Hi Heather,

San Carlos' east side is the entry-level neighborhood for this town. It's good housing for someone wanting the mid-Peninsula; the San Carlos school district and proximity to shops on Laurel Street really makes for nice living here. Sales are strong there now, since the lower-cost areas are selling the best. At present there are no active listings on MLS; 3 pending sales. 3 closed escrows since 4/1/09. Location in the area is important; Holly Street is super busy, and houses 1 door off Industrial and possibly Old County wouldn't be my first choices. Another possible area is the A-B-C streets in Redwood City, between San Carlos border and Whipple Avenue, Industrial and Old County Roads--they feed into the Clifford School District in Redwood City, which is a plus. Good luck!

San Carlos holds one of the best markets on the peninsula. The reason for this is there great weather, attractive downtown and superb schools. All three of these reasons come with an east or westside home. If you are buying the home to live in and plan to be there for more then five years then you will be fine. If you have any further questions on San Carlos Real Estate please feel free to contact me via email or phone (650-245-1005).

Hello Heather,

All of San Carlos is great. As you mentioned the east side is a little more industrial but the neighborhood is still desirable. There are a couple new listings in that neighborhood, one on Hall and the other on Inverness. If you’re going to stay in the property long term then the value should keep up with other values in San Carlos as the market comes back. The west side may increase at a faster pace but “a rising tide lifts all boats” as they say.

Check us out when you get ready to buy. We are the premier full service discount real estate brokerage on the Peninsula. If we represent you on the purchase of a home we’ll rebate up to 1% of the purchase at close of escrow. We are the new model for residential real estate, “catch the wave”.

Regards,

Jim

Hi Heather:

I think I met you at a Trulia function when you were rolling out the agent spotlight several months ago.

San Carlos is a fabulous town. If you can buy a home there, DO SO!

Granted the east side is not as deisrable as the west side but it is SAFE with good schools.
The east side does not industrial zoning and the homes are typically smaller but it is San Carlos none the less.

I have lived in San Carlos since 1986 and like Dan have raised two boys now 18 and 21.

I feel very fortunate to have lived in such a wonderful town. In the years I have lived in San Carlos, downtown has become a much more vibrant place. San Carlos has a wonderful community feel.

I recommend it highly. You will love living in San Carlos and raising a family. And it will prove to be a good investment in the future. Down the road, if you can afford more, you can move to a west side neighborhood like White Oaks but in the mean time, you will enjoy living there.

Let's go look at a few houses!

Arn Cenedella

I think the other two agents answered it nicely. It is the industrial side of San Carlos but if you don't have problems with that then in the future the value should appreciate nicely if you get a good deal on the purchase. A lot of houses over there are super cute! I have a lot of friends with kids who live over there and they love the convenience to everything. They take their kids out on walks in their strollers all the time. Even without kids there some restaurants and shops you can walk to which is nice. Hope this helps.

Hi Heather,

There are some very cute neighborhoods east of El Camino in San Carlos. The homes on Northwood and Springfield have a definite charm (for different reasons). This neighborhood, besides being pretty much the most affordable in San Carlos, also has a good feel to it (an intangible). True, the house on Northwood backs low rise industrial, but my impression was that it shouldn't be a big noise or other detractor.

As for future value, San Carlos is a great city to own in. The schools are all very good, and it has been a long time since we've had as many choices as we do below $600K (or $700K for that matter). As for upside, this nieghborhood will never garner the prices you see up in the hills or in White Oaks, etc., but then again you are talking about spending substantially less than you would in these neighborhoods to begin with. Once this sub-prime debacle finally subsides, I would expect this area of San Carlos to appreciate quite nicely.

John Barman
Coldwell Banker

I moved to the east side of San Carlos in 1994 and have lived there ever since...raising 2 boys into their high school years. I enjoy the neighborhood, although it is on the industrial side of town and it is a bit noisier that other parts of San Carlos. I believe it is one of the better 1st time home buyer areas on the peninsula.

There are some nicer homes that sell north of $900K and some real fixer uppers that start around $550K. We bought out 2/1 for $212K 14 years ago and now it would sell for around $600K if we hadn't added on. We doubled the size of our house and still have a decent sized back yard and it would probably sell for around $850K these days.

The east side is within walking distance to downtown and the train station and of course you get the excellent San Carlos School System which keeps property values pretty high.

You can check out my blog at http://www.eastsancarlos.com or give me a call to chat if you want more info.

PS - in the interest of full disclosure. I work at Trulia!