Real Estate
Home Sales, Prices Fall in San Mateo
San Mateo also isn't getting the increase in new construction that other parts of the Bay Area is experiencing.
The real estate market on the Peninsula is heating up, but San Mateo—where home prices have dropped in some neighborhoods and new construction is nearly absent—appears to be bucking the trend so far.
Home prices rose again in April as did the number of building permits being issued by cities. In addition, foreclosures are on the decline.
The website DataQuick reports the median price for all types of dwellings in the Bay Area was above $500,000 for the first time since 2008. That’s a 17 percent increase since March and a 30 percent hike from a year ago.
In San Mateo County, the median sale price is now $726,000, a 32 percent increase from April 2012.
But in the city of San Mateo, the median sales price in March decreased in most areas of town:
- The median sales price in zip code 94401 was $421,000, a 3.3 percent decrease from a year ago.
- In zip code 94402, the median sales price topped $924,000, a 0.6 percent drop.
- Zip code 94403 saw a 6.7 percent dip in median sales price.
- But in zip code 94403, the median dales price rose 30.6 percent.
Due to a lack of inventory, home sales have declined slightly—0.6 percent—in the nine-county Bay Area. In San Mateo County, the decline was 14 percent.
In San Mateo, there were 132 homes sold in March. Sales in zip code 94404 grew 40.7 percent from March 2012, while they fell 29.5 percent in zip code 94403, 26.5 percent in zip code 94402 and 6.7 percent in zip code 94401.
Meanwhile, RealtyTrac reports the number of single-family building permits nationwide increased 27 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to the highest level since 2008.
At the same, the number of foreclosure starts nationwide declined 27 percent to their lowest level since 2006.
In fact, the number of building permits issued and foreclosure starts were roughly the same for the first time since 2007.
In San Mateo, three building permit were issued during the first three months of this year, compared to 28 during the same time period last year. There were 19 foreclosure starts, compared to 102 in the first quarter of 2012.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
