in North Park:
a farming plan for realtors

Burlingame (92104)

Between 30th and 32nd Streets, just above Switzer Canyon, Burlingame is a city historic district of more than 170 homes, built from 1912 to the early 1950s along curving streets and rose-colored sidewalks. It mixes Craftsman, Spanish, Prairie, Tudor and other styles, and owners who are proud of them.

• Who sells: long-time owners downsizing, owners moving for work, and families who need more room than an older home gives them.
• What to mail: cards that show you understand historic homes: what restored and original homes sold for, how historic designation affects remodels, and how a Mills Act contract can lower property taxes for the next owner. Owners here want an agent who will market the house, not just the square feet.
• How to mail: a list of the homes in the district and the streets around it. The district is small enough to mail every home with addressed mail, and the routes nearby include apartments.

Morley Field and the Dryden district (92104)

Along 28th Street and Pershing Avenue near Morley Field and Balboa Park, the North Park Dryden Historic District, designated in 2011, has about 136 homes, many of them Craftsman homes by the architect and builder David Owen Dryden and others. The streets around it have more older homes from the early 1900s, close to the park.

• Who sells: long-time owners and heirs, and owners moving up to more space after years in a small bungalow.
• What to mail: street-by-street sales, with original and restored homes side by side, and a card on preparing an older home for sale: the inspections, the old wiring and plumbing buyers will ask about, and which repairs pay back.
• How to mail: EDDM® on the routes that are mostly houses near the park, and a list where apartments mix in. Look at each route in the EDDM® route planner before you choose.

The smaller historic districts (92104)

North Park has several more city historic districts, among them Spalding Place and Valle Vista Terrace, both designated in 2017, and the Melhorn & Son district in 2018. Each is only a few streets of early-1900s homes, but their owners pay close attention to what happens on their block.

• Who sells: the same owners as in Burlingame: downsizers, owners moving away and growing families.
• What to mail: a Just Sold card to every home in the district after each sale, and a yearly card with all sales in the district. Few agents treat these small districts as farms of their own.
• How to mail: addressed mail to the homes in each district. A few hundred homes across the districts make a tight, affordable farm.

Bungalow blocks toward I-805 (92104)

East of 30th Street toward Interstate 805, and south toward Switzer Canyon, the blocks mix bungalows and small homes from the 1910s through the 40s with duplexes, small apartment buildings and newer ADUs in back yards. Prices are lower than in the historic districts, and many homes are rented.

• Who sells: long-time owners, landlords selling a house or duplex they have held for years, and first-time buyers who are now moving up.
• What to mail: "what is your home worth?" and "thinking of selling your rental?" cards, and a card on how an ADU, built or possible, changes what a buyer will pay.
• How to mail: a homeowner mailing list rather than whole routes, so your cards skip the apartments.

Condos along 30th Street, University Avenue and Park Boulevard (92104)

Around the shops and restaurants of 30th Street and University Avenue, and toward Park Boulevard, North Park has older condo conversions, small complexes and newer buildings. These units are the most affordable way to own in the neighborhood, and they change hands more often than houses.

• Who sells: first-time owners moving up to a house, owners moving away for work, and investors who have rented a unit for years.
• What to mail: building-by-building sales, HOA dues, and "ready for a house?" cards for owners who have built equity. For owners who rent the unit out, rents and what similar units sold for.
• How to mail: a list of condo owners at their mailing address. A Just Sold card to every owner in the building is one of the most effective cards you can send.

The South Park and University Heights edges (92104)

92104 also reaches into parts of South Park, south of Switzer Canyon, and some streets on the University Heights side. Both have older homes like North Park's, and owners who often see themselves as part of their own neighborhood.

• Who sells: long-time owners and families moving up, much as in North Park.
• What to mail: use the neighborhood name the owners use. A card about South Park sales mailed to South Park reads as local; a North Park card there reads as if you don't know where you are.
• How to mail: pick routes or lists by neighborhood, not by ZIP Code, so each card fits the streets it lands on.

How to read the table before you pick a farm

The best farm is one where homes sell often enough, owners stay long enough to build equity, and the cards reach owners rather than renters. North Park has one ZIP Code, so the table gives you one row, and it tells you a lot:

• Owner-occupied is the number to look at first. In North Park it is low, which means most households on most routes are renters. Seller cards should go to a homeowner list, and EDDM® fits only the routes of houses near the parks and in the historic districts.
• Owners there since before 2010 are your long-time owners. Many bought a bungalow for a fraction of today's price and have the most equity and the most freedom to sell.
• Owners 65 or older points to downsizing, estate sales and moves closer to family over the next few years. These owners are scattered among the renters, which is one more reason to use a list.
• Median home value covers houses and condos together. A bungalow in Burlingame and a condo on University Avenue are very different sales, so set your farm by home type as well as by street.

One number the table can't give you is turnover: how many homes sold last year compared with how many homes there are. Check it in your MLS for the exact streets and buildings you are considering. Condos turn over faster than houses, and many agents mix both in a North Park farm.

North Park sellers worth their own mailing

Beyond your neighborhood farm, a few groups of owners in North Park are likely to sell for a specific reason. Each deserves its own card, with a message about that reason.

Landlords and owners who live elsewhere

North Park is full of rental houses, duplexes, small apartment buildings and rented condos. Many owners have held them for decades and live somewhere else. They respond to cards about rents, repairs, tenant rules and what their property would sell for, and they often want a quiet sale with tenants in place. Ask us about a list of owners whose mailing address is somewhere else.

Owners with room for an ADU

North Park has seen many accessory dwelling units added behind older homes, and some lots have room for more. San Diego changed its ADU bonus rules in 2025, adding limits on how many units fit on a lot. Owners want to know whether to build before they sell, or to sell to someone who will. A card on what an ADU, or the room for one, means for the price answers that. Ask owners to check the current rules with the city.

Owners of historic homes

In Burlingame, the Dryden district and the smaller districts, some homes carry a Mills Act contract, which can lower property taxes and stays with the home when it sells. Buyers ask about it, and so do sellers. A card that explains how it works, and how designation affects a remodel, shows you know these homes.

Owners 55 and older, and Proposition 19

Many long-time owners stay put because a new home would mean a much higher property tax bill. Since 2021, Proposition 19 lets homeowners 55 and older move their property tax base to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times, if they buy within two years of selling. A higher-priced home adds only the difference to the tax base. A simple card that explains it fits the long-held bungalow blocks.

Renters ready to buy

Most North Park households rent, and many would like to stay. A first-time buyer card, with what it takes to buy a condo here and the down payment programs available, can reach them by EDDM® on apartment routes. It is a different business from farming owners, but it fills your buyer pipeline, and today's condo buyer is the next decade's seller.

Just Listed and Just Sold cards in North Park

How far to mail around a listing depends on the home:

• Houses in the historic districts: every home in the district, plus the streets around it. Owners compare within the district first.
• Bungalows elsewhere: the owners within a few blocks, usually 200 to 500 homes, from a list so the cards skip the apartments.
• Condos: every owner in the building, plus similar buildings nearby.

Send the Just Listed card in the first days of the listing, timed to arrive before the first open house, and the Just Sold card soon after closing. Draw a radius around the address in our mailing list planner, or pick the routes around it in the EDDM® route planner.

A 12-month North Park farming plan

One card a month to your farm, plus Just Listed and Just Sold cards whenever you have them. Here is a year built around how North Park owners actually decide:

What a North Park farm costs

A farm of about 1,000 homes is a common start: Burlingame and the streets around it, the bungalow blocks near Morley Field, or a mix of houses and condo buildings in one part of the neighborhood. Because so many homes are rented, 1,000 owner homes in North Park cover more ground than in a suburb. Here is what mailing a farm that size every month for a year costs, depending on how you print:

8.5 × 11 EDDM® postcards, printed and mailed, including USPS postage. Printing ahead costs less because the price per card drops at larger quantities; we store the extra cards and mail them on your schedule. See all EDDM® prices.

Most agents settle on the middle row: a few designs that rotate through the year, printed in batches, plus Just Listed and Just Sold cards as they come. Addressed mail to a list costs a little more per card than EDDM®, but in North Park it saves far more in cards that would have gone to renters.

EDDM® or a mailing list in North Park?

In most of North Park, a homeowner list is the better choice for seller cards, because most households on each route rent. EDDM® can work on the few routes that are mostly houses, near Morley Field and in the historic districts, and it is the right tool for a first-time buyer card to the apartment routes. For landlords who live elsewhere, only a list with the owner's mailing address reaches them at all. Tell us the blocks you want and we'll recommend the right mix.

What every North Park real estate postcard must include

A farm postcard is usually the first time a homeowner hears from you, and California treats it that way. Under the Department of Real Estate's rule for "first point of contact" material (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2773), the card must show:

• Your name and 8-digit DRE license number, and the number of every other licensee named on the card, such as a team partner.
• Your responsible broker's name, as it is currently licensed with the DRE.
• The license number in type at least as large as the smallest type on the card. It can't hide in fine print.

Mailing as a team adds one more rule (Business and Professions Code section 10159.6): the responsible broker's name and license number have to be shown as prominently as the team name. A few more points keep the card out of trouble:

• The Equal Housing Opportunity logo, and words that describe the home, the street or the market, never the kind of buyer or neighbor it suits.
• Only your own sales on Just Sold cards, with the side you represented. A sale you only helped buy can't be shown as one you sold.
• Estimates labeled as estimates. "Find out what your North Park home is worth" is fine; a promised price is not.
• REALTOR® in capitals with the ® mark, if you are a member of the National Association of REALTORS®.

We add your license number, broker and logo to every design and send a proof, but ask your broker to approve the final card. Your brokerage may have its own rules on top of these.

For more card ideas, the Just Listed and Just Sold basics and how to pick a farm, see our real estate direct mail guide.

Get a quote for your North Park mailing

Tell us which neighborhoods and services you want to focus on. We'll reply with a price for printing and mailing, and the routes or list we recommend.