Home prices surge in San Mateo County

CoreLogic Home Price Index shows that San Francisco county and city has had relatively flat or declining prices over the last year, whereas the regions of Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, have experienced double-digit growth equitable to other fast price growth regions.

“People who are buying right now are mostly millennials, first-time buyers. They’re looking for more space in more affordable areas, so that’s why we’ve seen a little bit more appreciation in Contra Costa and Alameda than San Francisco and San Mateo,” Hepp said.

According to Redfin, in May 2021, San Mateo County home prices were up 9.1% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $1.6 million. On average, homes in San Mateo County sell after 11 days on the market compared to 24 days last year. There were 697 homes sold in May this year, up from 297 last year.

San Mateo had a 5% increase year over year, with a little bit more for detached homes than attached homes such as condominiums, since most people are looking for a home with outdoor space or a yard, she said.

In terms of median home prices, there has been a much larger increase year over year mostly because of luxury homes being sold, homes that are priced over $3 million. When looking at the trends in 2019 compared to today, there was an increase of 80% of homes sold over the $3 million mark.

While there are some moving from San Francisco to San Mateo, there are more people moving out to Alameda and Contra Costa and Marin, she said.

“Reasons oftentimes people demand a particular area is because there’s jobs there,” she said. “Now that we can work from home, that sort of trend has spread out a little more to outer parts of the Bay Area, to more suburban parts of the Bay Area.”

julia@smdailyjournal.com

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