Over all Foster City is the healthiest market in our area. Prices are up and we’re seeing that there were 2 months where prices exceeded the list price. This is something we haven’t seen in several years. Foster City sits in a perfect location for commutes to bio-tech or hi-tech, east bay or the City.

The city is home to about 30,000 residents. This was the first planned community in the western United States. There are single family houses, townhouses, condominiums, and apartments running in various areas of the city and many sit along side the water.

I happened to drive down a street that looked like no one took any pride in ownership of their homes. And, I mean NO ONE! It looked like a slum but a slum with homes worth $600,000 to $700,000 if these houses were in good shape. It got me to thinking about what must go into someones mind when they just stop taking care of their property.

If a property is being sold as a Short Sale it means that the loan on the property is for more money than the property can be sold for. There is a shortage of funds due the lender. Sometimes a lender will forgive this amount and sometimes it will not. If the amount is forgiven it may not be a win for the seller because they may have to show this amount “forgiven” as income in their taxes the following year. It must be shown as income because it was money that was owed by the seller through a note to buy the property, but not paid back to the lender and the IRS looks at this as money in your pocket even though you never see the money.

One of the first questions we hear when a property has been on the market for 30 days and has seen no offers is why isn’t my house selling. Why? Well, it might be a price issue, but then again, it might not. It might be a marketing issue. The most difficult thing to do when listing a property is to price it right. Especially in this kind of a market,