Burton Valley, Lafayette

Burton Valley runs through the south of Lafayette toward Moraga, roughly following St. Mary's Road and the old rail line that is now the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail. Las Trampas Creek and Grizzly Creek run through the area. Neighborhood edges vary from one description to the next.

At a glance: In the 12 months through September 2026, the median sale price of a single-family home in Burton Valley was $2,032,500, across 34 sales. Homes sold for about 99.7% of their list price, and the middle sale took 13 days on the market.

For decades the valley was hay fields, grazing land, and later orchards. In the early 1950s, the Moraga Land Association sold its land to the Utah Construction Company, which sold it for development, and housing tracts went up across the valley through the 1950s. That's when Burton Valley changed from farmland to the neighborhood it is today, and most of its homes date from that decade and the ones that followed.

Single-level California ranch homes are the most common, along with traditional homes, many on lots with front lawns, mature oaks, and room in back. Many have been updated over the years, some with Craftsman-style details added. A handful of newer homes have replaced originals.

What should you look for in a Burton Valley home? Homes from the 1950s and 1960s are now old enough that the basics deserve a close look. Checking the foundation and the drainage around the home is always worthwhile, especially on lots near a creek or at the bottom of a slope. Read the inspection reports closely, and ask about past additions and whether they had permits. There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Lafayette, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended.

The Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail runs through the valley, a paved trail along the path of the old Sacramento Northern Railroad, which once had a "Burton" stop here until passenger service ended in 1941. Lafayette Community Park and Silverado Park are in the neighborhood, and the Lafayette Reservoir is a short drive north. Moraga's shops are a few minutes south, and downtown Lafayette is a few minutes north.

Burton Valley has two member-owned swim clubs: Las Trampas Pool, which opened in 1958 on St. Mary's Road, and the Rancho Colorados Swim & Tennis Club in the Burton Valley hills. Each has its own membership and summer swim team, and joining is optional. Youth leagues like the Lafayette Moraga Youth Association, which has run youth sports for Lafayette and Moraga since 1954, serve Burton Valley along with the rest of the city.

Lafayette has no extra city transfer tax, only Contra Costa County's. There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Lafayette, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. If a home is in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone on the state's map, the sale also includes a routine defensible space inspection, which looks at how plants and brush are kept around the house. My Lafayette home selling page explains the steps.

Homeowners move on for all kinds of reasons including (but not limited to): upsizing to a second or third home, divorce, relocating for work, or the passing of a family member.

Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Lafayette and across the East Bay. Burton Valley is a residential neighborhood in the southern part of Lafayette, set back from Highway 24 and downtown, along St. Mary's Road and the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail. It is known for single-level ranch homes and traditional homes on lots with lawns and oak trees, most of them built from the 1950s on. Burton Valley Elementary School, which shares its name, is on Merriewood Drive.