White Oaks Blog: East Side is Movin' On Up

Much of the attention and spotlight in this year’s breakout real estate market has been focused on the housing performance in well known San Carlos neighborhoods such as White Oaks and Howard Park.   But one particular neighborhood in San Carlos that is better known for its affordability is quietly having a banner year itself:  The Greater East Side of San Carlos — also known in real estate circles as Clearfield Park.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows San Carlos that this oft-forgotten neighborhood should be reaping the benefits of the booming real estate market.   After all, this cluster of homes that peacefully co-exists with the industrial sector of San Carlos is zoned for the very same San Carlos schools, and is actually closer to downtown than most other neighborhoods in San Carlos.   Still, this sector has always led the City in terms of affordable home prices, even though the turnover rate is almost nonexistent — there have been only 9 homes to sell in this neighborhood since the beginning of the year.

But what a year 2013 is shaping up to be for Clearfield Park.  The nine homes that sold this year fetched an average of 108% of the asking price, or an average of about $52,000 over list.   But what got everyone talking was the home at 1023 Inverness Drive, which recently sold for $917,000 — the first time a single-family residence in Clearfield Park broke the $900,000 mark in any of the recorded sales in the MLS.

Things are definitely looking up on the east side.

Here are a few graphs which show just how much things have climbed in this neighborhood. The first compares the average sales price in Clearfield Park to date this year, versus the past 5 years: (see graph above)

What this graph shows is that the growth rate in pricing compared to last year in this neighborhood (32%) easily surpassed the that of the other 5 San Carlos zones (18%).   This is also the highest average price on record for any year recorded in the MLS.

When the pricing is normalized to the size of the home (aka, Price Per Square Foot), the results are similar as you can see below.  The average price per square foot in Clearfield Park so far this year shot entirely past the $600 range, and now sits at $753.   That’s quite a jump in one year.

(See graph above)

Granted, the sample size of this analysis is fairly small statistically speaking, but these graphs are still a good indication that the eastern portion of San Carlos is able to participate in the great housing party of 2013.

To read Chuck's other blogs, go to http://www.whiteoaksblog.com/.