The questions I hear most, answered plainly.
Disclosure packages, offer dates, Prop 19, flood zones, two-commute households. They come up at open houses and over coffee every week, and here are the answers I’d give a friend. Each one links to the longer piece in The Peninsula Letter.
Looking for the basics — fees, timelines, representation agreements? Those are on For Buyers and For Sellers.
Before you write an offer.
Why do Peninsula buyers see inspections before making an offer?+
In many competitive Peninsula sales, the inspections are already done and sitting in the disclosure package before offers are due. So an offer with no inspection contingency doesn’t necessarily mean nobody inspected the house — often the inspection happened before the offer. That makes the disclosure package part of your due diligence, and the time to read it is before you write, not after. If you’ve bought in Boston, New York, or Seattle, the sequence can feel backwards.
What should I read first in a disclosure package?+
Not page one. A Peninsula package can run a few hundred pages, and whether I’d chase the house often comes down to about 10 of them. I start with Section I of the pest report. Then I read what the seller disclosed next to what the inspector photographed — the mismatch is often more useful than either document alone. Then I count bedrooms and bathrooms in the permit records and again in the house. After that: what that particular city requires at sale, and the follow-up report an inspector recommended that nobody ordered. That missing page can matter more than another 50 pages of boilerplate.
What’s the difference between Section I and Section II on a pest report?+
Section I means there is visible evidence of an active wood-destroying pest problem, fungus, or resulting damage. Section II covers conditions that could lead to a problem later. I read Section I first — what was found, the recommended work, and roughly what it may cost — because those are the existing problems, the part that changes what the house is worth to you today.
Which Peninsula cities have their own point-of-sale requirements?+
Several, and they’re easy to miss if you’ve bought somewhere else. Millbrae and Hillsborough have sewer-lateral requirements tied to a sale. Burlingame requires testing for many older properties, with exemptions. Daly City has its 3R report, which shows permit, enforcement, and zoning history — and the city warns that unpermitted work won’t necessarily appear there. These rules and exemptions change, so confirm the current requirement with the city for the specific property.
Should I pay cash or finance?+
I’m not a lender or a financial advisor, and the right answer depends on things I shouldn’t guess at: what that cash is doing now, how much you want in reserve after closing, and your tax picture. That conversation belongs with a lender and a CPA, ideally before you write an offer. What I can speak to is the offer side. A strong, fully underwritten financed offer can still compete on the Peninsula. But a cash buyer with clean terms has an edge on certainty and timing, and sellers notice.
Read more: What buyers asked at a Foster City waterfront open house →
Reading the numbers without getting spooked.
Does a big “over asking” number mean the market is hot?+
Not by itself. List price is a decision, not a fact. Two nearly identical houses on the same street can go out $400,000 apart: the underpriced one “overbids” by a spectacular number, the honestly priced one sells at ask, and both close at the same price. So the overbid percentage measures demand and pricing strategy tangled together. I read days on market instead, and where a home closes relative to the last comparable sale on that street. Those are harder to manufacture.
A home has been on the market 10 days. Is something wrong with it?+
Probably not — at least not yet. On the Peninsula, days on market often measures the listing calendar before it measures demand. A home may be shown privately before it goes live, then launch on the MLS with a planned run of open houses and showings and an offer date several days later. So 10 or 13 days can simply be the schedule. The number starts talking once the offer date passes: a home still active several days later is new information, and possibly more negotiating room than the listing page suggests.
How should I read a city’s median sale price?+
Look at the number of sales first. In August 2026, Millbrae’s $1.7 million single-family median rested on nine sales, and San Carlos’s $2.8 million on 15. At counts like that, a median tells you which houses happened to close, not what happened to value — Millbrae didn’t lose $600,000 of value between July and August; it sold a different set of houses. Sale-to-list and days on market hold up better month to month, which is why I lead with them.
What does “months of inventory” mean, and what counts as a seller’s market?+
It’s how long the homes currently for sale would last at the current pace of sales if nothing new were listed. Anything under about two months still favors sellers. In August 2026, San Mateo County single-family homes ran at 1.5 months, and condos and townhomes at 2.4. Of the eight cities I track each month, Foster City was the tightest at 0.8 months and Redwood City the loosest at 1.8 — so even after supply rose, none of them crossed over.
Is there more room to negotiate on a condo or townhome than a single-family home?+
In most Peninsula cities lately, yes. In August 2026, San Mateo County condos and townhomes closed at 99.4% of list price, against 106.9% for single-family homes, with 2.4 months of inventory against 1.5. Redwood City condos averaged 67 days on market and San Mateo 55. With that much supply and time, you can usually ask for repairs, credits, or a price and expect an answer rather than a counteroffer deadline. There are exceptions: San Mateo and Burlingame condos still closed over list that month.
Will a tech slowdown make Peninsula homes cheaper?+
The last pullback suggests it’s more likely to make the market quieter than cheaper. Buyers stepped back — and sellers stepped back with them, because fewer owners wanted to give up a mortgage rate they won’t see again or trade a home they liked for an uncertain market. When both sides thin out at once, the buyer’s advantage is much smaller than the headline suggests. Rather than trying to time the AI cycle, I watch the competition for the specific home: how many people came through the last open houses on that street, and whether the latest comparable sale drew one offer or nine.
Is summer a slow time to buy — or a good one?+
For a prepared buyer, the July 4 week can be the quietest advantage of the year. When I pulled mid-Peninsula listings in late June 2026, about a third of single-family homes had been on the market a month or more, and the slow ones were concentrated above $2 million — the range where buyers got buried in bidding wars that spring. A home that’s been listed 90 days heading into a holiday week is a seller doing math. That leverage only works if your financing is already locked.
Read more: The July 4 week is the buyer’s quietest advantage →
Getting a listing right the first time.
Why do the first two weeks on the market matter so much?+
That’s when a listing gets the most attention: serious buyers are watching closely, and agents are sharing it with their clients. Pricing, photos, preparation, and positioning either build momentum in that window or quietly create doubt. The attention doesn’t come back later at the same intensity — a price cut three weeks in reaches a smaller, more skeptical audience than a sharp launch reached on day one. When a home lingers, the buyer’s question changes from “Should we compete for this?” to “What’s wrong with it?”
What happens if the offer date passes and my home hasn’t sold?+
Decide that before you list, not on day 19. A home still active several days after its offer date has given you real market feedback — maybe the price was ambitious, maybe buyers didn’t respond to the condition, layout, or location. A seller can lose valuable time by holding the same price after the first buyer pool has already seen the home and responded. So part of my launch plan is agreeing in advance what would trigger a change in price, presentation, or strategy.
Should I get inspections done before I list?+
Your disclosure package is part of the first impression, and a buyer can price uncertainty just as easily as they can price a dated kitchen. If an inspection recommends a follow-up — a roofer, say — getting the answer before you list removes one more reason for a buyer to hesitate, or to discount the home. A thick disclosure package isn’t the goal. A clear one is.
Will the buyer for my home come from my neighborhood?+
Often not. At one of my Millbrae open houses in September 2026, more than 30 groups came through and almost nobody lived nearby — about half came from San Francisco and half from the South Bay, weighing the house against homes in other cities. So the marketing has to reach beyond your ZIP code, and the listing should explain the location to someone who has never spent a Saturday there: where the station is, how long the walk takes, and what’s close by.
Property tax, timing, and the long view.
Can I keep my low property tax base if I sell and buy another home in California?+
If you’re 55 or older, possibly. Under Proposition 19, which took effect in April 2021, a qualifying homeowner 55 or older may transfer the taxable value of their principal residence to a replacement principal residence anywhere in California, up to three times in a lifetime. The same provisions extend to homeowners who are severely disabled and to those whose homes were destroyed in a wildfire or declared disaster. Both homes must be your principal residence; this isn’t a path for a rental or a second home. Confirm eligibility with the San Mateo County Assessor or a qualified tax professional — this is general information, not tax advice.
Read more: Prop 19: your property tax basis may move with you →
Does Prop 19 still help if the new home costs more than the old one?+
Partly, yes. If the replacement costs the same or less, the assessed value generally transfers straight across. If it costs more, the difference in price is added on top of the transferred value. That matters on the Peninsula, where a smaller, single-level, recently renovated home in a walkable location can cost as much as the family house you’re leaving. Watch two deadlines: the replacement generally must be bought within two years of the sale, before or after; and the claim is filed with the County Assessor, not applied automatically — filing within three years of the replacement purchase preserves full retroactive relief.
Read more: Prop 19: your property tax basis may move with you →
Should I buy if I’m not sure it’s my forever home?+
I’d ask a different question: Can this be the right home for your next five to seven years? Bay Area owners tend to stay far longer than they expect — Redfin data puts typical tenure at about 16.5 years in San Francisco and closer to 19 in San Jose, against about 12 nationally — because moving here is expensive. So buy for strong fundamentals: a home you’ll enjoy now, that other buyers will still want later, and that could become a rental if life changes. Forever sounds romantic. Optionality is the luxury.
How much house should I buy if my salary and stock come from the same company?+
Less than your maximum. If your paycheck, your RSUs, and your mortgage all depend on one employer, buying at the top of your budget isn’t diversification — it’s doubling down. A sturdier rule: buy something you can afford on one income, not on the version of you after your next promotion, and something you could hold for seven-plus years without stress. If your job feels uncertain, your mortgage shouldn’t be. Run the specifics past your financial advisor, too.
Towns, commutes, and schools.
Where should we live if one of us works in San Francisco and the other in the South Bay?+
Somewhere both of you get a train. Millbrae is the one Peninsula station where BART and Caltrain meet: BART runs north into San Francisco, Caltrain runs south toward Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose, and SFO is next door. It doesn’t make either commute short, but it gives both people a train from the same station. Before comparing houses, I map both commutes door to door at the hour you’d actually leave — then the drive, for the days the train doesn’t work. Routes and schedules change, so check current BART and Caltrain service for your own trip.
Is Belmont just a less expensive San Carlos?+
No. Belmont’s median price is lower, but it still sells competitively, and the real difference is terrain. Streets wind instead of running in a grid, many homes are split-levels or built into a slope, and trails at Waterdog Lake are close by. What Belmont doesn’t really have is a Laurel Street-style downtown. On the hills, the reports matter more than the paint: drainage, retaining walls, slope conditions, and foundation work deserve extra attention in disclosures and inspections.
Can you take a boat from the Foster City lagoon out to the Bay?+
No. Foster City’s lagoon is a man-made, enclosed system of roughly 218 acres, built as the city’s drainage system first and a place to paddle second. Bay water comes in through intake gates and goes back out through a pump station — the water gets through; a boat doesn’t. On the lagoon itself, it’s sail, electric, or paddle power only, with no gas or diesel motors and a 5 mph limit. If a powerboat run under the San Mateo Bridge is the dream, that means a trailer and a launch ramp somewhere else. Confirm current rules with the City of Foster City.
Read more: What buyers asked at a Foster City waterfront open house →
Is Foster City in a flood zone?+
Foster City is built on filled marshland and relies on its levee. In early 2024, the city finished a roughly $90 million levee improvement project, funded by the Measure P bond voters approved in 2018, that raised about 6.5 miles of Bayfront levee, typically by around 6 feet, with allowances for sea level rise. The point was to keep the levee’s FEMA accreditation, which is what keeps the city out of a mandatory flood-insurance zone. Still, confirm the flood zone for the specific address and get an insurance quote anyway.
Read more: What buyers asked at a Foster City waterfront open house →
Will buying in a particular town help my child get into a top private school?+
No. The top day schools admit from across the whole Peninsula, and buying in Hillsborough doesn’t move your child to the front of Nueva’s line. If private school is the plan, put that money toward a home you’ll be happy in for a decade. If you’re counting on public schools, buy the boundary, not the town: attendance zones cut through neighborhoods and occasionally through individual blocks, so I verify the exact zone for any home before you fall in love with it.
Market figures are from the KW Advisors San Mateo County Market Report (MLS Listings Inc., InfoSparks, Trend Graphix) for the month stated; deemed reliable but not guaranteed. City rules, transit service, and tax provisions change — confirm them for the specific property. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, lending, or insurance advice.
Have a question that isn’t here?
Send it over. If it’s about a specific address, I’ll pull the comps and the listing history and tell you what I actually see.
