Sold Oct 23
$880,000
8th Avenue
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,135 sq ft
90.3% of list price
Listing courtesy of South Coast Commercial
San Diego Neighborhood Guide
Hillcrest is a walkable Uptown neighborhood just north of Downtown San Diego and northwest of Balboa Park, centered on Fifth and University avenues under the landmark Hillcrest sign. Developed from 1907 on the former George Hill estate, it became the city’s first gay neighborhood by the 1960s and remains the heart of San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community. Residents live among Craftsman and Spanish Revival homes, bungalow courts, condos and apartments, with restaurants, nightlife, a Sunday farmers market and a major medical complex close by.
Quick Facts
| Area | Uptown, central San Diego |
|---|---|
| Planning area | Uptown Community Plan (City of San Diego); Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment adopted July 30, 2024 |
| ZIP code | 92103 |
| Boundaries | The city’s Uptown plan places Hillcrest between Washington and Upas streets, and between Dove/Curlew streets and Park Boulevard |
| Founded | 1907, when W.W. Whitson’s Hillcrest Company recorded its subdivision of the 40-acre George Hill estate |
| Home types | Early 20th-century single-family homes, bungalow courts, condos, apartments and mixed-use buildings |
| Signature style | Craftsman, Mission and Spanish Revival houses and bungalow courts |
| Price tier | Upper |
| Best for | Buyers who want urban, walkable living with dining, nightlife and culture at the door |
Jeff’s Take
Hillcrest means a lot to me. This neighborhood has been the heart of San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community for decades, and I’m proud to help people buy and lease here. I’ve done a lot of business in Hillcrest.
Everything is walkable: University Avenue and Fifth Avenue, the Sunday farmers market, Pride every summer, and the medical centers and Balboa Park nearby. Homes range from condos and apartments to bungalow courts and Craftsman houses.
Who it’s not for: Hillcrest is busy, especially on weekend nights and during Pride. If you want quiet close by, look at Mission Hills.
Hillcrest vs. North Park: both are walkable and full of character. Hillcrest is denser, with more condos and the medical centers. North Park has more Craftsman homes and a big craft-beer scene.
What buying in Hillcrest often looks like
Say you’re buying a condo near University Avenue. Before we write, I check the HOA budget and reserves and any special assessments, and look at how new construction allowed under the Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment could affect views or parking around the building. Knowing what’s coming lets you choose the unit that will hold its value.
Market Snapshot
| Measure | Oct 2026 | Oct 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $649,000 | $789,000 | −18% |
| Avg. price per sq. ft. | $698 | $771 | −9% |
| Homes sold | 13 | 17 | −24% |
| New listings | 27 | 24 | +13% |
| Median days on market | 47 | 9 | +422% |
| % of list price received | 99% | 99% | 0% |
| Months of inventory | 4.3 | 3.1 | +39% |
Condos and townhomes, ZIP 92103, as of October 2026. Source: San Diego Multiple Listing Service (SDMLS) closed sales, compiled by Jeff Brick. ZIP 92103 also includes Mission Hills and Bankers Hill.
| Measure | Current listings |
|---|---|
| Median asking price | $699,000 |
| Median asking price per sq. ft. | $716 |
| Homes for sale | 94 |
| Median days on market (current listings) | 77 |
| Months of supply | 7.2 |
Condos and townhomes, ZIP 92103, listings on the market as of November 3, 2026. Source: HouseCanary Market Insights. Asking prices are what sellers are listing for, not final sale prices.
Jeff’s note (Q4 2026): Condos are moving more slowly than a year ago, with a median of 47 days on market and 4.3 months of inventory. Sellers still received 99% of asking, so the right unit still sells close to list.
A Few Recent Sales
Not every sale, just a few recent closings I picked to show what buyers are actually paying in Hillcrest right now. Updated monthly · November 2026.
$880,000
8th Avenue
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,135 sq ft
90.3% of list price
Listing courtesy of South Coast Commercial
$645,000
Third Avenue
2 bd · 3 ba · 1,308 sq ft
80.7% of list price
Listing courtesy of eXp Realty of Southern CA
$1,415,000
West Brookes Avenue
4 bd · 3 ba
87.1% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$1,415,000
West Brookes Avenue
4 bd · 3 ba · 1,557 sq ft
87.1% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$649,000
Robinson Avenue
2 bd · 2 ba · 1,024 sq ft
90.8% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$455,000
Fourth Avenue
1 bd · 1 ba · 725 sq ft
93.8% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$590,000
Park Boulevard
1 bd · 1 ba · 808 sq ft
98.3% of list price
Listing courtesy of EXp Realty of California
$880,000
Front Street
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,489 sq ft
95.1% of list price
Listing courtesy of eXp Realty of Southern CA
$525,000
Third Avenue
1 ba · 791 sq ft
87.6% of list price
Listing courtesy of Dunn
$725,000
Third Avenue
1 bd · 2 ba · 849 sq ft
100% of list price
Listing courtesy of Woods Real Estate Services Inc
Sold information from the San Diego MLS (SDMLS®), deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These homes may have been listed and sold by other brokerages; they are shown to illustrate the local market, not as Jeff Brick’s own sales. Want the full list of recent sales or a value estimate for your home? Ask Jeff.
History
Hillcrest takes its name from the Hillcrest Company, formed by businessman William Wesley “W.W.” Whitson, who bought the 40-acre George Hill estate in 1906 and recorded his subdivision on August 2, 1907. The Hillcrest History Guild credits Whitson as the Father of Hillcrest; his tract had setback, fence and design rules. Today’s neighborhood is a patchwork of about 25 subdivisions recorded between 1889 and 1926, many laid out along early streetcar lines, which ran until 1949. The lighted HILLCREST sign over University Avenue was first put up in 1940 and was renovated with rainbow LEDs in 2023.
According to a City of San Diego historical staff report, Hillcrest was becoming the city’s first gay neighborhood by the 1960s, as lower housing costs drew LGBTQ+ residents and gay bars, businesses and advocacy groups followed. San Diego’s first Gay Pride Week ran June 24 to July 1, 1973, the same year The Center for Social Services opened in Golden Hill; The Center later operated on Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest and is now on Centre Street. After San Diego’s first AIDS case in 1981, groups such as the AIDS Response Program and San Diego Walks For Life worked from The Center’s Fifth Avenue building, and activist Albert Bell, who managed that building, founded a local ACT UP chapter in 1987. In 2024 the City adopted the Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment, which includes honoring LGBTQ+ heritage among its goals.
Hillcrest’s first planned tract was the Hillcrest Company subdivision of W.W. Whitson, who built about 43 houses in a restricted subdivision with lot, setback and design rules. Whitson also ran a sawmill that the Hillcrest History Guild says supplied lumber for about 3,000 homes in the area. The rest of the neighborhood grew from roughly two dozen separate subdivisions recorded between 1889 and 1926, extending the street grid first set by Horton’s Addition in 1869, according to the City’s Uptown historic context report. Later redevelopment includes the Uptown District, which in 1990 replaced a closed Sears store and was cited by the American Planning Association as an early smart-growth project.
Architecture
The City’s Uptown historic context report describes Hillcrest’s homes as mostly modest one- and two-story Craftsman, Mission and Spanish Revival houses, built mainly from the 1906 subdivision era onward. Bungalow courts are common, and a few Victorian buildings survive near the old streetcar routes. After World War II, offices and medical buildings clustered along University and Fifth and Sixth avenues. The same report names Irving Gill, Louis Gill and William S. Hebbard among the designers of Hillcrest houses, and the American Planning Association notes work by Hazel Waterman and Lilian Rice, among the first women to practice architecture in the United States. The commercial core around Fifth Avenue between University and Robinson avenues has been studied by the City as a potential historic district.
Hillcrest’s historic preservation work is focused on its LGBTQ+ history. The City prepared a Hillcrest LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement as part of the Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment, which the City Council adopted on July 30, 2024. Consultants found a smaller commercial area on Fifth Avenue between University and Robinson avenues eligible as a historic district, and the plan adds supplemental development rules for that area, including a 100-foot height limit. In 2022 City staff recommended designating The Center/The Gayzette/Albert Bell Building at 3780-3786 Fifth Avenue as a historical resource. Owners of designated historical resources can apply for a Mills Act contract, which can lower property taxes in exchange for preservation.
Living Here
Hillcrest has a wide mix of housing. Older streets have early 20th-century Craftsman, Mission and Spanish Revival houses and the bungalow courts that are common across the neighborhood. Closer to University Avenue and Fifth and Sixth avenues, residents find condos, apartments and mixed-use buildings, and the 2024 Hillcrest Focused Plan Amendment is meant to add housing near transit and services. The Uptown plan calls Hillcrest one of Uptown’s most intensely developed areas, so many buyers here choose condos or townhomes, while those wanting a detached home look to the quieter residential blocks.
Hillcrest life centers on Fifth and University avenues. San Diego Pride, held each July, includes a parade along University Avenue, and the Hillcrest Business Association’s CityFest fills Fifth Avenue each August with music, art and food. The Hillcrest Farmers Market runs Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Long-running spots include Crest Cafe, Khyber Pass, Ichiban, and LGBTQ+ gathering places such as Urban Mo’s and Gossip Grill. Lambda Archives of San Diego leads guided walking tours of the neighborhood’s LGBTQ+ history. The Normal Street Pride Promenade, a park space of nearly $30 million under construction since February 2025, is expected to open by the end of 2026.
Getting Around
Walk Score: 87, Very Walkable (https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego/Hillcrest) · Transit Score: 53, Good Transit (https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego/Hillcrest) · Bike Score: 60, Bikeable (https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego/Hillcrest)
Hillcrest is in the San Diego Unified School District. Florence Elementary, at 3914 First Avenue, serves students from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade, and its attendance area runs from Eighth Avenue to Reynard Way and from the UCSD Medical Center to Laurel Street. Families from outside the boundary can also attend through the district’s School Choice program. Attendance areas for middle and high school vary by address, so families should confirm the assigned schools for any specific property with San Diego Unified.
Hillcrest sits just northwest of Balboa Park, and the new Normal Street Pride Promenade adds about 100 trees, shade structures and a children’s playground in the heart of the neighborhood.
Explore Hillcrest
Public and charter schools closest to the heart of Hillcrest.
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
School assignment depends on the exact address, so confirm the schools for any home with the school district. Source: California Department of Education, 2024–25 school sites. Report cards link to the official California School Dashboard.
Green space, trails and play areas in and around Hillcrest.
Park data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Distances are approximate, measured from the center of Hillcrest.
Hillcrest sits at the center of the Uptown community, just north of Downtown San Diego and northwest of Balboa Park, on a ridge with views toward San Diego Bay. Mission Hills lies to the west, Bankers Hill to the south, University Heights to the north and North Park to the east across Park Boulevard. State Route 163 runs along its edge, and the Medical Complex area to the north includes UC San Diego Medical Center.
Local Favorites
Japanese restaurant
1449 University Ave, San Diego, CA
Directions →Sunday farmers market
Normal Street area, Hillcrest (location shifted during Pride Promenade construction; check current site)
Directions →Photos, ratings and links from Google Maps
FAQ
City historical research finds that Hillcrest was becoming San Diego’s first gay neighborhood by the 1960s, as affordable housing drew LGBTQ+ residents and gay bars, businesses and advocacy groups followed. Today it is home to the San Diego Pride parade, the Pride flag at University Avenue and Normal Street, and The Center on Centre Street.
The name comes from the Hillcrest Company, which businessman W.W. Whitson formed to subdivide the 40-acre George Hill estate. His subdivision was recorded on August 2, 1907, and the community has been called Hillcrest since then.
Hillcrest has early 20th-century Craftsman, Mission and Spanish Revival houses and many bungalow courts, plus condos, apartments and newer mixed-use buildings near its commercial streets. The 2024 plan update allows more housing near transit and services.
Yes. Walk Score rates Hillcrest 87, Very Walkable, with a Transit Score of 53 and a Bike Score of 60. Most daily errands can be done on foot around Fifth and University avenues.
The market runs on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. Its location has shifted during the Normal Street Pride Promenade construction, so it is best to check the Hillcrest Business Association’s listing before you go.
Hillcrest is in San Diego Unified, and Florence Elementary on First Avenue serves much of the neighborhood. School assignments depend on the exact address, so confirm with the district for any home you are considering.
It is a new public space on Normal Street between University and Lincoln avenues, with trees, shade, lighting, a playground and a rainbow bike lane. Construction began in February 2025, and city officials said in July 2026 they expected it to be finished by the end of 2026.
Work With Jeff
Jeff Brick, San Diego REALTOR® at Compass, DRE# 02156850. Million Dollar Service at All Price Points. Call or text 858-324-4448.
Nearby neighborhood guides: Mission Hills · North Park · Burlingame · South Park · University Heights
Header photo: Gentletouch1954 (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
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