Ask someone only a vaguely familiar with San Mateo County about Foster City. Their response? “That’s the place with the water, right?”

Right.

From the start, when it was just a gleam in Jack Foster’s eye, Foster City’s calling card has been its waterways. Water snakes through the planned community’s 19.9 square miles as canals, lagoons and lakes; but for a sliver of land at Foster City’s southwest corner, the entire place would be an island, connected to the mainland by Hillsdale Boulevard and Highway 92. Water views and water recreation set Foster City apart from its Peninsula neighbors.

As anyone who lives or works in Foster City knows, however, waterways are not the entire story. There’s plenty to like about Foster City without ever getting wet. And not everyone who wants to live in Foster City wants to live with a canal in their backyard.

“I’ve had plenty of folks over the years that very adamantly did not want waterfront,” offers Realtor Jim Minkey. An agent who’s worked in Foster City for almost 20 years, Minkey also publishes the Absolutely Foster City blog. “People with young kids especially, they get nervous with the big wide water. They’d rather have a yard.”

Indeed, it is limiting and almost counterproductive to zero in on water as Foster City’s only notable attribute. Minkey says that, ironically, the primary reasons people are drawn to Foster City are the same ones that might steer them away from waterfront property: children. Foster City’s three elementary schools and one middle school are very highly regarded, posting sky-high API scores and garnering nines and perfect 10s on Greatschools.net.

The other reason people come to Foster City – to become part of a cohesive, stable, active community – is directly related to the first. Who cares about public schools? Families — who are likely to put down roots and get involved in their community.

But what about all that water? While not the primary reason people move to Foster City, water remains a major draw.

“It’s an added benefit,” says Donna Marie Baldwin, an agent with Coldwell Banker and fixture on the Foster City real estate scene. Baldwin says she is always careful to remind buyers of the unique benefits of water front property.

“You can sit on your deck and wave to neighbors across the way,” she volunteers.

“When I go to a waterfront restaurant, the ambiance and view are as important as the food,” Baldwin told me. “Water keeps romance alive.”

“There’s such a finite amount of waterfront property in the Bay Area,” says Jim Minkey. The same emotion that draws some people to hillside homes with breathtaking views, Minkey reasons, makes others place “waterfront” at the top of their list of home-buying priorities.

“Certain people will be attracted to (waterfront property) because it’s unique,” he said. 

Others, he says, simple appreciate the serene scene out their back windows. “It’s a peaceful experience to be on the water.”

Minkey estimates that a waterfront location will add somewhere around $50,000 to the value of a home in Foster City.

Open Houses of the Week: Baldwin has a four-bedroom, two-point-five bath listing at 284 Shearwater Isle that takes maximum advantage of its waterfront setting. Built in 1973, past owners have tweaked and improved the home to unlock its full potential. To a home already boasting a dramatic two-story wall of windows in its living room, one owner added a bay window to the water-facing dining room, plus a sliding glass door to the backyard deck. Another installed a clear windbreak around the deck.

“You can dine on the deck year-round,” crows Baldwin.

Listed for $1.298 million and open Sunday from 2 -4 PM, 284 Shearwater was a Foster City Patch featured open house in December but is worth another look. Along with 732 Coronado Lane (listed at $1.34 million and also open Sunday, from 10 A.M. – 6 PM), it is one of only two waterfront single-family Foster City homes open this week.