July 2008 Troubled Sellers Update Part 3 - Pacifica to Woodside
Here is the final part of the July 2008 update featuring the following cities.
City of Pacifica
Pacifica is seeing quite a bit of price reductions. A good example is 340 Monterey, which has dropped its price by $50k every month for the last three month. That’s a deduction of $1.6k a day. For detailed information on all 42 properties you can look at the raw data: pacifica731.csv
City of Redwood City
The biggest loser in July for Redwood City goes to 559 Scott Ave. This home in the Dumbarton neighborhood is listing for $265k below its January 2007 sale price of $750k. Check out the full list of 65 troubled properties here: rwc731.csv
City of San Bruno
62 properties are available in San Bruno. I noticed that quite a few of the condos in the Shelter Creek address are selling because they’ve been priced fairly low. Most of the listings older than 2 months have been reduced. Take a look at the spreadsheet for details.
Raw data: sanbruno731.csv
City of San Carlos
The number of troubled sellers went down to 4 in San Carlos. The cheapest one is a condominium at 3354 Brittan Ave #9.
Raw data: sancarlos731.csv
City of San Mateo
San Mateo experienced more than two dozen price reductions and now the total number of troubled sellers grew to 85. There are troubled homes in all neighborhoods and the inventory is still growing. Take a look at the raw data for all homes.
Raw data: sanmateo731.csv
City of South San Francisco
Quite a few troubled properties actually sold in July for South City. Some notable properties include 404 Fairway Dr and 38 Northcrest Dr. Both of these properties sold for about $50k below asking. More details are available in the spreadsheet. There are a total of 103 troubled homes in this update.
Raw data: ssf731.csv
City of Woodside
855 Canada finally sold in July, but 5 Stadler Dr has cut its price by $77k in July and now it’s $27k below its 2005 sale price of $1.825 million.
Final Summary:
Atherton: 1
Belmont: 4
Brisbane: 5
Burlingame: 3
Colma: 2
Daly City: 188
East Palo Alto: 105
Foster City: 8
Coastside: 20
Hillsborough: 4
Menlo Park: 14
Millbrae:5
Pacifica: 42
Redwood City: 65
San Bruno: 62
San Carlos: 4
San Mateo: 86
South San Francisco: 103
Woodside: 1
Total: 722 properties in trouble
As you can see, the number of troubled properties did not increase dramatically. Some homes and condos are actually priced close to rent equivalent so people are snatching those up quickly. I think a lot of inventory is still being withheld by the banks that own foreclosures because not a lot of these are actually foreclosures. Anyway, this also correlates with the San Mateo Realtor Association’s data that sales went up and inventory is reduced. Overall, this is a good thing for the real estate market. However, we will have to see if this trend lasts.
June 2008 Update Part 3 - San Bruno to Woodside
Here is the final part of the June 2008 update featuring the following cities.
City of San Bruno
San Bruno didn’t see a dramatic change in the number of troubled sellers, but there are over a dozen price reductions. Notably, 3771 Elston Dr has been reduced $110k in June so now it is the biggest loser by dollar amount. Check the raw data for all 63 properties.
Raw data: sanbruno630.csv
City of San Carlos
Sales are still quite brisk in San Carlos. The number of troubled sellers went down to 5. One of these homes at 948 Cherry was reduced into troubled territory, but it is still quite expensive.
Raw data: sancarlos630.csv
City of San Mateo
San Mateo experienced more than two dozen price reductions and now the total number of troubled sellers grew to 85. There are troubled homes in all neighborhoods and the inventory is still growing. Take a look at the raw data for all homes.
Raw data: sanmateo630.csv
City of South San Francisco
The number of troubled sellers in South San Francisco grew to 101. 65 of these have pricecuts of more than $100k.
Raw data: ssf630.csv
City of Woodside
The one short sale at 855 Canada is still pending.
Final Summary:
Atherton: 1
Belmont: 7
Brisbane: 3
Burlingame: 3
Colma: 3
Daly City: 162
East Palo Alto: 101
Foster City: 8
Coastside: 23
Hillsborough: 1
Menlo Park: 19
Millbrae: 6
Pacifica: 42
Redwood City: 66
San Bruno: 65
San Carlos: 5
San Mateo: 85
South San Francisco: 101
Woodside: 1
Total: 702 properties in trouble
At this rate, we will have 1000 troubled properties in 2 months. It seems that the sales rate of these properties is even lower than the non-troubled properties so being patient could snag you a good deal. The next half of the year should be interesting to watch.
How Does One Home’s Price Drop Affect an Entire Community?
As we have seen, many homes’ values are dropping in San Mateo. The most drastic cuts are seen in East Palo Alto and Daly City, which are considered the fringes of San Mateo. After six months I was actually able to find a short sale in Woodside. Woodside is a town hidden within many majestic and beautiful redwoods on the west side of 280. It also is home to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s Japanese style palace. This majestic property went on the market last year with no takers. I did see it on MLS last year but the price was concealed. A few days ago it was revealed that Larry did the next best thing. Since he is no longer using the property, he asked for its value to be reassessed. The lavish estate’s value was reduced from $173 million to $69.7 million and Ellison received more than $3 million in a tax refund from San Mateo County. Let’s see, this is a $103.3 million drop, or 59.7%. I think no other San Mateo Home Seller in Trouble listing could ever beat Ellison’s record.
After this happened, it was reported that the Portola Valley School District, which gets income from Woodside properties, will get a cut of $250,000 to $300,000 per year. This cut comes from just one home’s reassessment!
Of course, old Larry is not really a home seller in trouble per se. He has billions of dollars to spend, but if every rich person in Atherton, Burlingame, Menlo Park, and Hillsborough follows his lead. I think we may see more education funding cuts here in our lovely little county.
Source: http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=1835
855 CANADA RD Woodside, CA 94062
855 CANADA RD Woodside, CA 94062

Price: $1,075,000
| Beds: | 3 |
| Baths: | 2 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 1,980 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $543 |
| Lot Size: | 0.44 Acres |
| Age (Years): | 46 |
| Year Built: | 1962 |
Listing price history:
| Date | Price |
| Mar 12, 2008 | $1,275,000 |
| Mar 20, 2008 | $1,175,000 |
| Mar 25, 2008 | $1,075,000 |
Last sale: Jul 21, 2005 $1,133,000
Loss if sold for asking: $58,000 or 5.1%
Comments: This is a very rare short sale in Woodside. If you like a woodsy hideout and have a million bucks this might be the place for you.
