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Funky Foto Contest Week 91

Pooch

OK, this is going to be a hard one…who is that lady and what is her dog’s name? Just kidding!! The truth of the matter is the trees in this park give it sort of a unique feel so the question is…what park is this? If you’re first to answer this question you’ll win a $30.00 gift card to Starbucks …and hopefully you’ll use it in one of the two Foster City locations! All the rules of the road are available to view on the left hand margin as well as on the bar above. The winner along with all other correct answers will not be published until Monday morning. Any and all silly jokes, snappy quips and all wrong answers will be published immediately if not sooner. Have a great Valentines Day!! Guys…go buy the goodies and the card today!

Condo/Townhouse Inventory-February

 

Street Address Status List Price Orig List Price DOM Beds Baths Bldg SqFt
740 PROMONTORY POINT LN #3104 A 898000   123 2 2|1 1980
19 BINNACLE LN P 778000   84 3 2|1 1860
1003 STERN LN A 749800   8 2 2|1 1580
1043 GALLEY LN A 749000   125 2 2|1 1440
18 DORY LN P 748000   5 3 2|1 1860
606 PAVO LN A 729000   21 3 2|0 1370
1109 LORD IVELSON LN P 724950 749000 49 3 2|0 1350
763 FOSTER CITY BL A 718000 755000 81 4 2|1 1790
1120 FORRESTAL LN A 705000 735000 64 3 2|0 1350
1036 HELM LN P 698000   17 3 2|1 1880
660 CYGNUS LN P 688888   17 3 2|1 1600
860 MERIDIAN BAY LN #336 A 659000   165 3 2|0 1606
720 PROMONTORY POINT LN #2308 P 650000 699000 54 2 2|1 2224
880 MERIDIAN BAY LN #309 A 639000   7 3 2|0 1606
835 COLUMBA LN P 632000 649000 86 3 2|1 1546
952 DIAZ LN P 624000 639000 59 2 2|0 1260
9 E COURT LN A 619000   15 2 2|1 1410
744 CELESTIAL LN A 618000   21 2 1|1 1270
885 BALBOA LN A 618000   9 2 2|0 1270
59 COMMONS LN P 615000   9 2 2|1 1410
650 CELESTIAL LN P 614900   16 3 2|1 1430
1001 LIDO LN A 599000 615000 81 2 2|0 1395
862 BALBOA LN #15A A 599000 630000 27 2 2|0 1270
105 CITYHOMES LN A 599000   4 2 2|1 1410
880 MERIDIAN BAY LN #303 A 598000   77 2 2|0 1350
17 E COURT LN A 589500   7 2 2|0 1230
814 BALBOA LN A 589000 610000 116 2 2|0 1270
1171 COMPASS LN #112 A 589000   63 3 2|0 1593
860 MERIDIAN BAY LN #123 A 580000   11 2 2|0 1245
1218 MOONSAIL LN A 575000 600000 102 2 1|1 1350
800 SEA SPRAY LN #215 P 570000   95 3 2|0 1546
1599 BEACH PARK BL P 535000 580000 96 2 1|1 960
860 MERIDIAN BAY LN #229 A 528000 568000 99 2 2|0 1350
1129 POLYNESIA DR P 519988 524988 61 2 1|1 980
1151 COMPASS LN #204 A 510000 505000 179 3 2|0 1593
126 ALBACORE LN P 495000   5 2 2|1 1370
1170 FOSTER CITY BL #103 P 479999   49 2 2|0 1286
800 SEA SPRAY LN #210 P 478000   24 2 2|0 1213
820 SEA SPRAY LN #303 A 474000 488000 105 2 2|0 1233
800 SEA SPRAY LN #112 A 464888   32 2 2|0 1213
815 SEA SPRAY LN #103 P 458103   28 2 2|0 1233
1151 COMPASS LN #108 A 450000   64 2 2|0 1286
1067 Shell BL #6 P 420000   13 2 2|0 1042
1025 SHELL BL #7 A 410000   9 2 2|0 1042
815 SEA SPRAY LN #209 A 399000   10 1 1|0 941
1191 SW COMPASS LN #108 P 399000   85 2 2|0 1286
1025 SHELL BL #8 P 398000   7 2 2|0 1042
1131 COMPASS LN #316 P 396000   3 2 2|0 1286
820 SEA SPRAY LN #114 A 394000   1 1 1|0 953
178 ALBACORE LN A 385000 405000 95 1 1|0 724
908 BEACH PARK BL #116 A 379500   14 1 1|0 810
800 SEA SPRAY LN #217-E P 319950 350000 55 1 1|0 1053
5205 ADMIRALTY LN P 309900 328900 99 2 1|1 998

 

Much like the single family homes, there’s been some movement of property since we did this chart too. The chart shows 30 active listings, there’s 28 this morning…that could be less by the end of the day today too. Right now there are 25 pending sales. ( The chart shows 23) Last February there was 37 active listings and 3 pending sales. That’s a wild turn around if you ask me. Of the actives listed up there I can tell you that at least 4 of them are currently sorting through mutiple bids and should go pending soon. Here’s some interesting active listings:

1003 Stern Lane listed by Emily Lim of Re/Max for $749,800. It’s not often that you’ll find a townhouse with it’s own beach! Not just waterfront…but beach. Even though it’s a 2 bedroom this Bayfront Court place is pretty cool and worth a look.

105 Cityhomes Lane listed by Andrea Kohler of Intero Real Estate for $599,000. City Homes has been pretty darn popular this year and everything that’s come up there has sold quickly. This 2 bedroom should be no exception even though it backs onto a busy street.

1151 Compass #201 listed by Roger Dewes of Coldwell Banker for $559,000. This is really one gorgeous condo! Even with the fairly high dues ($471.00) this 2 bedroom is most likely going to cause somebody to fall in love with it.

Check them out for fun if for nothing else…

Single Family Inventory-February

Street Address List Price Orig List Price DOM Status Beds Baths (F|P) Bldg SqFt
612 GLOUCESTER LN 1379950 1499000 161 A 5 2|1 2540
1017 GULL AV 1298000 1399000 100 P 4 4|0 2750
780 CATAMARAN ST 1290000   92 A 5 3|0 2540
521 BROUGHTON LN 1225000   16 P 4 2|1 2350
911 CLIPPER LN 1198000   5 P 3 2|1 2360
161 BEACH PARK BL 1189000   22 A 4 2|1 2620
850 GULL AV 1168000 1178000 14 A 4 3|0 2160
386 MENHADEN CT 1149500 1199500 65 A 5 3|0 2540
251 LOON CT 1129000 1179000 86 A 4 3|0 2790
257 PUFFIN CT 1065888   83 A 4 3|0 2450
250 TRYSAIL CT 1058000 1200000 72 P 4 3|0 2250
1134 POLYNESIA DR 968500 988000 33 A 3 2|0 1640
960 DE SOTO LN 949000 985000 143 P 4 2|1 2760
609 PLYMOUTH LN 949000 1100000 23 A 2 2|1 1710
1156 DOVER LN 930000 968000 30 A 3 2|1 1790
648 MATSONIA DR 928000 978000 59 P 4 2|0 1760
1020 WINDJAMMER CI 918000   3 A 3 2|0 1810
37 WILLIAMS LN 899000 918000 218 P 3 2|1 1550
1372 MARLIN AV 899000   102 A 5 2|0 2010
1100 BLYTHE ST 899000   1 P 4 2|1 2120
1121 CATAMARAN ST 888000   5 P 4 2|0 1900
150 FLYING CLOUD IS 869000 924900 148 A 3 2|0 2210
50 WILLIAMS LN 859000   21 A 3 2|1 1550
491 PORT ROYAL AV 849000   79 A 4 2|1 2200
512 GIBRALTAR LN 819900   22 P 3 2|0 1620
1067 EGRET ST 785000   33 P 5 2|0 1930
61 WILLIAMS LN 628000 739000 109 P 2 2|0 1240

 

You know what…the market is pretty darn healthy! I say that because for the longest time Lydia, my assistant, has created these charts a few days before they’re posted…and that usually meant nothing to their accuracy. That’s not quite true anymore. As of today, Tuesday February 9, there are 15 single family houses on the market in Foster City and 13 pending sales. (The pendings are in red.) Last February 5 there were 26 actively for sale…and 4 pending sales.  The hottest segment of the market is the under $900,000 price range and that’s really because there’s very little inventory in town and most of what is there has an issue or two that limits it’s viability. Consequently, when a new listing comes up in that range it gets plenty of interest. The listing below just came up and isn’t on the list, and my friend Ronda O’Leary sold her listing at 257 Puffin…so it’s a pending now.

937 Constitution listed by Debbie Wilhelm of Coldwell Banker for $888,000. 4 bedrooms 2 baths, I think this will be an interesting barometer for the market. It’s really the only listing under 900k right now and I’m anxious to see how it does. 1121 Catamaran go multiple offers and was bid over a couple of weeks ago listed at this same price and it was bigger and had more upgrades. We’ll see.

1020 Windjammer listed by Stanley Lo of Green Banker for $918,000. This 3 bedroom house is a good one too and Windjammer is a great location. It’s just a tiny bit over that sweet spot but it’s worth watching. It has an offer date set for this coming Saturday…so I guess they’re pretty confident.

Funky Foto Contest Winner Week 90

boat1

OK, OK…it was too easy! Of course it’s the Dog park…actually and officially it’s the Boat Park on Foster City Blvd. Congratulations to first time winner Jim Sakai who edged Lakshmi for the $30.00 gift card to Armadillo Willy’s. Also arriving with the winning answer was Kavita, Suresh, Erika Jahnke, Dana Ferri, Manoj, Pak, Roger Haddad, Sandy Hughes, Ellen, Alex O, Karen Paganucci, Harish, Ryan, Katherine Watt, DK, Deepa, Sheetal, Ajita Rajan,  Nancy, The Magros, Macy Tan and Debbie Seligman. Great job, all of you!! Thanks for playing…see you again this Friday!

Tech Bubble

Speaking of bubbles…

Funky Foto Contest Week 90

Bonz

You have to admit, this foto sure fits the “funky” description. Kind of obscure…but not really. The question is, where is this thing? If you’re first to tell me the answer to that question you’ll receive a $30.00 gift card to Armadillo Willy’s over there at Bridgepoint. (Sorry…it’s San Mateo!) The winner along with all other correct answers will not be published until Monday morning. All the rules of the road are available to view on the left hand margin as well as on the bar above. Any and all silly jokes, amusing quips and all wrong answers will be published immediatey if not sooner. Thanks for playing…enjoy the Super Bowl!

Patience is a Virtue

Slow-Road-Sign-378px

If you’re looking for a way to exercise your skills, or lack of them, in the area of patience you need go no further than attempting to purchase an REO (foreclosure). There’s plenty of things in life less frustrating…like waiting in line at Starbucks or the security screening thing at the airport, or going to the DMV to renew your drivers license. Think those are fun? Wait until you buy a foreclosure, or worse yet, a Short Sale!

Just for the purpose of brevity, we’ll only discuss the REO process here today. Mostly because I think I’ll need medication to discuss the short sale process! A home gets listed as “bank owned”. It’s looking good at a discount price and even though it needs work of some kind, it’s going to get offers. The listing agent sets an offer date which is published in the MLS and encourages you to meet that deadline and requires you to be approved by one of their reps as a condition of offer presentation. Sometimes the bank offers you some kind of rudimentary disclosures, maybe their rules for REO sales, maybe some HOA docs if it’s a condo/townhouse…or maybe they give you nothing at all.

A fairly new trend is for the listing agent to state openly that phone conversations are not OK. Any and all questions or communication needs to be done via their assistant and only by e-mail. Sounds friendly, huh? So, you present the offer…and you wait. After 2 or 3 days the lender comes back with a boilerplateish kind of document that essentially asks you to raise your offered price. Technically, it’s their request for you to come back to them with your “highest and best” offer since they are now letting you know officially and in writing that they have multiple offers. They’re also letting you know that they reserve the right to continue to look at offers even though your now way past their published deadline for offer presentation.

OK, you sign this document, and maybe you sweeten the pot for the lender too. At this point do you know what happens? You wait some more. The bank also is OK with collecting more offers if they can, possibly rendering your “highest and best” irrelevant again (who knows?).  After a week of stage two waiting, you hear (if your lucky)that you’re the winner. At this point you’re sent a 14 page addendum telling you, among other things, that the bank is still OK marketing this place and booting you out of first position at their discretion. They also want you to sign a clause that has you agree to pay them a fine of up to $350.00 a day if you are late closing the escrow. If you agree to all of that you probably will get the home. Maybe.

Doesn’t it sound fun? Then you get to inspect the property and find out all the details that the bank has so far not provided you.  Like I said, buy an REO or hang out at the DMV? Hmmm….

Getting Local

Local

I had the good fortune in the last few weeks to have a couple of very popular listings here in Foster City, 1121 Catamaran and 18 Dory Ln, and one thing became very clear to me while chatting with folks at each of the open houses…there’s a whole lot of buyers out there either not working with local real estate agents, or not working with agents at all. Dory had about 90 people at it’s open house, Catamaran at least 200. I’m sure of that on Catamaran because I printed 90 flyers and I had 4 left at the end of the day…people mostly come in groups and, almost always, one person takes a flyer.

In the case of Dory, I handed out 14 disclosure packets to interested parties prior to looking at offers…and I received 7 of them. On Catamaran I handed out 11 disclosure packets and received 3 offers. Of those 25 packets only 9 of them were given to local agents and 5 of the 10 offers came from local agents. Interestingly…of the 10 offers 6 of them were truly outstanding (price and terms) and 5 out of 6 were from local agents. Both winning bids came from local agents.

Why, you ask? It seems so obvious to me. These local agents know the Foster City market inside and out. They know what constitutes a good offer in a multiple offer environment and they know what will be important to a seller. One of the big reasons they know that is because they have sold listings here too. They also routinely see good offers from bad ones and thus they know what they’re doing.

Just so were clear, when I say a local agent I mean an agent who actually does a fair amount of business in Foster City. There’s real good agents in San Francisco, San Jose, Fremont…etc that would be lost in the Mid Peninsula and have no clue about Foster City. Honestly, I have no clue about San Francisco as a residential market. I’ve been a realtor for 20 years, sold hundreds of homes, but I’ve never sold a property in San Francisco. I would not provide a client the kind of service they deserve working with them in San Francisco.

Especially if you’re out there trying to do this thing on your own, consider working with a local agent…it will be more than worth it to you. That also applies to sellers.

Funky Foto Contest Winner Week 89

ketch

Fabulous knowledge folks!! This is a pretty small park, yet SO many of you nailed it this week! Congratulations to Sophie Wu who wins the $30.00 gift card to Noah’s Bagels! Also arriving with the winning answer…just not as fast was Pak, Alex O, Ling, Lakshmi, Bill, Nike, Kavita, DK, Nancy, Anita Reiman, Leslie, Jessica, Erika Jahnke, Sheetal, Hema, Agnes, Alex Wei, Kirk and Irina. Great job folks!! Congratulations to you all! Thanks also for all of you who clicked through from facebook! See you again this Friday!