Real estate values in San Mateo County are a constant source of curiosity and, often, concern. Supply and demand, fueled by location, continue to squeeze home buyers even as sale prices dip a bit lately.
The most recent data indicates that the median price of a single-family home here was $1.7 million; the average was $1.5 million. As they have for decades, high-end properties continue to be on the market at stunning asking figures.
The recent news that the late Bing Crosby estate in Hillsborough was for sale at an asking price of $40 million brought to the fore another important aspect of home-buying: taxes.
If the late singer/actor’s mansion and its 5-plus acres of land does secure a sale for $40 million, the ensuing property tax (assuming the new owner cannot bring a current levy, if any, to the new home) would be at least $400,000 and certainly more if all bonds, fees and special add-ons are included.
That $400,000-plus figure would amount to at least $33,333 per month — in essence, a mortgage payment. And that would not include any costs for home insurance, earthquake insurance and repairs, improvements and maintenance.
However, as more than one wise old hand has pointed out, if you worry about those extra charges, well, you shouldn’t even be considering buying such an expensive property in the first place.
Even so, that county median price of $1.7 million would generate a property tax of $17,000 plus additional charges noted above. There’s just no getting around it if you don’t qualify for the county’s tax-transfer benefit designed for older owners.
SOME SKY-HIGH TUITION FIGURES: Still on the tender subject of astronomical prices in these parts, it’s been an annual exercise in this corner to examine the cost of private/parochial high school education, particularly those institutions at the top levels of this exclusive genre in San Mateo County.
The dollar figures are always eye-popping and, in most cases, they show few signs of declining in any significant way, even as some aspects of the economy begin to show signs of concern.
Here are the current tuition costs for our own Fab Five, the county’s most expensive private/parochial quintet, via their individual websites:
• Nueva School, San Mateo: $63,720.
• Crystal Springs Uplands, Hillsborough: $63,300.
• Woodside Priory, Portola Valley: $62,000.
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• Menlo School, Atherton: $61,635.
• Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton: $55,104.
The authorities at Crystal Springs Uplands have already posted their high school’s 2025-26 tuition: $66,450, the highest such charge ever recorded in the county, at least for now.
For comparison’s sake, the current tuition for undergraduates at Santa Clara University is $60,639.
WARNINGS WERE NOT HEEDED: It was sadly predictable. As the COVID pandemic persisted, schools were closed and learning took a big hit.
Then, government entities stepped in and provided funds to address issues caused by the virus and the attendant closures. This was one-time emergency money that wouldn’t last.
That was made very clear to one and all. Everyone knew the extra cash would not continue to flow, including education authorities who controlled public budgets.
Trustees and administrators were warned not to depend on those dollars going forward. Too many of them chose to disregard that important proviso by adding staff and programs. Now, those who ignored the cautionary advice are reaping the unfortunate consequences.
Their budgets are in distress and, in some quarters, cries are going out for fresh local taxpayers’ cash to make up the predicted difference (exacerbated, in some cases, by falling enrollments) as COVID-based assistance dries up.
KUDOS TO HALF MOON BAY HIGH: Here’s a tip of the cap to the girls’ basketball team from Half Moon Bay High School. They wound up losing their California Interscholastic Federation Division IV championship game last weekend but, in the process of what became an eventual disappointment, they did become only the second San Mateo County public school female prep hoops outfit to even get that far in the state’s far-flung tournament. Burlingame, which won the Division III crown in 1988, was the first. So kudos to the Coastside Cougars.
DOGE IS NOT TARGETING US — YET: We are pleased to announce that Elon Musk and his industrious DOGE minions have not targeted this column as an example of waste, fraud and abuse — although there are some readers who might argue that a chain saw should be used to edit it. Â
John Horgan can be contacted by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.
(1) comment
Thanks for your eclectic column today, Mr. Horgan. Private/parochial schools can charge as much as the market will bear and it appears they continue to be in demand, so more power to them. The bigger question is why there aren’t Super Six or Seven options. Same with single family home sellers – they can charge what the market will bear. I’d be interested in knowing where these sellers are relocating to. As for DOGEing the DJ, the waste is up to the DJ and what LTE’s they print; I believe our dear readers do a pretty good job of exposing fraud; and per new guidelines in the DJ, the abuse is more limited.
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