2 ZACHARY Ct Menlo Park, CA 94025 - Almost Rolled Back to Original 2001 Price
2 ZACHARY Ct Menlo Park, CA 94025
Price: $2,570,000
| Beds: | 6 |
| Baths: | 4 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 4,267 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $602 |
| Lot Size: | 10,080 Sq. Ft. |
| Age (Years): | 7 |
| Year Built: | 2001 |
| Type: | Detached Single Family |
Last sale price: Oct 31, 2001 $2,500,000
Original list price: May 12, 2008 $2,950,000
After 3 months on the market and almost $400k in price reductions, this house is now listed for less than 3% above its 2001 price. This is in the prime area of west Menlo Park west of Alameda de Las Pulgas.
1455 GORDON St Redwood City, CA 94061 - $450000+ price reduction
1455 GORDON St Redwood City, CA 94061
Price: $799,900
| Beds: | 5 |
| Baths: | 3.5 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 2,480 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $323 |
| Lot Size: | 6,095 Sq. Ft. |
| Age (Years): | 70 |
| Year Built: | 1938 |
| Type: | Detached Single Family |
Last sale: Dec 15, 2005 $1,020,000
Loss if sold for asking: $220100 or 21.6%
After being on the market for six months, this property finally dropped its price by $455100. That is a significant price reduction and perhaps it will accept some bids now? The price per square foot is way below the market price for the neighborhood, and the house looks quite decent.
San Mateo County Leads All Bay Area Counties in Increase of Foreclosures
According to Realtytrac, the amount of foreclosures in San Mateo is up 831% since last July. Out of the nine Bay Area counties, now San Mateo leads in the increase of foreclosures. Marin County is second where the foreclosure numbers are up 603%. Nationally, San Mateo is #36 with its foreclosure rate of 1 in 353 housing units. Most of the loans in San Mateo were jumbos considering that the median home price was $800k, so I think it will only get worse as these loans reset within the next 12 months. However, the foreclosure increase rate will go down since the number of existing foreclosures is much larger than before.
All San Mateo Cities Now in the HEART Program
I just read a press release today that Belmont joined the San Mateo HEART program and that means all San Mateo cities have signed up. HEART stands for Housing Endowment and Regional Trust and it was created to make housing more affordable in San Mateo. They have built a few affordable rental properties in the county, and now they are promoting a new home loans program that allows buyers to get a 3% down loan. The details of the program is here. The buyers’ income must not exceed $150k a year and the price of the home being purchased must not exceed $700k.
I think it is great that this program is doing this in San Mateo, but I think it is dangerous that they are still promoting loans with very little down payment. Isn’t that what got us into this mess? Yes, I understand that it’s pretty difficult to save up a sizable down payment for a median priced San Mateo home, but I’m afraid access to credit will get people into situations where they’re buying a home that is 10 times their salary. I think the lack of credit may boost savings, and that’s not a bad thing. The HEART program’s qualification criteria say that the debt a family has must not be greater than 45% of their gross income, but 45% of a family’s gross income is as high as 60% to 75% of that family’s take home income due to taxes. I don’t think that is very safe and could lead to more home sellers in trouble.
Anyway, I think HEART should build more affordable rental units and encourage people to save, and maybe spend some money on educating these buyers. I do support their effort in trying to make San Mateo a more affordable place to live for everyone, but I think offering more easy credit is not the way to do it.
Redfin’s new neighborhood price trends feature
It seems that Redfin is getting fancy shmancy with their data . Right now you can search for a city and get inventory and pricing trends for the past couple years. I have to say that this tool is quite hypnotizing. I have linked the San Mateo Cities here for quick reference:
Atherton - Atherton’s inventory and price levels are staying pretty steady. The reason is that very few people can afford anything there anyway.
Belmont - Belmont is another city where inventory is barely up, and prices are donig okay.
Brisbane - This is another city with very little inventory. Prices for single family homes seem to have come down.
Burlingame - This is another $1 million plus city so inventory is fairly low.
Colma - Inventory tripled in Colma, but the sample size is very smal.
Daly City - Price per square foot has fallen about 30% in Daly City since 2006, and the inventory has grown quite a bit. The graphs are very telling in this city.
East Palo Alto - Price per square foot is down 40% to 50% in this city, and inventory almost quadrupled. Ouch. This is like the Modesto of San Mateo County.
Foster City - Prices in Foster City seems to be similar to 2006 and the peak looks to be early 2007. The amount of condos on the market is definitely increasing quite a bit.
Half Moon Bay - The interesting thing about Half Moon Bay is that the sales price seem to be much lower than the list prices. The inventory is about double its lowest point.
Hillsborough - Hillsborough is kind of like Atherton North. Price per square foot actually went up in this expensive burb.
Menlo Park - Menlo’s inventory is only up about 25%, but its price per square foot fell quite a bit.
Millbrae - Millbrae’s inventory went up at least 50%, but prices are holding steady because it is an expensive market.
Pacifica - Pacifica’s figures are similar to Menlo. Price per square foot is down quite a bit, and inventory is climbing, but not extremely drastically.
Redwood City - Redwood City’s inventory is about 5 times its lowest point, and prices are down about 20%. Most of the falling inventory is in zipcode 94063.
San Bruno - San Bruno’s graphs sort of look like Daly City’s. Inventory has more than doubled and prices have come down at least 30%.
San Carlos - San Carlos is like a more expensive version of Belmont. Inventory is up about 50%, but the prices are holding steady.
San Mateo - Inventory has more than doubled, and prices are down about 20 to 30%.
South San Francisco - Inventory is up about 5 fold from its lowest point and price is down 20 to 30%.
That’s the state of things right now. I’m pretty sure the inventory will continue to pile up all the way through next year since very few homes are moving. Anyway, this tool is quite useful since Redfin actually pulls MLS data. Have fun with it!
4102 ADMIRALTY Ln Foster City, CA 94404 - Lower than 2001 real price
4102 ADMIRALTY Ln Foster City, CA 94404
Price: $315,000
| Beds: | 1 |
| Baths: | 1 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 748 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $421 |
| Lot Size: | - |
| Age (Years): | 43 |
| Year Built: | 1965 |
| Type: | Condominium |
Last sales:
| Apr 27, 2001 | $302,500 | |
| Jun 19, 2008 | $262,500 |
Listing states that it is a REO. It is a pretty small and old condo in Foster City with a high HOA, but the price is only 13k above its 2001 sale price. If you consider inflation, $302k in 2001 is supposed to be worth $373k today. (See inflation calculator from BLS) This might be a good deal for a single person who really wants to live in Foster City.
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