For-sale homes scarce in San Mateo County as prices soar

“You’ll see December close out as one of the months with the highest prices for 2021, and I anticipate January is only going to continue the trend,” San Mateo Realtor Wilson Leung said. “The closings that are coming up that are pending right now are going to be higher than the peak this year.”

In November, just 375 homes were listed in the county compared to 628 in the same month last year. As of Tuesday, there were two homes for sale in South San Francisco, two in San Bruno, two in Millbrae, and three in Burlingame, Leung said. 

“There’s absolutely nothing for sale,” he said. “Sucks for buyers but it’s just the reality of where things are.”

Homes in the county in November spent an average of nine days on the market and sold for 110% of asking price, according to MLSListings, an online real estate database.

“We have little supply and tremendous demand,”Marla Perego, president elect of the San Mateo County Association of Realtors, said. “So we’re having multiple offers in almost all circumstances.“

Perego said the limited supply issue compounds itself as those who would otherwise want to sell their homes for a larger or smaller home depending on their needs are staying put, further stagnating inventory.

“Hopefully things will adjust when the holidays are over and things will start moving into a more normal market,” she said.

The county price increase comes as a deviation from recent months that saw the local year-over-year increase fall behind surrounding areas and the state. In September, year-over year increase for the county was up just 8% while many surrounding areas and the nation as a whole more than doubled that figure. 

November’s numbers, however, saw a slight cooling statewide, with median prices dipping to $782,000 after floating above $800,000 earlier in the year. The year-over-year increase in November for the state was 11.9%, according to the California Association of Realtors. 

Leung said that while some were looking to relocate from the county amid the pandemic, now he sees more people who want to stay in the area. Remote work options prompted many to flee from expensive job hubs early in the pandemic, but now many employers are preparing to reincorporate in-person work. 

“There was a period this year that people wanted to move, in which we helped a fair amount of people move out of state, out of area,” Leung said. “But maybe that desire, that need has dwindled down. People that wanted to move, they moved.”

Lack of people listing their homes for sale, coupled with nearly nonexistent construction of for-sale houses has constrained supply and driven up prices, he said, adding that some buyers may be motivated by still-low interest rates expected to increase.

Despite the high prices and stiff competition, Leung said real estate in the county remains a solid investment. 

“Long term real estate has been a consistent positive hedge against any sort of inflation,” he said. “It’s still going to be a valuable purchase regardless if the market goes up or goes down.”

corey@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200, ext. 105