San Mateo County median home prices rise in February, sales still down
According to the latest Dataquick news, San Mateo’s median home price in February 2009 is now $502,250, which is slightly up from January 2009’s median of $489,500. However, sales volume is down another 9% in San Mateo. Usually sales is supposed to pick up during March to September, so we will see what happens because winter generally tends to be slow. Compared to February 2008, San Mateo’s median price is only down 22%, and this performance is much better than the entire Bay Area.
San Mateo County amongst the most content congressional districts in the nation
Apparently some residents of San Mateo County belong to the most content congressional district in the nation according to Gallup. District 14 represented by Anna Eshoo ranked #1 in the nation for “well-being”. The San Mateo cities represented by Eshoo include parts of Redwood City, Belmont, Half Moon Bay, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and Menlo Park. The entire district actually stretches all the way down to Santa Cruz. District 12 represented by Jackie Speier also ranked very well. This is the district that includes Foster City, Burlingame, San Carlos, San Mateo, Moss Beach, Daly City, and South San Francisco.
Personally I am not too surprised by the finding because District 14 pretty much contains the richest towns in the entire nation. Generally higher income is correlated with better health and education. San Mateo County also has the best weather out of the entire Bay Area by far so that puts people in a good mood. Crime is also fairly low here so it is definitely a great place to live.
Perhaps realtors should use this news as a marketing tool?
1532 CAROL Ave Burlingame, CA 94010
1532 CAROL Ave Burlingame, CA 94010
Price: $1,339,000
| Beds: | 3 |
| Baths: | 2 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 1,731 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $774 |
| Lot Size: | 6,000 Sq. Ft. |
| Property Type: | Detached Single Family |
| Style: | Ranch |
| Year Built: | 1917 |
Last sale:
| Sep 30, 2004 | Sold | $1,351,000 |
Loss if sold for asking: $12,000 or 0.9%
The interesting thing about Burlingame is that the listing price per square foot is much higher than the sold price per square foot. Here is the graph:
So it seems that Burlingame sellers are all still holding their prices high, but the ones that sell are much much cheaper. If this particular home were at the Burlingame average of $620 per square foot, then it would be at only $1.07 million. Perhaps that would be a better starting price?
1 APPIAN Way Unit 714-5 South San Francisco, CA 94080 – Why you should stay away even though it is cheap.
1 APPIAN Way Unit 714-5 South San Francisco, CA 94080
Price: $140,000
| Beds: | 1 |
| Baths: | 1 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 720 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $194 |
| Lot Size: | - |
| Property Type: | Condominium |
| Year Built: | 1979 |
| Stories: | 1-3 (Low Rise) |
This is another troubled property in the ill fated Colina Condominiums. I’m wondering if the major structural damages have been repaired or not, but undoubtedly the hefty assessment fees they wanted pushed quite a few people into foreclosure. The lesson here is to stay away from these condos if you want to live.
Obama’s mortgage plan details released – How will it affect San Mateo?
Today the Obama administration officially released the details of their mortgage rescue plan. This is a plan that really focuses on loan modification. I do not think this would affect troubled San Mateo homeowners very much and this is why.
First of all, lets do some simple math. The median household income in San Mateo County is $80,000 to $90,000. Granted, this is pretty high compared to the rest of the country, but the median housing price was around $800,000 during the peak. From what I have seen, a lot of these troubled homes were financed with 80/20 first and second mortgages and the mortgages are conservatively $4000 a month. Additionally, the property taxes on a home valued at 600k to 800k would be $600 to $800 a month. When you throw in insurance and maintenance the final cost is even higher. For a family earning $90,000 a year, 31% of their monthly gross income would be $2325, which means to keep their home their mortgage has to be reduced to $1500 a month. I think that is just laughable.
Now that the median price in San Mateo County has slid under $500,000, it would be plain stupid to pay property taxes on the basis of $800,000 and keep an unaffordable mortgage. So I really do not think Obama’s plan will affect the sliding prices here in San Mateo very much. Prices were just way out of reach for normal folks, and they need to fall. Most people I know that live here in the county have not had huge pay raises in the last couple years, and the current housing prices are still out of reach for many. I have said this many times before and I will say it again. The housing market wil only recover when prices come in line with income, and all of these government efforts to keep people in unaffordable housing situations are just a waste of time and money.
For the troubled homeowners out there, I suggest that you squat in your home as long as you can because banks are really slow to foreclosed these days. You can work on a short sale or tell the bank to produce the original mortgage note. This will give you a few months of free housing. Forget about keeping your overpriced shack because it is not worthwhile in the long run. Your credit can recover in seven years, and there is no point in paying a $800,000 mortgage at $4,000 to $5,000 a month when you can rent the same house for half that price.
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