Okay, it's been all over the press thes past weeks. San Mateo County has finally joined in the price decline. Hum. Maybe yes, and maybe no. There is still a shortage of housing in San Mateo County, especially in the mid-county area where we work, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo, Foster City, Belmont and San Carlos. Everything is just about filled in so if you want to live here you pay the piper.
How do you determine what your house is worth on the open market today? You can go to Zillow or Cyberhomes but they only estimate its worth from old county records and if your home hasn't sold recently, it truly is only a guess. Since we don't have many cookie cutter homes around here, what one house has done inside is very often dramatically different than its neighbor so those estimates are often worthless, which is why I always roll my eyes when clients mention them.
The simple fact is you house is worth what the market says it is. You might want it to fetch what your neighbor's home did even last summer, but alas, the market and the buyer's offer determines its net worth. Many years ago, I had a property that I was going to list and my agent, as so many are wont to do, asked me what I wanted for it. She was so surprised when I told her what ever the market will bear.
If you want top dollar for house today you must present it in pristine condition. Buyers are in no mood to go out and have to upgrade a home when there are others around that give them what they want. Now, here in San Mateo County, we don't exactly have a huge supply of homes for sale. Part of this is because we're in fourth quarter and there is always a decline in listings now, but the other part is a perceived housing crisis. Well folks, guess what. Between Millbrae and San Carlos there are a total of 400 single family homes for sale as of this posting. Millbrae has 43, Burlingame has 52, Hillborough has 40, San Mateo (the largest city in our area) has 146, Foster City has 12, Belmont has 47 and San Carlos has 60.
If you want to buy a home on the Peninsula now is the time to do it. The homes for sale today are there because the seller wants to sell and if you make a reasonable offer you might buy a new home. Reasonable is the key word here. People who think they can bottom fish are mistaken. The prices on the Peninsula are finally correcting but not the way everyone hoped they would. Why would they when we don't have new housing stock? Why would they when we are between the BioTech world capital of South San Francisco and Silicon Valley? If you want to live here, be prepared to pay the piper but make a reasonable, well constructed offer and you might be playing a joyful tune.
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