San Mateo-Foster City Real Estate News

Since I like to write about happenings between Millbrae and San Carlos, summer means free concerts and each of our towns has some for you to pick from.  Make a picnic and grab your blankets to sit on and/or to possibly bundle up.  Bring the family and enjoy the music.  Free is good. When you're leaving the concert be sure to thank the local Park & Recreation people for providing the music.  Belmont kicks off the summer season tomorrow afternoon.

Belmont

Let's start with Belmont. Their concerts are always on Sunday afternoons from 1-4PM at Twin Pines Park on Cottage Lane. They begin in June and run through July.

June 15 - Stompy Jones - Jumpin' Jazz and Swing

June 22 - Refugees - Tom Petty tribute

June 29 - Tom Rigney and Flambeau - Cajun Fiddling

July 6  - McCarty and Company - Pure Country Western

July 13 - Groovy Judy - Flower Power Funk Rock

July 20 - Blue-Rock and Roll Rhythm and Blues

July 27 - D-5 - Rockin' the Par

San Mateo

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Bravo Hillsdale High School!  San Mateo's gem of a school has been featured in Newsweek talking about a fabulous program that rolled out several years ago and has seen amazing results for the students and teachers.  When I am asked about the high schools in San Mateo, locals generally roll their eyes at the thought of buying a house within the Hillsdale district, at least that was then, but not any longer.  This high school, who serves students from the southern part of San Mateo and from Foster City, has made such progress in test scores that the entire country is watching and learning about a terrific teaching strategy.

When a Freshman starts high school it is generally with trepidation at the thought of getting lost in a big high school.  Most of us felt this and is was scary.  Hillsdale doesn't let this happen because they have totally redesigned how the school works and it isn't in the usual way with 30+ kids in a class and the kids taking 7 classes per day.

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Last year, here, I wrote about the possibility of FEMA updating their flood maps for San Mateo and Foster City and including Foster City into a flood zone.  The maps came out last month and FEMA released preliminary drafts of revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) for the entire County of San Mateo. 

FEMA Has New Methodology

They have determined that a section of levee within the City of San Mateo does not meet FEMA's requirements for adequate flood protection.  Because of these changes in their methodology being used to generate flood plain data, the revised maps show all of Foster City to be in a Special Flood Hazard Zone, or Zone A.

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Hillsborough Market Report

Last week, Hillsborough had 47 houses on the market with a median price of $3,880,000. The average price of all of them was  $4,763,631.  One would think that these houses would sit on the market but they are selling.  Yes, not the way they did at the peak of the market in 2006, but within an average of 87 days, which isn't bad in this market.

Altos Research says this market is a Cool Buyer's Market with an index of 21 and it's moving upwards, too. 

Pent up demand, anyone?  Hillsborough is one of the most expensive and exclusive communities in California.  It's close to San Francisco, the Silicon Valley and SFO and provides secluded properties for senior executives.

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I guess writing about Burlingame and our local areas makes me boring.  Laurie Manny from LongBeachRealEstateHome.com thought it would be funny to Meme me.  A meme is an internet chain letter, but you have to post it for everyone to read.  A meme lets other people know details about you that you might not otherwise disclose   blog.  This particular meme revolves around the number 8.  There are 8 questions and I get to annoy 8 other bloggers to do this as well.  The number 8 is the infinity symbol and the person to start this silly project is Mary McKnight of RSSpieces.  For some reason, 8 is Mary's favorite number (she only has 2 children and one husband and that adds up to 3 to me) but this is 2008 so here I go.

 1. Who is your favorite musical artist? (post a youtube video) 

Paul McCartney's last album, and this song, Everybody Going to Dance Tonight, is a delight to listen to and has several songs I really love. But there are really many other artists and musical genres I really like, like jazz and classical.

2. Who is your favorite artist (post a flicker photo)

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