The Wilkas Group » Condos and Townhouses

Market Report – Foster City CA – Condos/Townhouses – 7.22.10

Lenore Wilkas — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:39:03 +0000

Last week Foster City had 43 condos and townhouses for sale with an average list price of $575,946. These listings, had a median size of 2 bedrooms and 3.5 baths according to Altos Research our research company. Frankly I find that interesting since almost all condos have 2 baths and townhouses have 2.5 baths. Right now, it’s taking about 2 months for a property to sell. Only about 1/3 of these listings are seeing price reductions so they are generally being priced to market and that’s good. These are generally great values and allow buyers to get into Foster City, one of the communities around here that has generally held value over the real estate roller coaster these past two years with great schools, loads of parks and outdoor activities around, plus an easy commute across the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge to the east bay or up or down 101 to San Francisco, South San Francisco, Palo Alto or San Jose. Foster City sits in the middle of San Mateo County making it an easy commute almost anywhere.

Looking at the price trends for Foster City condos and townhouses above, the chart shows prices have held over the past 18 months so it’s a great time to consider buying here. The peak of the Condo/townhouse market in Foster city was in March/April of 2007. The bottom, which most everyone missed, was January through March of 2008. We’ve held steady every since.

Comparing Altos Research to Zillow’s home values estimates you can see some parallels.

Foster City Zillow Home Value Index

Foster City Home Values – Interactive chart

We live in, and know, Foster City’s market. If you’re interested in buying here give us a call or hit the contact button on the sidebar. Let us know what you’re interested in and we’ll help you find it. Take a look at what’s currently for sale in Foster City condos and townhouses today, below.

Showing properties 1 - 35 of 43. See more Foster City Condos.
(all data current as of 9/8/2010)

$525,000 : 800 Sea Spray Ln #302, Foster City

3 beds, 2 full baths

Size: 1,500 sq ft

Lot size: 10 sq ft
$630,000 : 120 E Court Ln, Foster City

2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Size: 1,530 sq ft

Lot size: 920 sq ft
$429,500 : 1191 Compass Ln #108, Foster City

2 beds, 2 full baths

Size: 1,286 sq ft

Lot size: n/a
$599,000 : 821 Peary Ln, Foster City

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Size: 1,340 sq ft

Lot size: 1,690 sq ft
$619,000 : 705 Foster City Bl, Foster City

2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Size: 1,340 sq ft

Lot size: n/a
$622,000 : 217 Commons Ln, Foster City

2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Size: 1,410 sq ft

Lot size: 946 sq ft
$500,000 : 860 Meridian Bay Ln #229, Foster City

2 beds, 2 full baths

Size: 1,350 sq ft

Lot size: n/a
$589,900 : 1021 Lido Ln, Foster City

2 beds, 2 full baths

Size: 1,490 sq ft

Lot size: n/a
$628,000 : 114 Cityhomes Ln, Foster City

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Foster City Condo Market Report: 03.15.10

Lenore Wilkas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:29:21 +0000

It’s a Spring Real Estate Market and the number of listings in Foster City for condos and townhouseshas gone up to 56. The average price is $569,064 and that’s been pretty level for the past couple of weeks. Condos and townhouses are selling in a shorter number of days and have always been a good way to enter Foster City’s schools at a reasonable price. We’re looking at the median condo being 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, about 1350 square feet in size, and about 30 years old. This median sized condo, at this price, is a bargain in comparison to some of the small houses in nearby communities. Plus, Foster City’s elementary schools score high in all testing.

The many condo communities in Foster City offer some nice amenities and differ in layouts. Some communities look like townhouses, and some are multiple level. Sand Harbor. Isle Cove and The Islands have many units facing the water. Most all have pools, tennis courts, parks nearby and other amenities. There are also true townhouse communities in Foster City. These homes are more like row houses. They own the land they’re on, they are larger then the condos, and have yards attached, either in the front or back, or for some, both. Both kinds of homes are PUD’s (Planned Unit Developments) and have home owners dues.

The pricing trends had been relatively stable over the past couple of years. The bottom of the condo market was the end of 2007 and start of 2008. Prices have jumped up and down depending upon the number of condos available to buy at any one time. Remember, you get a great value when you purchase a condo in Foster City. Not only do you buy a home that was never converted from an apartment, but was actually constructed to be a condo, but you get a lot of square footage for your dollar.

Altos Research uses the Market Action Index to talk about how the housing market in a community is really doing. The Market Index for the Foster City Condo Market from last week’s data and it shows that the market is still a Strong Buyer’s one. With many different condos to choose from, a buyer can negotiate for a fair price. We aren’t now, and haven’t in the past, seen many short sales or bank owned condos either. Most of these are what we are calling Regular Sales.

What makes Foster City a great place to live is its location. Sitting right in the middle of the San Francisco Peninsula it is almost the same number of miles to drive north to San Francisco as it is to drive south to San Jose. The population in Foster City likes to play out doors. The city boasts more parks per square foot then any other city on the Peninsula. The Bayside Trail runs along the eastern shore of the city and always has bicyclists, walkers, roller bladers, and the like enjoying the bay views and air. Tennis courts are sprinkled around town, many with lights for night playing. The city has a vibrant Parks and Recreations Department that includes lessons in sailboarding, kayaking, sailing and rental the of kayaks, paddle boats, and sail boats.

We love to show people Foster City. It is the first planned community built in California and affords perfect weather summer, fall, winter and spring. Would you like more information? Please let us know and we’re happy to provide it to you.

Here are some Condos and Townhouses currently for sale in Foster City.

Where’s the Market Trending? Foster City, CA 02.15.10 Condos & Townhouses

Lenore Wilkas — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:45:51 +0000

I started the trending report with Foster City, CA single family houses and now I move over to the Condos and Townhouses. As a planned community, there are many of these to choose from. Some of the townhouses are really attached single family homes, and some are really townhouse-style condos. As Realtors we know the difference and it’s our job to explain that to you if you’re looking for one. Since Foster City’s single family homes are significantly higher in value than the condos or townhouses you get more for your dollar considering them, if you want to move to Foster City for the schools.

Play around with the data to see the trends over the past 4 years. They start during the bubble years and move to the lean years. What you are looking at is the Median Price versus the Median Inventory across all price ranges. Surprisingly, Foster City had the least deflation in home prices around here. Good for the home owner, for sure, but maybe not so good for you if you’re a buyer. If you click on the Max link you’ll see $1million on two occasions. There are some very high-end condos in Foster City that were selling in the low million dollar range several years ago.

The Wilkas Group lives in Foster City and knows the community well. If you are considering making a move into or out of Foster City we’d like to assist you with that. You can reach us by clicking the the “Contact Us” button to the left and we’ll respond by email or phone, your choice.

Foster City Condo Market Report – 6.01.09

Lenore Wilkas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:22:24 +0000

Last week Foster City has 68 condos or townhouses for sale. Wowza! And, the number is increasing. Good for the buyer, bad for the seller. Pricing is flat, good for the seller and bad for the buyer and the average number of days it’s taking to sell is going down, again good for the seller. The Median Price was $649,000 and the least expensive condo on the market was listed at $300,000 even. The most expensive was $1,025,000 at Promontory Point and that poor owner is competing against a bank owned priced well below their list price. This median priced condo is around 1428 square feet and has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Prices may be flat but half of all listed Class 2 properties in Foster City (class 2 is the MLS terminology for condo or townhouse) have seen price reductions. Buyers should be happy as this means sellers should negotiate.

Let’s look at what’s going on across the spectrum on price. Since Foster City is a planned community, even the properties are planned to be within certain price points. Quartile One features the most expensive properties – generally Prmontory Point and large townhouses. Quartile Two are those below, generally all townhouses, Quartile Three and Four are small townhouses and all the rest of the condos around town. What’s interesting is the top and bottom of the market are taking the most time to sell.

Realtors are asked regularly if the market is at the bottom. When you look at the chart above for Foster City Condos and Townhouses, you can clearly see prices were at bottom last year and have been bouncing along above that point ever since. The past couple of weeks have been up and may stay that way or even move up more. I say this because we are beginning to see multiple offers on properties and that means prices may keep the move upwards. One would expect the see a correlation between price and market conditions but someone forgot to tell this to the Peninsula. Prices are still a little out of whack in comparison to the number of homes on the market and the market condition.

The $64 Thousand dollar question is always “how’s the market” and it’s still a strong Buyer’s Market. The market conditionn says we are in a strong Buyer’s Market, and have been here for about 2 years. So why isn’t the price reflected in this? Good question and one with no real simple answer, but simple economics of supply vs. demand keep prices up even in a Buyer’s Market. What this does offer you as a buyer is the opportunity to negotiate over price. Seller’s are finally expecting this and are more and more willing to do it. This final chart says it all. Inventory is at an all time high over the past 2 1/2 years. Competition breeds better prices and selection. If you’ve been on the fence about buying your first home and can’t afford a house, condos and townhouses are still the way to go. Foster City has outstanding schools, easy commutes north, south or across the bay, great weather, and with historically low interest rates now is the time to act. Believe me when I say we don’t expect to see rates as low as they have been for much longer. The Fed will take care of it so don’t wait. We’re here to help you. Click the button on the left and leave us a message.

Foster City Market Update 6.20.08

Lenore Wilkas — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:07:51 +0000

Foster City, as a planned community, has single family homes, townhouses and Condos circling the city. [There are loads of apartments, too, but we're only talking what's for sale here.] The single family home market is so different from the condo market it’s like being in two different cities. I’ll talk first about single family homes, then the condos. Last week we saw 34 homes for sale compared to today with 28. The Median price was $1,166,000. The Average price was $1,190,095. If you could find it, the least expensive home was listed for $865,000. Today there’s one for $868,000 – a steal for Foster City. Prices have been trending up, but the price per square foot has moved down, along with the average days on the market. Inventory was up last week, and my guess is that Altos Research’s report for this week will show it down.

The Market Action Index for single family homes in Foster City sits at 21, and it’s moved up a wee bit. The delineator between a Buyer’s and Seller’s Market is that Red Line, sitting at 30 making this a Cool Buyer’s Market. Prices have changed little of the past few weeks but they are trending up again from the low during first quarter of the year.

Let’s move on to what the real estate community calls our Class II, or Townhouses and Condos.

Last week, the number of townhouses and condos for sale in Foster City was 43. This week we see 31, with 18 pending. Yes the number doesn’t match because some went pending earlier. The Median Price was $649,000, the Average List Price was $663,990 and prices ranged from a low of $329,888 to a high of $1,299,000. Prices are trending down and so are the average number of days on the market.

The townhouse/condo market is a Cold Buyer’s Market sitting at 19 and trending down. That red line is pretty far above where this market sits right now. There are some great buys in the condo area. Townhouses are selling fast, though, so we’re seeing almost two different things take place in Foster City in this market.

Finally, let’s look at the Median Price for Class II Properties in Foster city and you can see they’re up since the first of the year but overall, prices have been flat. The grest schools in Foster City make these properties enticing for small families, and when some of the townhouses that have been on the market are bigger than single family homes, it’s no wonder they sell quickly.

Altos Research does a great job of providing this data for us. You can get it from us, too. Just fill in the little box below the rotating charts and voila, you’ll find them in your mailbox. Or, call me and I’ll send one.