San Mateo County has a unique place in the ranking of real estate markets around the country.  We happen to have some of the most expensive zip codes in the US.  Forbes does a great job of recording all of this trivia for people like me, who love to look up querky things. The last time Forbes did this report was back in 2003 during the housing boom so my guess is that some of it has changed but for the sake of having a reference, this will have to do.

Atherton consistently ranks either number one or within the top ten of the most expensive real estate in the country.  But when you look at the Forbes/MSN ranking by zip from 2003 they’re only #14 and Hillsborough is #7.  Go figure.  Add in Portola Valley and you find they are #16.  Burlingame pops in at #35, Redwood City at #59 and San Mateo #60.  Millbrae, Menlo Park, Belmont and San Carlos all hover around 100 slightly below or above.  Now these numbers are 4 years old so if I were to use my crystal balls (remember I do collect them) to refigure these rankings I’d move them all up quite a bit.

What was interesting in looking at these rankings, and I love looking at this kind of research, is that zip codes in New York are lower than parts of Chicago.  Beverly Hills is lower than Portola Valley.  So is Montecito and Santa Barbara.  Both super expensive places to live and buy property.  What stikes me as interesting is that the town of Woodside is missing from the zip rankings and this is another very expensive place to buy in our little corner of the world.

So let’s look at what the median prices were for the most expensive towns in San Mateo County in 2006.  This data is from Infolink, the local joint Board of Realtors for San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey Counties.

Atherton:      $3,256,410
Hillsborough:    $2,500,000
Woodside:    $1,900,000
Portola Valley:    $1,805,000
Burlingame:    $1,300,000
Menlo Park:    $1,270,000
Redwood Shores:    $1,170,000
Foster City:    $1,055,000
Millbrae:    $1,028,888

Now, compare the first quarter 2007 numbers to see what the trends are:

Atherton    $3,250,000
Hillsborough    $2,300,000
Woodside:    $2,865,625
Portola Valley    $1,795,000
Menlo Park    $1,250,000
Burlingame    $1,228,000
Redwood Shores    $1,225,000
Millbrae    $1,075,000

Looking at this data the prices have generally dropped a little over first quarter 2007.  But, remember this is the median price not the average.  The average price is always larger. The median price for a single family home in the entire county in 2006 was $869,000 and in the first quarter of 2007 it jumped up to $880,000.  If this trend continues we will see record prices for 2007.

My question for the day is how do we sustain this kind of pricing trend?  We as a county lack sufficient housing for everyone that needs to, or wants to live here.  We are not meeting state standards for affordable housing.  We are not building enough new housing for any meaningful growth.  And, at the median salary, $80,737, should one be making that figure, no one can afford to buy the median priced home in San Mateo County.  That’s why I think the elephant under this rug must be talked about without the NIMBY attitude that so often comes out when meaningful discussions about affordable housing take place.  Affordable housing isn’t Section 8 housing, it housing for those of us who haven’t been able to get into the housing game.  In most other places in the country a salary of $80,737 is considered to up a good salary.  Here, it certainly isn’t, at least if you want to be able to buy a house and have your piece of the American pie.