Now, how about these colors! My assistant Lydia has truly out done herself! This category is certainly slower than single family homes and inventory here has increased from the last time I did one of these to 41 units currently for sale but there are now 15 pending sales…6 more than last time. It’s interesting to me to see some of the very long days on market for many of the condos in the lower and highest price ranges here. You can see those in the DOM category. Here’s a look at some properties that look pretty good:
885 Balboa Lane listed by Laura Caplan of Cashin Company for $688,000. Wow, this is one really spectacular 2 bedroom condo. Quite the remodel on the water at the Islands. This one’s really worth looking at, even if it’s just to get ideas! Check out these pictures:
1131 Compass #314 listed by Alex Daskalakis of Alain Pinel for $568,000. This unit just came up yesterday and didn’t get on the list above but it’s a gorgeous 2 bedroom place in a good top floor location in that building. There’s two other units with that floor plan available in that project, Marina Point, that are much lower priced…but nowhere near this nice. I’ve also been somewhat wary of the dues in that project but if any condo can overcome those objections this is the one. Here’s some pics:
7214 Admiralty Ln listed by Showcat Fallhai of Prudential for $454,000. The last comp at the Admiralty for this floor plan sold for $465,000 and this is a much nicer unit. Upgraded nicely. Worth a look if you’re in this price range. Here’s some pics:
It was, in fact, a pretty easy one for alot of you, huh? Friday’s foto was indeed a shot of the tower at Brewer Island School on Polynesia. Congratulations go out to Edna Chin who nailed it early and won the $30.00 gift card to Chevy’s. Great job Edna! In addition I feel like honorable mention should also go to ClaudetteMain who consistantly plays and always seems to be just a little late with the right answer…this time 2 minutes late. Sorry Claudette!! Keep trying! In addtion to Edna and Claudette we also had correct answers from Kali & Shane, Nicole, Asif, Anu, Richard, Patrick, Eugene Berman, Yen and Angela Vermeer. Thanks folks! Great job! I want to give a little plug to Eugene Berman, a first timer, who linked his photography site’s URL with his answer…he’s really great! I added his link to the local blogroll on the left hand margin, or click right here, Western Lights Photo. Hope to see you all again this Friday!
Ketch Park…kind of a funny name. I always thought it sounded more like a command than a park name, but what do I know? Ketch Park has 1.6 acres and is located at the end of Topsail and behind Ketch Ct. Like all of these Foster City parks it’s really well cared for and clean. The gazebo has a little table in it with a built in chessboard. Kind of cool! Here’s a map to it’s location:
Looks sort of like a lighthouse, huh? Except for the lack of an actual light I suppose. Anyway, the obvious question…what and where is this? I have no doubt that for alot of you it’s real familiar. This weeks winner will receive a $30.00 gift card to Chevy’s over at Edgewater Place. Just place your answer in the comments area below. All of the rules of this game are available on the left hand margin and on the bar above. I’ll publish all correct answers on Monday morning but you can be sure that I’ll print ASAP any and all quips, barbs and decent jokes (particularly if they involve the bailout, Congress, Wall Street or the Bush Adminstration). I’ll also publish all wrong answers as fast as my little fingers can moderate. Thanks so much for your patronage! Good luck, have fun and have a great weekend!
We sure have been riding the wave in Foster City this year! The last time I did this chart, on July 26 we had reached a 2008 high of 32 active listings. That number fell significantly to 18 a week or so ago…and then rose recently to 24 actives. In addition there are 9 pending sales. Yes, there have been sales but it’s interesting to note that there have also been houses taken off the market…and that’s probably a subject for a whole other post one of these days. Of the inventory out there some stand out to me as being worth a look:
The first one didn’t make the list up there, it just came on yesterday…and that’s Jan Majeski of Alain Pinel’s listing at 958 Pizarro at Bayporte. It’s a 2110 sq ft 3 bedroom, 2 bath unit priced at $949,000. In spite of the association dues there, it’s really nice! Great kitchen, very well appointed and has an interesting floor plan that’s kind of cool. Definitely worth a look. Here’s some pictures for your viewing pleasure:
812 Arcturus listed by Carol Li of Alain Pinel for $1,198,000. It’s a 5 bedroom house in a great neighborhood that’s priced pretty well. Show’s pretty well too.
964 Gull listed by Rumana Jabeen of Coldwell Banker for $1,244,000. Another good size 5 bedroom house but the 8160 sq ft lot is really fantastic! Rumana’s calling it park-like and it really is! Alot of houses with big lots this year it seems. Fun to look at at a minimum!
So, I went out for lunch today and dropped off a movie I had rented at Blockbuster and in spite of the fact that it’s been in the mid 80’s around here, and I’m wearing a short sleeve shirt, it sure feels cold to me. I’ll bet it does to you too. Icy actually. That cold that we all feel is fear, brought about by the drama on Wall Street since last Monday. It’s been interesting to me to watch. Open houses last weekend were noticably slower, calls on my listings were down, buyer’s that I’m working with took a step back and maybe most interesting of all…the blog’s stats came down. Do I have an answer for all of this? Are you kidding? Here’s what I do know. This event feels identical to me to what we experienced right after 9/11. The market froze. Even though there was available money everybody’s confidence took a big hit and lots and lots of people went to the sidelines. Same story with all of the phone calls and open houses…no blog then though, so no stat analysis. Fear was the main event, which was compounded by the anthrax scare. I flew back to Denver to go to a football game on September 21, 2001 and the experience getting on a plane was surreal. Nobody spoke the whole flight, it was incredibly tense.
Here’s something else that I clearly remember. I wrote an offer on a townhouse in San Carlos for some clients on September 10, 2001. The place had been on the market for a month or so and we wrote an offer $50,000 under asking just because we wanted to put the ball in play, so to speak. We all fully expected a counter offer and we were hoping to meet somewhere in the middle. The seller was in Hong Kong an didn’t receive the offer until the morning of the 11th…he signed it. The identical floorplan sold 4 months later for $75,000 more. There were other deals just like that in the 4th quarter of 2001…but not many. You see buyers had hit the sidelines because of the fear and then they all came back at once in January of 2002. I remember a listing in Belmont that came on in mid September 2001 that sat for three months without even a nibble. The seller blamed the listing agent and relisted it with another agent I know in January…and they got 12 offers. The new agent didn’t do anything different, other than lower the price $10,000. The market turned around that fast.
I’m going to go out on a limb a little bit here and say that I think that what we’re experiencing right now is the bottom. I think that in the future we’ll all look back on this with that awareness, we’ll point to September 2008 as the bottom. I’m not predicting that by January we’ll be back to a multiple offer frenzy at all. I’m simply saying that one day the market will come back strong again and those individuals who have the courage to jump into the water right now will be in a very strong negotiating position. If you’re a buyer or a potential buyer right now there are people who are more frightened than you…the sellers.
It’s Carp. Not a fish I eat everyday…but hey. The photo in Friday’s shot came from 99 Ranch Market in Marlin Cove too. We had some really terrific trys on Friday and I truly commend you folks! This week’s winner is Rowena Batac who wins the $30.00 gift certificate to Waterfront Pizza in the Edgewater Place Shopping Center. Way to go Rowena! Honorable mention also goes out to Gloria and Yen who answered correctly eventually via the shotgun approach…just not first. Thanks to everyone who played! I hope to see you again this Friday.
Located on Niantic between Polynesia & Balclutha it’s one of several waterfront parks that include a beach. About 3 and a half acres with a water exposure facing east. The Geese are kind of fun too.
This week I’m going to offer a little hint…I’ve used this place before on this blog. The thing is, it’s SO famous to me that it’s worth using again. This may not be the last time either. Here’s the catch…I want to know what kind of fish these are in addition to where they are. The little catfish lingering on the bottom doesn’t count…it’s the other ones we’re talking about here. Actually, with those open mouths they sort of remind me a little of realtors during Tuesday’s broker tour looking for free lunches. (I should speak for myself!) Anyway, all the rules of the road are available to view on the left hand margin as well as on the bar above. This weeks winner will receive a $30.00 gift certificate to Waterfront Pizza at Edgewater Place. I won’t publish any correct answers until Monday morning but any and all smart alecky remarks, semi funny to funny jokes and all wrong answers will be published immediately. Have at it…and have a great weekend!
Isn’t it interesting that for every action, there truly is an equal and opposite reaction? It would appear that along with the proposed new developments in Foster City is also coming opposition to that growth. There’s a website called Save Foster City that’s expressing opposition to, it appears, the new developments coming to this town. These projects being an expanded Gilead Sciences and Chess Drive Project , The Mirabella/Parkview Plaza Project , and the Pilgrim-Triton Project It’s kind of unclear to me whether they want these projects scaled back, want just some projects scaled back…or don’t want any of them at all. I’ve been on record here as being excited about the possibilites that these projects, in my opinion, will bring to Foster City. I can’t imagine bringing this many jobs to Foster City having a negative impact on anything. Having a heavyweight like Gilead Sciences, for example, make this kind of an investment in FC is a terrific thing.
The problems that have been articulated fall this way: Too many buildings, too much height, big traffic problems, too expensive for citizens, public land used for private residences, and reduced property values. I know that this is just one guy’s opinion but here goes: The 15 acre site has been vacant forever. Unfortunately, there’s never going to be a public High School built there. What better use could there be for that site than a senior/town center type of development? It will certainly pay for itself. Why is the 14 story building a problem? Because it’ll effect the views from a small handful of condos on Foster City Blvd at the Admiralty? Aren’t they currently impacted by the JCC, City Hall and the Fire Station? Wouldn’t they have been impacted just as much if a public High School was built on that site? I guess you could say that the views from condos at the Islands have been effected by the Metro Center or Parkview Towers…but it sure didn’t impact their values.
The traffic issue is certainly a very valid concern. Above, you’ll find a 34 minute video of a presentation given to the planning commission by Fehr & Peers transportation consultants that pretty much covers this whole issue…including Pilgrim-Triton. If you’re of a mind too, I would encourage you to watch it. Even though it plays at times like, well…a traffic video, it’s very informative. Their recommendations, if enacted, sure look like they would have the desired impact insuring that “gridlock” will be avoided. I realize we have the issue of who’ll pay for it…I’m sure there will be plenty of discussion about that going forward too.
There’s a lot of things that I’m not sure of in these details, but here’s one thing that I am sure of. These projects will not negatively impact property values. I’ve said this before, the biggest single objection I get as a real estate agent about Foster City is “there’s no there there.” Mirabella/Parkview Plaza and Pilgrim-Triton will offer possible destinations for people to go to. If they’re done right I guarantee you that one day homes will be sold on Goldhunter or Pilgrim or Comet and condos will be sold at the Admiralty or City Homes and the listings will say “great location close to shopping and dining” or “walk to downtown” or something in that vein. There’s plenty of other Peninsula communities that have similar projects near residential and they’re thriving. I don’t know, I don’t think this is “paving paradise and putting up a parking lot”. Assuming that these projects are done right they’ll be a good thing for Foster City for years to come. Below is a link to the hard copy on thr traffic study, just in case you would like to read it.
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