See most expensive Marin County listing, putting S.F. Bay in your living room
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Belvedere Island estate at 20 Crest Road is listed for $50 million.
- 1967-built home spans 9,170 square feet with eight bedrooms.
- Property offers panoramic views of the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate and San Francisco skyline.
Marin County’s priciest home listing is perched at the end of a cul-de-sac at the very top of Belvedere Island in Northern California.
The estate at 20 Crest Road has hit the market for $50 million, a price that puts it in rare air even in the Bay Area’s luxury tier.
The home is a 1967 build with eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and 9,170 square feet spread across three levels, plus a fully equipped apartment. The grounds cover nearly an acre over two contiguous parcels — with a pool, sport court and enough off-street parking for more than 12 cars.
From the crest—literally, the top of Crest Road—the view sweeps from the Bay Bridge across the full San Francisco skyline and out to the Golden Gate Bridge, then toward Sausalito and Mount Tamalpais. It’s the kind of panorama that can make even longtime Bay Area residents stop mid-sentence to take it all in.
‘Unparalleled views’
Listing agent Bill Smith of Compass says the listing’s quiet power is intentional.
“This home is one of the most special I have ever had for sale,” he said. “Its style is understated so as not to distract from the setting at the top of the island with unparalleled views. Its privacy is paramount for the buyer who wishes to remain isolated from the busy world.”
Belvedere’s reputation—old money, low-key wealth, a yacht harbor shimmering below—was baked in more than a century ago. The town was “established in the late 1800s as a weekend and summer retreat for the wealthy of San Francisco,” the description notes, and the top-of-island homes became the ultimate prize as the city’s skyline evolved and the Golden Gate Bridge appeared in the 1930s.
The Crest house itself carries a different kind of status: architectural lineage. The property description calls it a “9,170 square foot Modernist masterpiece designed by renowned architect William Wurster,” whose résumé includes leading architecture departments at MIT and UC Berkeley and earning the AIA Gold Medal for lifetime achievement.
Wurster’s sensibility—modern, restrained, human-scaled—fits the location, where excess can feel like competition with the horizon.
From the street, the home plays it cool. Inside, it opens up.
Dramatic living room
“As you approach this house you only see the simplicity of its presence. But as you enter you see views of water, city skyline, iconic bridges of San Francisco, and open space. One immediately feels secure and secluded from the world outside.” Smith said.
The property description zeroes in on the drama point: a living room with “curving walls of glass showcasing sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay,” plus a fireplace and a retractable screen tucked into the ceiling for movie nights or presentations.
It’s a home designed to handle crowds without feeling like a hotel.
“Bright and airy living spaces,” including a formal dining room and the kitchen were built for serious use. The kitchen provides a large island, high-end appliances (Sub-Zero, Wolf and Miele) and a butler’s pantry with a second cooking station.
There’s a family room/office, a large recreation room, and the separate apartment on the lowest level—an arrangement that can make multigenerational living feel less like a compromise and more like a luxury.
Smith frames the sale as a turning-of-the-page moment.
“This home served as a family retreat for 48 years,” he said. “With the growth of the family to more generations they felt the home had served its purpose.”
The property preserves a certain Bay Area idea of modernism rooted in landscape, not dominating it.
The outdoor spaces were “designed by acclaimed landscape architect Thomas Church,” according to the property description, with terraces, patios, decks and balconies stepping down into a world of lawns, mature plantings and meandering paths. There’s a large swimming pool and level lawns, plus a sport court with a basketball hoop.
A retreat but not remote
Functionally, the house is built for movement. An elevator serves all three floors, and the middle level holds six of the eight bedrooms. The primary suite takes over an octagonal wing with its own fireplace and private deck, while the lower level adds the rec room and the apartment—complete with its own laundry.
And while the property reads like a retreat, it isn’t remote. The listing touts quick access to Tiburon’s waterfront shops and restaurants, parks and paths, plus ferry commutes to San Francisco. That’s the Belvedere promise: a village feel with a big-city skyline in the window.
“Its privacy is paramount for the buyer who wishes to remain isolated from the busy world,” Smith said.
Marin County’s highest sales price was set in 2015 when historic Locksley Hall sold for $47.5 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
