Friday, September 23, 2011

Burlingame is one of the most desirable locations in Northern California. It is #3 to be exact, right after San Francisco (SF) and Palo Alto (PA). The city was named after Anson Burlingame, a former minister to China (Burlingame in Kansas was also named after Anson Burlingame). While SF and PA are quite obvious (SF is probably one of the most desirable cities in the US and PA – a host city to the Stanford University and numerous tech companies), popularity of Burlingame requires some explanation. 
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Before I do it, let me clarify that the Burlingame zip code – 94010. There is a city and town with the same zip code, Burlingame and Hillsborough, respectively.  There is more than zip code that connects these two cities, however. 
According to a local hearsay – Burlingame was conceived as a “service city” for Hillsborough.  However, the truth (according to the Hillsborough town website) is that Hillsborough was created as some of early Burlingame inhabitants were not willing to pay taxes to build sidewalks and light streets. So, they decided to secede and incorporated Hillsborough. And this is how it stayed until today as Hillsborough is the town with very few services, a “services-less” City. Hillsborough is a city of beautiful and expensive homes with no shops, no high school, no sidewalks and its streets are not lighted at night (for the most part).   
  

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Burlingame has a little bit of everything, beautiful homes priced from $800k-$900k for a 2 bedrooms, 1 bath to, $2.4M (median price is approx. $1.4 - $1.5 M at the moment), 2 nice downtown centers, one around Burlingame Ave. – Primrose Ave.) and another around Broadway - with an abundance of wonderful shops, great restaurants (yes – this city is alive in the evening) and a few clubs providing entertainment - for some too much and for some not enough till late at night - and very good schools, both public and private (several elementary schools, Burlingame Intermediate, Burlingame High School and Mercy High School to mention some of them). You can find more about Burlingame schools by clicking on the following link.
 Another important secret to Burlingame popularity is its location at the Northern San Francisco Peninsula, 5 min away from the San Francisco Airport and 20 min from San Francisco. The traffic, for the most of the time, is not an obstacle on the way to San Francisco. You don’t have to drive to get to the City, you can take either Caltrain or BART trains (the latter from the neighboring city – Millbrae). To San Jose is only 30 min drive, but this is quite often not the case as Expressway 101 is quite notorious for its traffic. The 280 provides a more scenic, but longer commute alternative. 
Here are a few views of Burlingame, its typical homes, points of interests, and of course it’s Kohl Mansion.  If you are visiting – there is a plenty of hotels to choose from. Click on the directory of the Burlingame Chamber of Commerce to find out one which suits you.
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If you are interested in homes currently on the market, there are 30 houses in Burlingame in the price range from $849k to $2.395 M as of December 29, and 32 houses in Hillsborough in the price range from $1.650 M to $28.5 M (even if you don’t want to buy the latter one, you might want to see it! It is a new listing - of December 11). To search for Burlingame and Hillsborough listings click HERE and then on Home Search (at the menu on the left side of the page).
To look at Burlingame statistics click HERE.
Check also the following sites:
Contact me if you have any questions.
In my recent blog entry "Why is Burlingame, CA so desirable?" I mentioned the death of Charles Frank Burlingame III, whose plane crashed to the Pentagon on 9/11. He was a descendant of Anson Burlingame, after whom Burlingame was named. On December 5, 2006, the Burlingame family suffered another loss. Wendy Burlingame, 32, a daughter of Charles Frank Burlingame, was found dead in a fire at the Galaxy Towers apartment complex in Guttenberg, N.J. The following article, published on December 6th by New York Post, reports the tragic event.  According to the New York Post report "the quick-spreading, four-alarm fire - has been ruled suspicious, - but that no accelerator had been used."  The suspicious character of Wendy Burlingame's death spurred speculations about the link to the so called "9/11 conspiracy theory".
I encourage those of you who read my first story about Burlingame to click on the following link to Wikipedia. You will find there a number of interesting facts on Burlingame's history. For example, did you know that the movie Dangerous Minds with Michelle Pfeifer was filmed on the Burlingame High School Campus in the spring 1994? Or that Charlie Howard, the owner of Seabiscut, owned a home in Burlingame? So click on the link above and endulge yourself in discovering Burlingame. And if you get interested to read more about Burlingame's history, please don't miss the article published by the Burlingame Historical Society. According to their entry "In 1893, 23 years after (Anson) Burlingame's death, a group of wealthy young men from San Francisco set about organizing a country club on the Peninsula. In casting about for a suitable designation they were inspired by the nice sounding name still found on county maps of the area. They decided to call it - The Burlingame Country Club. The village that was developing nearby, around the railroad station, was known as “Burlingame”, reflecting some of the prestige of the glamorous club, but it was not until 1908 that the town was incorporated. So was the name of the town selected because it was "nice sounding" (as it was in the case of the Club) or as a tribute to Anson Burlingame - our nation's famous diplomat and China's first ambassador to the United States?
Check also: Directory of posts on Burlingame, CA by Cimpler Real Estate
and Fascinating secrets of Easton Addition
Picture of the Burlingame train station
Easton Addition (you can review the map of the area and its basic real estate statistics by clicking on this link) is probably the most desirable neighborhood. 
There are very few areas as attractive for families with children in any age as Easton Addition. Great schools, proximity to the Broadway downtown area (this is the “smaller downtown area” – the main downtown and the larger one located at Burlingame Ave is slightly further away) with its own bus to Caltrain and BART.  Click on the same link to double-check Easton Addition prices. They are moving up now (September 2007). What can be a better proof of the attractiveness of the area than prices going up at the time when most of the other cities are struggling with the Buyers market? 
Here are a few pictures of Easton Addition houses:

Easton Ave. house

 Easton Ave. house

 Easton Library
 
In posts Why Is Burlingame, CA So Desirable?, Why is Burlingame, CA so desirable? More reasons and more facts and Is Hillsborough, CA Better Than Burlingame, CA? I discussed reasons behind Burlingame’s popularity. If you are convinced that Burlingame is the place where you want to buy a house you might ask, but where in Burlingame? Obviously, it is a question which only you can answer. There are many neighborhoods in Burlingame to choose from. These are:
Let me concentrate on the three of them listed at the top: Easton Addition, Burlingame Hills and Ray Park.  While I will not attempt to characterize all Burlingame neighborhoods, the three I chose represent the cross-section of all of them.
Let me start with Easton Addition (you can review the map of the area and its basic real estate statistics by clicking on this link).  Click HERE to read more about Easton Addition and see a few pictures.
There are very few areas as attractive for families with children in any age as Easton Addition. Great schools, proximity to the Broadway downtown area (this is the “smaller downtown area” – the main downtown and the larger one located at Burlingame Ave is slightly further away) with its own bus to Caltrain and BART.  Click on the same link to double-check Easton Addition prices. They are moving up now (September 2007). What can be a better proof of the attractiveness of the area than prices going up at the time when most of the other cities are struggling with the Buyers market? 
Houses here are large and of tremendous architectural variety. As Burlingame is a “City of trees” there is a plenty of trees. One of the City trees, eucalyptus named “Tom” has recently become quite infamous (or famous – it depends who you speak to).  Tom became quite of a nonsense, but it is history now (click on this link to find out more about Tom).
Next neighborhood you definitely need to check up are Burlingame Hills (you can review the map of the area and its basic real estate statistics by clicking on this link). What is the difference between Easton Addition and Burlingame Hills?  In popular saying, once you kids grow up, you send them to university and then you can “move up the hill”.  Schools and other City conveniences are slightly further and the area is more secluded. And it is more prestigious.
And how about Ray Park?  The area is slightly less prestigious and houses are less expensive (not by much), but it is really convenient. It is close to just about anything (you can review the map of the area and its basic real estate statistics by clicking on this link).
SSF is a City of contrasts. It has two, distinctly different parts, residential stretched between hills of Westborough and Hwy 280 through the aging down town to Hwy 101. Across the Hwy 101 there is distinctly different industrial part with high office buildings hosting computer, software and biotech companies. It is an important hub of the US biotech and dubbed by some – a birthplace of the industry (Genentech was created and is headquartered in SSF).  Click on the following link to see a directory of 14 biotech companies in SSF.
 City Hall
And then there is a fog. It is fascinating to watch different patterns of fog coming from Daly City over San Bruno Mountain. You can have a sunny day while your neighbor might be all day surrounded by fog. And while patterns are predictable the shapes are always different.
Fog over San Bruno Mountain
For those who don’t know – South San Francisco doesn’t border with San Francisco on the North.  It is separated from the City by Daly City, Colma and Brisbane.
City of South San Francisco houses also fall in two to two major parts. Older houses in and around the downtown and modern development on the  outskirts of the City and San Bruno Mountain State Park.

Downtown South San Francisco

New Houses

Is Hillsborough, CA better than Burlingame, CA? The two cities (to be more precise, Burlingame is a City and Hillsborough is a Town), are situated next to each other and share the same zip code – 94010. Hillsborough is known as a town of beautiful and expensive homes. Burlingame has become third most desirable place to live in Northern California (after San Francisco and Palo Alto). According to a local hearsay – Burlingame was conceived as a “service city” for Hillsborough.  However, the truth (according to the Hillsborough town website) is that Hillsborough was created as some of the early Burlingame inhabitants were not willing to pay taxes to build sidewalks and light streets. So, they decided to secede and incorporated Hillsborough. And this is how it stayed until today as Hillsborough is the town with very few sidewalks and lights.
As I mentioned before, today both cities are very desirable, but at the same time very different. Both are expensive, but Hillsborough is by far more expensive.  The recent data cited by San Mateo California Association of Realtors (SAMCAR) put the average Sold Price in Hillsborough around $3.3 M and the median List Price over $5 M. That’s most definitely dwarfs Burlingame with it $1.5 M median List Price.  Here is a modest example (to see more, click here):
A house in Lower Hillsborough
Hillsborough is a city of expensive homes. But what else is there? Why (disregarding the price) some people choose Burlingame over Hillsborough? According to the Town website “the Town has continually worked to preserve the ‘nature of Hillsborough’. One of the main attractions Hillsborough has for home buyers is its charm. Hillsborough still offers its escape from the pressures of the city. In addition to its generally quiet atmosphere, Hillsborough has excellent, award-winning public schools, police and fire protection and public works service. These are the qualities that have formed the character of the Town and have remained stable for over 100 years.” There are no shops and restaurants in Hillsborough.
If privacy and seclusion are not things you really want, beautiful homes at Hillsborough might not be for you.
So which City is more desirable, Hillsborough or Burlingame? It really depends on what you like and what your needs are. To find more about Burlingame go to:

Why Is Burlingame, CA So Desirable?

Why is Burlingame, CA so desirable? More reasons and more facts.

Directory of posts on Burlingame, CA by Cimpler Real Estate
Decision is yours.
Past Saturday (June 23) was another gorgeous day on the San Francisco Peninsula. It was sunny, not too much wind, not to warm (70-75 on the Bay side and 63-66 degrees on the ocean side). Just perfect! My duties took me to Half Moon Bay. I had my camera with you and took some shots of favor pastimes in Half Moon Bay. Day like this makes you understand why people love the place, either to live here or com for a visit, be it short or long. You can take your kids on a pony ride:
 Lemos Farm

You can shop for art at Spanish Town gallery, assuming you don't succumb to dinosaurs...

 Spanish Town

You can go to the beach yourself or your family 
 Half Moon Bay Beach


or with your horse..... 
 Hores at the Half Moon Bay

By the way, if you don't have you own horse, you rent one in Half Moon Bay per hour. To see more pictures, click here.
Have you heard about Mavericks?  Yes it they happen here, in Half Moon Bay (not this year however, as Mother Nature caused the cancellation).  But to see it last year, please click on this link.

To read about local trivia and history of Half Moon Bay, go to Wikipedia.
After I finished my business here I couldn’t resist to go a few miles north - to El Granada, and precisely to a neighborhood call Princeton. Here are two pictures I took there:
Next to Barbara's Fishtrap

Waiting for a spot in:
Barbara's Fishtrap
Barbara's Fishtrap. Is it worth waiting? You have to check for yourself (they son't take reservations).
Click on the following link to read about Princeton's history.
And to see more pictures from Princeton, click here.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

We all know that there is fog in Pacifica, especially in summer. The city is called sometimes “The fog capital of California”. You sometime forget how beautiful this place is.  I was passing by to visit a client today and I was just amazed. It was a beautiful sunny day (first day of summer!) and not even a trace of fog.  I stopped by to take some pictures. See for yourself:
 Fishing Pier in Pacifica

 and
Palmetto Ave. in Pacifica
If you want to see more pictures, please go to:
Localism 
The city was formed through the consolidation of the communities of Edgemar, Pacific Manor, Westview (Pacific Highlands), Sharp Park, Fairway Park, Vallemar, Rockaway Beach, Linda Mar and Pedro Point in 1957.  You can read about pros and cons of living in Pacifica Click Here 
To read about Pacifica's history and interesting trivia go to Wikipedia 

Is there anything special about San Mateo, CA? (edit/delete)

There are many “nice” things about San Mateo, CA.  It has a mild climate, a lot of beautiful homes (as the one below), interesting (but not necessarily exciting) history, etc. But is there anything special or unusual about San Mateo? 
San Mateo House

Here are 10 things I came with: 
  1. You Tube was a San Mateo startup (http://youtube.com/ ). They are in San Bruno, CA now. Here is their Last Day in San Mateo
  2. Movie studio around 1923-5 - I read about in the Daily Journal, but cannot find the link!). San Mateo had a shot at becoming Hollywood, but I guess the weather in the South is better! Can you help to find the link???
  3. Bay Meadows Race Track – it still exist, but it might be its last year. Seabiscuit ran here! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Meadows )
  4. Lure Restaurant – if you look for a special (San Francisco like, expensive place with great food and décor, make sure you come here. It is in walking distance to San Mateo movie theaters (see #7)  http://www.lurerestaurant.com
  5. The San Mateo Performing Arts Center located on San Mateo High School, is one of the largest theatres on the peninsula outside of San Francisco (per Wikipedia)
  6. Pier 1 Imports – was founded 1962, in San Mateo (per Wikipedia)
  7. B Street cinema district - cinema brought the evening traffic to the City and local restaurants. A great place!
  8. The local economy successfully withstood the dotcom industry crash – the credit goes to the San Mateo City Council! As a matter of fact, they continue doing a great job. Click Here to visit a very informative city website.
  9. Coyote Point Museum (one of the best natural history museums and wildlife centers in California, according to Wikipedia entry )
  10. Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Islands.
To read more about San Mateo and its history, please go to the following website:
I am sure that I missed many special or unusual things about San Mateo. Can you provide your input on unusual things that happened in San Mateo or about San Mateo?
San Mateo Bridge
I am closing with a picture of the San Mateo Bridge across SF Bay (it is over 7 miles long).  Per Wikipedia - the original bridge was built in 1929 and upon completion it was the longest bridge in the world. As a matter of fact, San Mateo Bridge connects Foster City (and not San Mateo) and Hayward and
CSM
a picture of San Mateo College – a great place to take undergraduate courses and than transfer them to one of UCs.
Easton Addition (you can review the map of the area and its basic real estate statistics by clicking on this link) is probably the most desirable neighborhood. 
There are very few areas as attractive for families with children in any age as Easton Addition. Great schools, proximity to the Broadway downtown area (this is the “smaller downtown area” – the main downtown and the larger one located at Burlingame Ave is slightly further away) with its own bus to Caltrain and BART.  Click on the same link to double-check Easton Addition prices. They are moving up now (September 2007). What can be a better proof of the attractiveness of the area than prices going up at the time when most of the other cities are struggling with the Buyers market? 
Here are a few pictures of Easton Addition houses:

Easton Ave. house

 Easton Ave. house

 Easton Library

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The reasons you might want to live in Millbrae, CA


Why would you want to live in Millbrae, CA? Really. It is sandwiched on the San Francisco Peninsula between Burlingame and Hillsborough with their great houses and restaurants to the South and San Francisco a few miles away to the North. But prices of homes are only slightly lower than in Burlingame. So what is the reason you would want to pay so much?Houses tucked on the hills of Miilbrae
There is a very good reason to do so – Millbrae schools. There are four elementary schools (Meadows, Green Hills, Spring Valley, and Lomita Park) and one middle school (Taylor Middle School, named after the family that owned land along Taylor Blvd Mills High And then – there 's Mills High School - a real gem on the Peninsula.
Newly renovated front of the school
It is the best public High School in San Mateo County. Two years ago it became the first High School in the history of San Mateo county to cross the threshold of excellence (Academic Performance Index -API - score of 800 points) scoring 832. It bettered this score last year by raising it to 840. Every year, large numbers of its students are accepted to the best colleges in the US including Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, MIT, NYU and many other top universities in the country. And what about Cappuchino High School? Wikipedia notes: ”Although surrounded by land that is part of Millbrae, nearby Capuchino High School in fact belongs to San Bruno,” which leads many (like me) to assume Millbrae has two high schools. Click on Wikipedia to find more historical facts and interesting Millbrae trivia.
Recently Millbrae became the end stop of the BART train connecting it with many locations in San Francisco and East Bay. You can connect in Millbrae with Caltrain. The station building is impressive and became an instant landmark.
An impressove edition to the Millbrae skyline - a modern train station
Another landmark – being completed “as we speak”. These are new Millbrae condos. where a popular bowling alley previously occupied previously. The project took many years to complete, but according to the 88 South Broadway contact, the sales office should open on April 28, 2007.
Condos built in place of the bowling alley
Hope you find it interesting. Follow on the above links to find out more information about Millbrae (its shops, Green Hills Country Club, hotels and others or email me. There is much more about Millbrae and its schools. Have you heard about Mills HS Robotics Team or its great Dragon Dance Team? Some of you could see the Mills Dragon Dance Team during this year Chinese New Year Celebration in Millbrae and then - two weeks later - in San Francisco. Another important piece of information - The Mills Robotics Team needs a new corporate sponsor. May be you can recommend one? Please don't hesitate to contact me!
Know other reasons for living in Millbrae? Share it with others by responding to this entry.

A few things about San Mateo, CA


There are many “nice” things about San Mateo, CA. It has a mild climate, a lot of beautiful homes (as the one below), interesting (but not necessarily exciting) history, etc. But is there anything special or unusual about San Mateo?
San Mateo House

Here are 10 things I came with:
  1. You Tube was a San Mateo startup (http://youtube.com/ ). They are in San Bruno, CA now. Here is their Last Day in San Mateo
  2. Movie studio around 1923-5 - I read about in the Daily Journal, but cannot find the link!). San Mateo had a shot at becoming Hollywood, but I guess the weather in the South is better! Can you help to find the link???
  3. Bay Meadows Race Track – it still exist, but it might be its last year. Seabiscuit ran here! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Meadows )
  4. Lure Restaurant – if you look for a special (San Francisco like, expensive place with great food and décor, make sure you come here. It is in walking distance to San Mateo movie theaters (see #7) http://www.lurerestaurant.com
  5. The San Mateo Performing Arts Center located on San Mateo High School, is one of the largest theatres on the peninsula outside of San Francisco (per Wikipedia)
  6. Pier 1 Imports – was founded 1962, in San Mateo (per Wikipedia)
  7. B Street cinema district - cinema brought the evening traffic to the City and local restaurants. A great place!
  8. The local economy successfully withstood the dotcom industry crash – the credit goes to the San Mateo City Council! As a matter of fact, they continue doing a great job. Click Here to visit a very informative city website.
  9. Coyote Point Museum (one of the best natural history museums and wildlife centers in California, according to Wikipedia entry )
  10. Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Islands.
To read the entire post, please go to:

Is there anything special about San Mateo, CA?

If you want to quickly visit a few places in CA....


....like this one:

Half Moon Bay Beach
.....then I have a few links for you:

Saturday afternoon in Half Moon Bay and Princeton


Beautiful Pacifica


Fascinating secrets of Easton Addition


South San Francisco (SSF) Contrasts


Directory of posts on Burlingame, CA by Cimpler Real Estate

Enjoy!

Directory of my real estate evolution related posts


I am passionate about CHANGE in general. A lot can be done to promote change in real estate. Hera are a few of my posts on the subject:
Enjoy reading!