Your Guide to Buying a Home in San Carlos, CA

Buying a Home in San Carlos, California

San Carlos is located in San Mateo County

Population: 27,718 San Carlos, "The City of Good Living," is located in the center of the San Francisco Bay Area and has everything at its doorstep. San Francisco is 25 miles north and San Jose is 25 miles south. It boasts an ideal climate, good government, an outstanding school system, attractive residential areas, a fine shopping district, excellent restaurants, a modern industrial and commercial area and plenty of open space. In addition, San Carlos, in the northern part of Silicon Valley, is a budding technology center, and is the address of many of the west coast's new start-up firms. You'll find friendly people here and an inviting community atmosphere.

In San Carlos there are 2 museums, 11 churches, a new library, a new youth center, a senior center, 6 newspapers, 1 TV station, 1 cable TV system, 9 normal antenna reception (includes all major TV stations), 9 financial institutions, 14 parks and 4 playgrounds. San Carlos is a short distance from major golf courses, the Pacific Ocean, state parks, camping and other facilities.

There are 4 outstanding elementary schools, 1 charter learning center, 2 middle schools, 2 nearby public high schools and 2 community colleges in the area. There are 2 private schools and 9 nursery or pre-schools. Six major, neighboring universities include University of California at Berkeley, Stanford and San Jose State University.

Despite the economic downturn this past year, housing prices remained strong and with lower interest rates, there has been a lot of movement. People new to the Bay Area continue to be surprised by the high cost of real estate in San Carlos and other Silicon Valley communities.

In July 2002, the median San Carlos selling price for a single family residence was $731,750 (24 total sales); for condominiums it was $439,000 (9 total sales). There are four additional suburban residential areas within five miles of San Carlos offering homes with a median price of $709,635 and a median price for condos of $448,333. Median prices for the entire San Mateo County are $635,000 for single family homes and $402,750 for condominiums.

Rentals are at the high end of the range for the region. There has been a slight drop in rental prices over the past year due to a rising inventory of available places. The City of San Carlos created several programs to help working people find affordable housing, including an incentive for developers to designate a portion of all rental units as "Workforce Housing," e.g. at below market rate.

Rentals for one and two bedroom apartments, duplexes and condos, range from $1200 to $3000 per month. Single family rentals for two and four bedroom houses range from $1650 to $4200 per month.

Courtesy of the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce

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