Burlingame Real Estate - The Wilkas Group » Burlingame homes for sale

Market Report 9.16.11 – Burlingame

lenorewilkas — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:30:49 +0000

Here’s a quick snapshot of the Burlingame market for this week.

And, here are Burlingame homes for sale. If you see anything here that you’d like to see in person, please give us a call at 650-696-2820 or click the contact us link and we’ll respond.

Showing properties 1 - 30 of 36. See more city of Burlingame real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

$1,200,000 : 738 Linden Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,000 sq ft

Lot size: 8,624 sqft
$2,150,000 : 135 Valdeflores Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 2 part baths

Home size: 3,550 sq ft

Lot size: 9,976 sqft
$2,195,000 : 1005 Drake Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,168 sq ft

Lot size: 6,250 sqft
$1,349,000 : 516 Burlingame Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 2,110 sq ft

Lot size: 5,000 sqft
$980,000 : 1016 Paloma Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,310 sq ft

Lot size: 5,750 sqft
$2,695,000 : 2202 Summit Dr, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,341 sq ft

Lot size: 2.66 ac
$1,717,000 : 1513 Sanchez Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,390 sq ft

Lot size: 7,050 sqft
$1,050,000 : 1000 Park Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,684 sq ft

Lot size: 5,400 sqft
$2,249,000 : 1537 Drake Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,940 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$1,749,000 : 2504 Easton Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 2,500 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$1,428,000 : 23 Dwight Rd, Burlingame

4 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 2,200 sq ft

Lot size: 4,960 sqft
$987,000 : 411 Bayswater Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,585 sq ft

Lot size: 5,060 sqft
$739,000 : 737 Crossway Rd, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full bath

Home size: 810 sq ft

Lot size: 3,000 sqft
$2,195,000 : 1257 Balboa Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,715 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$985,000 : 107 W Fey Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,330 sq ft

Lot size: 17,767 sqft
$2,298,000 : 1037 Balboa Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,000 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$2,795,000 : 1526 Los Altos Dr, Burlingame

5 beds, 5 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 4,000 sq ft

Lot size: 8,320 sqft
$1,280,000 : 205 Howard Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,520 sq ft

Lot size: 4,738 sqft
$2,950,000 : 3004 Hillside Dr, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 4,500 sq ft

Lot size: 11,250 sqft
$1,200,000 : 1435 Edgehill Dr, Burlingame

5 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 1,780 sq ft

Lot size: 6,016 sqft
$1,900,000 : 1445 Cabrillo Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,480 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$1,100,000 : 1512 Ralston Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,990 sq ft

Lot size: 7,896 sqft
$1,149,000 : 23 El Quanito Wy, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,620 sq ft

Lot size: 13,250 sqft
$2,395,000 : 1360 Columbus Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,975 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$900,000 : 22 Bancroft Rd, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,570 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$2,295,000 : 1032 Balboa Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,000 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$1,595,000 : 1513 Ralston Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 3,100 sq ft

Lot size: 8,064 sqft
$1,350,000 : 1437 Balboa Av, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full bath

Home size: 1,370 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft
$1,295,000 : 1318 Edgehill Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 2,050 sq ft

Lot size: 7,200 sqft
$749,000 : 812 Howard Av, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full bath

Home size: 1,010 sq ft

Lot size: 5,250 sqft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Burlingame Market Report for May 2011

lenorewilkas — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:30:39 +0000

You’re looking at a snapshot of the real estate market for Burlingame California from last week. This is as close to real time as one an get. Forget what you hear on the news. Forget what you read in the papers about the Case-Shiller report. This is the real skinny of what’s happening locally. The other things you’re hearing are like painting a picture with a broad brush and wiping out every detail the eye can see. Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo and Foster City are the cities I write about and sell real estate within and know. Case-Shiller knows nothing about our market so they talk about the Bay Area without understanding the macro version. Each community is unique within San Mateo County and our communities are not distressed. We see very few short sales and bank owned properties in Burlingame.

Look at this chart for Burlingame single family homes. Trends for last week were down from the week before, but trends move up and down weekly. Real estate is not a static medium and when there are only a few homes for sale within a market it’s impossible not to see swings up and down with just the sale of one property, depending on its price. Remember there are 7739 homes in Burlingame.

Now let’s see the monthly Burlingame market data to compare the market., We are seeing more homes pending sale, which is good. People are out shopping for new homes and taking out loans, and making life decisions.

We are seeing incredible lending values. Historically low interest rates, in face, that can’t possibly stay like this very much longer. What happens when the Fed finally raises interest? Your affordability will diminish, that’s what will happen. Today you might be able to afford a home for $1.5 million at 4% interest but what happens when interest rises to 5%? Your affordability will drop and you might not be able to buy into Burlingame.

We are happy to show you these things in detail so you can make an intelligent decision about buying a new home. Real estate is not an investment like stocks and bonds are, it’s a property that allows you to put down roots into a community and grow a family. It allows you to have a sense of security and ownership. It’s really important that you stop thinking about a home being your piggy bank, because it isn’t and should never become one. We want to see some appreciation of the purchase of a home so you can leverage it into a larger home down the road, but the days of insane increase of value are long gone. Appreciation is going to be about 3% a year so you will want to stay in your home for 5 or more years in order to leverage it to another one. That’s the way your parents thought about buying a home, that’s the way I thought about buying a home and now you must think that way too.

In our corner of the Peninsula it is not cheaper to rent, if you can find a decent rental. It is cheaper to buy and take the tax advantages that home ownership offer you. We don’t have enough rental property to fill the needs here, so don’t think that’s your answer because it’s not. Don’t sit on the fence waiting of prices to drop because even if they do, even a little bit, when interest rates go up you will end up paying considerably more for the same house at a lower price with higher payments and will have lost the months of deductions you could have taken for taxes while sitting on that fence. Buying a home is a long-term purchase not something you buy and flip. Think of it this way and you’ll want to own. Think of it any other way and in the long run you’ll be the loser.

Here’s what’s currently for sale in Burlingame homes.

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 8. See more city of Burlingame real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

$1,440,000 : 617 Rollins Rd, Burlingame

0 beds, 0 baths

Home size: 7,590 sq ft

Lot size: 10,550 sqft
$2,850,000 : 740 Linden Av, Burlingame

0 beds, 0 baths

Home size: 5,000 sq ft

Lot size: 8,624 sqft
$2,100,000 : 1461 El Camino Real, Burlingame

0 beds, 0 baths

Lot size: 8,200 sqft
$1,395,000 : 4 Howard Av, Burlingame

0 beds, 0 baths

Home size: 4,268 sq ft

Lot size: 5,460 sqft
$1,795,000 : 1140 El Camino Real, Burlingame

0 beds, 0 baths

Home size: 4,883 sq ft

Lot size: 6,150 sqft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Here’s what’s currently for sale in Burlingame condo and townhouses.

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 14. See more city of Burlingame real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

$1,650,000 : 740 Linden Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,000 sq ft

Lot size: 8,624 sqft
$565,000 : 1210 Bellevue Av #207, Burlingame

2 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,186 sq ft
$515,000 : 733 Fairfield Rd #1, Burlingame

2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,205 sq ft
$1,627,500 : 512 Primrose Rd #102, Burlingame

3 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 2,434 sq ft
$650,000 : 33 Park Rd #2, Burlingame

2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,380 sq ft

Lot size: 653 sqft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

The Wilkas Group is here to assist you in the purchase or sale of your home. We bring our expertise, skills and excellent to all of our clients. You can contact us above by clicking the the Contact Us! link, or try to chat real time. We’re here to be your advocate.

Burlingame Market Report – 08.02.10 – Burlingame CA

lenorewilkas — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:24:06 +0000

Here’s a snapshot of what’s going on in the Burlingame CA real estate market today. You can tell a lot by the number of houses on the market, or in real estate-speak, the Inventory, then the number of days a house sits on the market. Burlingame isn’t at a high for this year because it’s the middle of the summer but it’s really up there with 84 houses for sale.

Now let’s compare the Burlingame Inventory of houses for sale versus the Median Price. Remember, media price means the middle price, not the average price. It’s a great indicator of the real-time activity of a market. The Median Price is in orange the Inventory of houses is in black. We are definitely seeing prices receding from historic highs 3 years ago while inventory has climbed.

Now take a look at the Median Price for homes in Burlingame. Looking back one year we see the market bottomed in January 2010. This could have happened for any number of reasons, but probably because we see fewer homes on the market over the holidays and those that are for sale are there because they must be sold and prices reflect this. It’s also the best time to scoop up a bargain in real estate. This chart is showing both the 7 day Median Price, in black, and the 90 day Median Price in orange. First quarter 2010 was the time to find the great bargains out there. We’ve come up since then. One caution when looking at a chart like this is to be aware that a weekly statistic can be deceiving if there are only a few houses listed that week or sold that week. The 90 day picture is really a better snapshot of a market.

The Average Days on the market is another indicator of what’s going on. When we had a hot market in the mid- 2000′s, the average days on the market were short. Today it’s not, it’s around 75 days. Compared to the early part of 2010, it’s short, since we saw houses languish for several months before selling. We are really in a normal market for the number of days it’s taking to have a house sell. A normal market can take up to 90 days. This is the New Reality for Burlingame real estate.

The final chart for you is the Market Action Index, or MAI. This is data the Altos Research had developed to follow the quirks of the market between a Buyer’s Market and a Seller’s Market. They have set the divider of a Buyer’s Market and a Seller’s Market at 30. The closer the market gets to 30 the more balanced a market we have. Right now, Burlingame is at 17 and is still a strong Buyer’s Market. If you have the FICO score, money in the bank and have been pre-approved for a loan, you can find some great houses to choose from.

These charts are quick snapshots of the Burlingame market today. We have more in-depth information for our clients. If you want to see Burlingame homes, now’s a great time. Here are some of them below.

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Market Report for Burlingame, CA – 07.20.10

lenorewilkas — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:22:35 +0000

rliYes, it’s been a while since I’ve updated what’s going on with Burlingame real estate. If you’ve been driving around town, you are definitely seeing a lot of for sale signs so there’s no shortage of houses to pick from if you’re interested in buying here. There are 86 homes on the market today. Prices are trending downward, as the average number of days they sit before going into contract is now 82, and half of all listings have seen price reductions. Burlingame is still a strong Buyer’s Market and there are lots of houses to pick from.

Prices range from a low of $499,998 (believe me you don’t want this one) to a high of $6,500,000. According to Altos Research, the median list price of all homes on the market last week was $1,237,500. Burlingame has fantastic public schools, a quaint downtown and charm galore. It’s a desirable town to live in and with interest rates at historic lows, a good time to consider if you can qualify for a loan. We would be happy to talk further with you about your real estate needs, just click to contact us button and we’ll respond.

Today I’m introducing Zillow’s take on Burlingame as additional data for you. I am always hearing clients talk about Zillow this and Zillow that. They are getting much better with their data but they are not 100% accurate and you should never use them as the gospel for home values. They are only as accurate as the last sale in the neighborhood you’re interested in, so if you’re looking for data, ask your Realtor. Alex and I are here for more in-depth information on the market and the house you’re considering. We know the markets, and the neighborhoods, and can provide the information you want and need to make an intelligent decision.

Here’s Zillow’s data.

Burlingame Zillow Home Value Index

Burlingame Home Values – Interactive chart

Showing properties 1 - 25 of 29. See more Burlingame Homes .
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

$739,000 : 737 Crossway Rd, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full bath

Home size: 810 sq ft

Lot size: 3,000 sqft

Year built: 1928
$749,000 : 812 Howard Av, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full bath

Home size: 1,010 sq ft

Lot size: 5,250 sqft

Year built: 1926
$980,000 : 1016 Paloma Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,310 sq ft

Lot size: 5,750 sqft

Year built: 1925
$985,000 : 107 W Fey Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,330 sq ft

Lot size: 17,767 sqft

Year built: 1965
$1,050,000 : 1000 Park Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,684 sq ft

Lot size: 5,400 sqft

Year built: 1926
$1,100,000 : 1512 Ralston Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,990 sq ft

Lot size: 7,896 sqft

Year built: 1922
$1,149,000 : 23 El Quanito Wy, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,620 sq ft

Lot size: 13,250 sqft

Year built: 1959
$1,195,000 : 1138 Douglas Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,500 sq ft

Lot size: 5,544 sqft

Year built: 1914
$1,200,000 : 738 Linden Av, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,000 sq ft

Lot size: 8,624 sqft

Year built: 2012
$1,200,000 : 1435 Edgehill Dr, Burlingame

5 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 1,780 sq ft

Lot size: 6,016 sqft

Year built: 1916
$1,295,000 : 1318 Edgehill Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 2,050 sq ft

Lot size: 7,200 sqft

Year built: 1917
$1,299,000 : 1530 La Mesa Dr, Burlingame

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,640 sq ft

Lot size: 12,829 sqft

Year built: 1955
$1,350,000 : 1437 Balboa Av, Burlingame

2 beds, 1 full bath

Home size: 1,370 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 1924
$1,595,000 : 1513 Ralston Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 3,100 sq ft

Lot size: 8,064 sqft

Year built: 1910
$1,699,000 : 141 Crescent Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,514 sq ft

Lot size: 7,535 sqft

Year built: 1925
$1,717,000 : 1513 Sanchez Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,390 sq ft

Lot size: 7,050 sqft

Year built: 1913
$1,749,000 : 2504 Easton Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 2,500 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 1933
$1,900,000 : 1445 Cabrillo Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,480 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 1924
$2,150,000 : 135 Valdeflores Dr, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 2 part baths

Home size: 3,550 sq ft

Lot size: 9,976 sqft

Year built: 1954
$2,195,000 : 1005 Drake Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,168 sq ft

Lot size: 6,250 sqft

Year built: 1996
$2,195,000 : 1257 Balboa Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,715 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 2005
$2,249,000 : 1537 Drake Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,940 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 2009
$2,295,000 : 1032 Balboa Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,000 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 2012
$2,298,000 : 1037 Balboa Av, Burlingame

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,000 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 2012
$2,395,000 : 1360 Columbus Av, Burlingame

5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,975 sq ft

Lot size: 6,000 sqft

Year built: 2012

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Year-end Look at Burlingame CA Market

lenorewilkas — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:52:07 +0000

During 2009, Burlingame’s market was down all year but not dramatically so. Because Burlingame is a high-end market, it was really struggling the first half of the year with of the difficulty for buyer’s to get loans. Unless you had cash you had a hard time finding a lender who would write a jumbo-jumbo loan. As the chart shows below, you can see when this changed in May, and by July we saw the market heat up with 23 sales. The same number sold in September, too. But don’t get too excited about this because there are still many more houses for sale then selling making Burlingame a Buyer’s market.

Looking at the numbers you can see the Median price of the houses for sale is still higher than the median sold price. Seller’s are just not ready to accept that prices have dropped so we are seeing listings with prices higher then we’d expect, but this is Burlingame and people want to live in Burlingame for it’s schools, location and charm. We expect to see short sales and REO’s to come in 2010 in Burlingame and if you’re hoping to buy or need to sell because of this, then you need an agent who is experienced in this kind of sale. The Wilkas Group is trained and has had experience with both short sales and bank owned sales. Do not use an agent who will learn on your transaction. There are too many issues that come up during the escrow to allow a person learning the system. Use an expert like the Wilkas Group.

Burlingame Market Report 8.25.09: Burlingame, CA

lenorewilkas — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:19:51 +0000

The market, she is a-changing. Last week Burlingame had 85 houses for sale and the average time they have been on the market is about 70 days. The inventory is increasing and so is the time it is taking to sell a property. There could be several reasons for this: One, being the difficulty in buyer’s getting loans; Two, the problems the real estate industry across the county is having with appraisals coming in accurately; and Three, these houses are move-up properties and the people wanting to move up to Burlingame can’t get their houses sold either. So much for the housing stimulus in San Mateo County.

The Median priced house last week was $1,388,000. The Average priced house was $1,564,274. The most expensive house for sale last week in Burlingame was listed at $3,395,000 and the least expensive house was listed at $514,900, the one and only Bank Owned property in Burlingame. By the way, there are 12 Short Sales in Burlingame.

We are seeing fewer houses being re-listed and my guess is because listing are now being taken for up to 1 year rather than 90 days like it used to be done. Prices are being reduced in 40% of all listings. What does this tell you? Prices are still too high so if a house doesn’t sell it is because of the price. Many people are trying to sell before their loans reset to higher interest rates — these are the ARM and alt-A ARMS that were taken out by many buyers during the real estate frenzy 3-7 years ago. They were the 3/1, 5/1 and 7/1 hybrid loans so many people took advantage of to buy a house. Some of these loans will be fine and will reset into prevailing rates, many will not, and we in the real estate community, expect to see a tsunami coming forth in our area of San Mateo County. Nationwide over half a million loans (523,000) are due to reset in 2009 alone!

The Market Segments

Our wonderful research company, Altos Research, divides the market into quartiles to show how each segment of the market is different from the other in price and property. The top Quartile is doing the best, but the houses sold last week had huge price reductions prior to selling. A house sells if the price is right. Generally the bottom Quartile moves faster in Burlingame because it has been the entry to this great town but not in this case. It’s languishing and I must guess the reason is due to the difficulty in getting loans. It’s only a guess…..

Prices in Burlingame have dropped over the past couple of years but clearly they’re still high and trending that way, yet we’re seeing 40% of all listings getting price reductions so some how there is a disconnect with the sellers in Burlingame. Price matter and it is still mostly too high or these houses would be selling.

The Market Action Index clearly shows that Burlingame hit bottom around March of this year bounced up a bit, and has stayed around the level since. Burlingame is a Strong Buyer’s Market and sits at 16, well below the line that moves it into Seller’s Market, at 30. There are seller’s markets today, believe it or not, but not on the Peninsula. We are still short housing for the number of people living here but clearly the prices in Burlingame are not reflecting this.

Burlingame, California, 94010, is still one of the sought after communities to live in on the San Francisco Peninsula because of the fine schools and beauty of the community. If you want to live in Burlingame you will have to pay a lot of money and if you are lucky enough to either have a loan approved, or money in the bank in order to pay full cash, the selection of houses is very plentiful.

I have a complete report with more data on Burlingame available for you, but you must ask for it. Click on the Contact Us button and make your request.

Burlingame Market Report – 07.10.09

lenorewilkas — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:05:24 +0000

Last week Burlingame had 80 houses for sale with a prices ranging from a low of $540,000 to a high of $3,295,000. The Median Priced home last week was $1,386,500 and this house is about 71 years old with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The Average Price for a house in Burlingame last week was $1,537,536. We are still in a Cold Buyer’s market in Burlingame and buyers have much to choose from as these homes are sitting an average of 101 days. Prices are dropping since almost half of all listings are seeing price reductions yet Burlingame hasn’t figured it out. Prices have come down almost everywhere and these houses will need to be reduced in price, too, if the seller’s are serious about selling.

The Altos Research chart above shows the inventory of housing stock (yes, just like cattle it’s referred to as “stock”) and it’s at a high for the year which isn’t unusual for mid-summer it was like this last year, too. Burlingame offers a wonderful community with good public schools so people from San Francisco tend to flock down 101 to buy here. But, only 6 houses sold last week so what’s stopping the sales? Could it be PRICE?

Prices have been running about the same for over a year and a half with ups and downs but mostly little change. Is there something about homeowners in Burlingame that makes them think that they are immune to price reductions like other parts of the bay area? We’re seeing them in Marin. We’re seeing them in San Francisco but not too much in Burlingame. When we only see about 8% of all available houses selling, price may be the reason. Maybe. Then again, maybe not. Are people worried about buying right now? With the median priced house in the jumbo-jumbo loan range, one needs about 30% down to qualify yet the most expensive homes appear to be the ones selling in the shortest amount of time.

Dividing the market into quartiles gives us a clear picture of what priced houses are selling, and what priced houses are not. One would assume that the least expensive houses would sell before the most expensive but that is not the case. The inventory of houses is evenly split between the quartiles making it even simpler to see the stats.

Burlingame has bounced along the bottom of the market for almost 2 years. It’s been a strong Buyer’s Market for some time now. I think Burlingame is one of the prettiest cities on the Peninsula. It’s called the City of Trees and one knows they’ve arrived in Burlingame if they’re driving on El Camino Real, as trees line the roadway. The downtown is quaint and has a high walking score. Commuting from Burlingame is easy as public transit goes both to San Jose and San Francisco. SFO is a hop skip and a jump away. I think there are some great opportunities out there for serious buyers interested in living in Burlingame. Call us and we’ll help you find the right one for your needs.

I do want to mention that pricing a home is not an exact science. If it were we would never see price reductions. We look at the most recent houses that have sold in the immediate area when pricing a house. With so few houses selling right now, it is very hard to price accurately. This comment is made to help you understand that if the agent is given the opportunity to price the home we generally do a better job than the seller does because the seller doesn’t have their finger on the market. If you have a house to sell, don’t get upset when you hear the suggested listing price. If you want to sell your house for the most money in the shortest time, list to us. We know best.

San Mateo County Home in Distress? Here’s Help!

Alexander Wilkas — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:15:40 +0000

I am Alex, the other half of the Wilkas Group, and I just earned the Prestigious Designation of CDPE. That means I am Certified by the Distressed Property Institute to help you determine what are the best options you have for your home if you are having difficulty in making your mortgage payments.

What exactly is a Home in Distress or a Short Sale in real estate, is this happening in our neighborhoods in Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo or Foster City? The short answer is, YES!

I am sure that you have read and heard about the growing number of homeowners pursuing short sales in the US today. In fact, the chances are that one of your neighbors is going through one right now. Some estimates state that over 50% of the properties that close this year will be short sales or foreclosures. Most people don’t learn what a short sale is until they experience it firsthand.

In a nut shell, a short sale is a closed transaction where the mortgage holder(s) agree to accept less than the mortgage amount balance in order to close the sale. These can be very complicated transactions with far reaching ramifications.

As a CDPE, I have been specifically trained to assist buyers and sellers when they are going thru these difficult transactions. I am dedicating my training to help my clients and their friends through these difficult times. Not only are these financially challenging transactions, the stress on a family can be overwhelming.

As a community service, If you would like an informational sheet on Short Sales and exactly what they are, how to qualify and what a homeowner needs to do in order to pursue one, I would be happy to send you the information. If you or someone you know should need answers, I want to make sure at least the basics can be covered. You can reach me by clicking on the “Contact Us” button on the left side of this page.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting additional information that may help you or someone you know understand the Distressed Property crises we are beginning to see here in San Mateo County

Burlingame Market Report – 04.16.09

lenorewilkas — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:03:58 +0000

Last week Burlingame Market had 73 houses for sale, a number that has gone up over recent weeks and months. The good news is that the Average days homes for sale sat on the market has gone down to 93 days. The Average Priced home for sale was $1,420,832 and we saw the least expensive house listed at $595,000, a Bank Owned bungalow and the most expensive home was $3,325,000. There were 6 homes sold last week and Burlingame is still considered a Cold Buyers market, deep in the freeze.

The Median Price for a house in Burlingame last week was $1,299,000. This house is 71 years old and likely has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and is about 2000 square feet in size sitting on a 6000 foot lot. Prices are still staying pretty steady overall but 41% of the listing have seen a price reduction. Now, you ask, what does that mean for me? Perhaps it means sellers are willing to negotiate. A new word for them.

The Median Price covers the entire market but it’s always good to drill down a bit and look at the four Quartiles of the market. Quartile One is the most expensive group with a Median at $2,188,000. Obviously you get more for that money in size of house and hot. The next most expensive quartile is two and the Median Price is $1,442,000. The third quartile is $1,197,000 and the bottom quartile, and least expensive is $850,000 for the Median Price. The bottom quartilel generally has the 2 bedroom bungalows and are some of the sweetest homes in Burlingame and many are walking distance to Broadway or Burlingame Avenue.

Finally, we look at the Market Action Index for the last picture of the market in Burlingame. That red line delineates a Buyer’s Market from a Seller’s Market. We have been in a Buyer;s market for almost 2 years and seem to bounce along there week by week. If you’ve been holding off to buy a Burlingame home, why wait? The Market Action Index shows you clearly that things have remained steady and now is a great time to make that offer.

We are here to help you buy your new home, or sell your present one. Money is at all time lows. We expect to see the $729,900 conforming loan within the next couple of weeks. If you have cash in the bank, 25% for a down, or a huge equity in your present home and can sell it, that loan will be like hitting a gold streak in the Mother Load. Call us or send us an email for more information.

Burlingame Market Report – 3.17.09

lenorewilkas — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:57:10 +0000

Last week Burlingame had 63 houses for sale and only saw one sale. The Median Price for Burlingame single family homes was $1,299,000. The least expensive house listed was $699,000 and the most expensive listed at $3,325,000. This median aged home is 67 years old and it has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This house is about 2000 square feet in size and sits on a 5000 foot lot.

Prices were trending downward last week. So are the number of days it’s taking to sell and the total number of homes for sale. We will have to wait and see if this becomes a long term trend. There is a misconception that there is no money to lend for homes around the Median Price in Burlingame, but guess what, that isn’t so. Wells Fargo is lending jumbo-jumbo loans up to $3 million if you put at least 20% down and have a 720 FICO. So, what’s holding you back?

Looking at the Median Price trends over the past 4 years you can clearly see prices are remaining down in comparison to the peak in 2006. It had to happen folks. Prices were just unsustainable and had to come down, and so they have.

Our research company, Altos Research, divides real estate markets into quartiles by high, mid-high, mid-low, and low. In Burlingame the bottom Quartile has shown the most activity with the average number of Days on the Market a little over 2-1/2 months in comparison to the higher priced Quartiles, with Days on the Market over 3 months. Obviously there is a vast difference between Quartile One’s median house and Quartile Four’s median house. But all of them sit in Burlingame and as an owner one gets the Burlingame Elementary School District and Burlingame High School for public schools. The elementary district has great schools and BHS is one of the better high schools in the San Mateo High School District.

Burlingame is considered a Cold! Buyer’s Market sitting solidly below the red line that divides the Altos chart above. It’s easy to see we’ve been slogging along the bottom of the market for a very long time. Will things go further south? I sure don’t think so. The Fed has done a good job of getting the banks to remember that their business is to lend money and the banks are doing just that right on our Peninsula.

This is a fantastic time to buy a home in Burlingame. It’s a beautiful city close to SFO, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Bio-Tech centers along the County. We’d love to show you one of those 63 houses for sale. We have a fantastic lender at Wells Fargo to refer you to so you can see if you, too, qualify for the loans they have. Give us a call at 650-696-2820 or send an email. We are here to help you make your real estate dreams a reality and now is a great time to begin doing just that.