This year, the last Sunday of local real estate’s “dead period” falls on January 2. Next week, the ghost town that has been the Holiday Season ends. The market will be flooded with listings, and the weekly Sunday parade of open houses will resume.
That is not to say that there is no reason to turn off football and head out to Foster City to take in a few open houses, even if you’re a masochistic 49er fan looking to wring as much pain and confusion as possible out of the last day of the 2010 season. Enough local Realtors see the benefit of being open when everyone else is closed to make January 2, 2011, a worthwhile and interesting tour.
1045 Galley Lane — $699,000
Coldwell Banker agent Deborah Chelini believes in open houses, so much so that she’s following two opens that day after Christmas with a full slate of listings January 2. 1045 Galley Lane is a large (three bedrooms, two-point-five baths) townhome built to evoke the aura of a Cape Cod vacation home. It’s located on a cul-de-sac, equidistant from the Bay Slough and a classic Foster City canal, a short walk from Sea Cloud Park and a bike path.
Built in 1989, the unit is part of Bayfront Court, a nautical-themed condominium development that combines protected interior frontage with wooded common areas. 1045 Galley Lane backs up to a thick grove of trees, creating a feeling of serenity to go with its neighborhood cohesion and security.
Chelini has the property scheduled for a 1:30 – 4:00 PM open house on Sunday. It’s a new listing, on the market since December 20, one of the largest floorplans at Bayfront Court.
613 Somerset Lane — $1,225,000
To some Peninsula buyers, Foster City is a place unlike any other in San Mateo County. Attracted to the spacious, linear floorplans of post-war subdivision America, their bottom line starts and ends with two elements: livability and value. For these buyers, we have 613 Somerset Lane: five bedrooms, three baths, 2,250 square feet of interior living space, all the perks of “modern” minus the quirks of “vintage.”
“Modern” means wide open rooms with vaulted ceilings. It means large closets and a master suite, a massive three-car garage and a family room (with wood-burning fireplace). Most significantly, “modern,” in Foster City, means “planned.” 613 Somerset Lane is located on a quiet cul-de-sac, near a park, a deceptively short drive from commuter corridors – and boasts a private, landscaped backyard featuring a new redwood deck.
The home, represented by Gayle Pietras of Dolphin Real Estate, is open Sunday from 1 -4 PM.
1055 Galley Lane — $668,000
Something is going on at Galley Lane this weekend, and that something is a study in contrasts. On the one hand we’ve got 1045 Galley, on the market for two weeks, a three-bedroom unit testing the waters at $699,000. A few doors down is 1055 Galley Lane, a two-bedroom (plus bonus room/office) townhouse that first hit the market in July, priced at $738,800. Five months later, 1055 Galley, listed by Ting-Hsin Wei of All Star Investments, greets the new year priced at $668,000 after having been withdrawn and re-listed twice, most recently in late November. The price reduction was the listing’s fourth. So what’s the story?
This is an interesting – and not rare – case of a listing trying to find its market value. The unit last sold in 1994. Its owners sat through the housing bubble, only to find the market had softened by the time they decided to sell. At $668,000, the 1,420 square-foot end unit matches up well to its pricier neighbor at 1045 Galley. Both homes offer good value and differ enough to avoid being in direct competition.
1055 Galley is open Sunday from 1:30 – 4:30 PM. It’s a two-for-one deal for house hunters at Bayfront Court.