While San Mateo condos and townhouses are scattered around all of the zip codes today we’re focusing on the entire city and the 94404 zip where Mariner’s Isle, Edgewater Isle and Harbortown reside.  The most expensive condos in San Mateo are on West 3rd Avenue in Baywood where there are several condominiums that are relatively new, offering spacious, luxury condos that are a short walk to the Library and downtown San Mateo.   The least expensive condo in San Mateo was listed at  $199,000, an unheard of price only a year or so ago.  The most expensive condo in San Mateo was listed at $2,250,000 and it’s on West 3rd Avenue, where else?

There were 112 units for sale last week and 21 sales.  A unit, in real estate parlance means an apartment or townhouse.  Most conds are 2 bedrooms and 2 baths and most also were built as condos, not converted from being apartments, so they have better sound proofing between apartments and in the ceiling and floor.

Townhouses sell for more money as they sit on their own land.  They are bigger, with garages attached and sometimes have small yards.  There are fewer of them within the city, and they sit in pockets both west of El Camino, near downtown and east of 101.

The market hit bottom right the the end of 2007 and beginning of this year and has moved up a bit, occasionally with some peaks and valleys due to the sale price of one or more high-end units skewing things.  But, median prices for the condo market right now is in the mid-$500,000′s.

Altos Research, the research company we buy this data from tells me the Condo Market in San Mateo is in the Cold! Buyer’s range at 19, but it’s moving upwards.  There are some great buys out there and people are acting on them.  This hasn’t been a short sale market the way the entry level homes have been.  People buy condos or townhouses because of the living conveniences they offer and often for more of a downtown location.

94404 – Mariner’s Isle, Edgewater Isle and Harbortown

The 94404 zip is shared with Foster City but there is a huge difference in these two markets.  This zip in San Mateo sits east of 101 and along some bay waters.  Harbortown is a large complex of conds, some looking and feeling like townhouses, but condos, not the less, and some have great waterfront views.  They are the most expensive of the complexes in this zip code.  Edgewater Isle sits across from Harbortown, also townhouse style conds, with pretty grounds, and some with water views. Finally, you find Mariner’s Isle.  There are some attached houses here, and some condos, too.  Many of them sit right at the water’s edge, offering boating from a private dock.  This area features a lot of waterfront action and those properties fronting the water get higher dollars at sale.

A Cold! Buyer’s market, it sits at 18, well below the divide of 30 for a seller’s market.  The most expensive condo on the market is for $848,000 and the least expensive one is $395,000.  The condos are smaller, but the townhouse-style units are generally at least 2 bedrooms and 2 baths and many are 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.

This area really hit bottom in March and has jumped up since then but not by much.  There were 12 conds for sale last week and 4 sales.  Average days on the market to sell have dropped a bit, too.

Altos Research measures a Buyer’s Market and a Seller’s Market with this index and 30 is the delineator.  The San Mateo condos sitting in the 94404 zip have been in a Buyer’s Market for a year.  Things are warming up a little bit, but not by much, making this a great place to buy an investment condo or a place to call home.

Last week there were 106 condos or townhouses for sale.  We call these Class 2 properties (there are 5 classes of property).  Nothing sold last week.  The Median price is trending up and is currently $529,000.  Average days on the market is up and price per square foot is down.  It is a Cold! Buyers Market according to Altos Research.

You can buy a condo in San Mateo for as little as $350,000 or as much as $4,980,000.  Yes, that is four million nine hundred and eighty thousand dollars.  Therefore, why is the median so low?  Well, most condos are way, way below that one.  Generally condos are 2 bedroom 2 bath units and around 1100 square feet.  Townhouses are usually 3 bedrooms and 2 and a half baths and are around 1500 square feet  or more.

The market action tells us that its been a Cold! Buyers Market for a long time but there is a little trend up.  We have a lot of condos for sale and too few buyers for them. The peak of the market for condos was in 2006.

Gone are the days of 100% financing to get into a condo with one or two exceptions.  Yes, there are some exceptions.  If you go through the ACORN program you can qualify for a 100% loan.  If you have lived in the County or work in the County you may qualify for HEART.  So, its worth your time to investigate these programs.  CalHFA has a great first time buyer program.  The Bank of America and Wells Fargo do too. Home ownership still might be in your grasp if you seek it out.

The condo Median price is trending up and that is probably due to the new condos priced above the median.  This is where that $4,980,000 condo is effecting the price.

San Mateo has some very expensive condos in the downtown area.  These are quite large, too.  There are also several new condo developments that are priced in the high $600,000s and on up.  These also effect the median price.

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