Long before Gavin Newsom split his time between Sacramento and Marin County, his family history was anchored at a wooded midcentury retreat in San Francisco‘s Upper Cole Valley neighborhood, on the edge of the century-old Mount Sutro Forest.
Built in 1951 and originally owned by Newsom’s maternal grandfather, the property was subsequently passed down to his mother, Tessa, who ultimately sold it in the 1970s. While Newsom’s memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, reflects on an upbringing elsewhere, his father listed the Stanyan Street house as his official address in late 1967 when running for the city’s board of supervisors—the same year the future governor was born.
A sunken dining room sits adjacent to an elevated living area beneath high wooden ceilings.
Kit Castagne/Arbor Visual Media
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Resting on two gated parcels spanning nearly a quarter of an acre, the two-story home last changed hands in 2025 for $3.9 million. Resurfaced in clear heart redwood from Marin County in 1979 and renovated since, it has popped back up on the market for $4.5 million, with John DiDomenico of Compass holding the listing.
Roughly 1,400 square feet of well-preserved, two-story living space features open-concept interiors spotlighted by an updated kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island and newer appliances. A wood-beamed living area steps down to a dining room, while a curving staircase next to a bedroom and bath leads up to a full-floor primary suite with an office nook, walk-in closet, modernized bath, and private balcony overlooking north-facing views of the downtown skyline and Golden Gate Bridge.
A vaulted primary bedroom has expansive windows with scenic views.
Kit Castagne/Arbor Visual Media
RELATED: Gavin Newsom Drops $9.1 Million on a Hyatt Hotel Heir’s Bay Area Home
A small finished cabin on the second lot provides flexible space as an artist studio, an office, or guest accommodations, while the park-like grounds are dotted with stacked-stone retaining walls and a patio donning a Japanese soaking tub.
Newsom, who is preparing to exit his post in January 2027 after two terms in office, recently put his home in the suburban Sacramento city of Fair Oaks, about 15 miles from the State Capitol, up for sale at $7.5 million. He and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are now transitioning back to their $9.1 million residence in the affluent unincorporated Marin County community of Kentfield as speculation grows that the outgoing governor will launch a run for president in 2028.
Click here for more photos of the Ashbury Heights home.
Kit Castagne/Arbor Visual Media
Authors
Wendy Bowman
