Communities
Foster City
Foster City’s namesake is due to T. Jack Foster, a real estate magnate who owned much of the land comprising the city and who was instrumental in the intitial design. The land originally was Brewer’s Island and was developed over a twenty year period, and previously was the site of dairy farms and the Leslie Salt Company. Foster City is the proud home of Visa International, The Picture People, and the Dummies book series.
In 2008, Foster City was named by Money Magazine as one of the country’s best places to live.
-
30,943
Population
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6,722
Homes
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1.7m - 3.3m
Price Range
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$2.39M
Median Sale Price
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$2.36M
Average Sale Price
Pricing data based on single-family homes
Key features
- Unique planned community oriented around waterways
- Great canal front properties
- Large, post-war housing inventory; average home size 2000+ square feet
- Abundant outdoor recreational facilities and opportunities
- Many tech (and other) companies’ headquarters are located in Foster City
On this page
Foster City
Stats & Trends
Sales Prices
Raziel's Commentary
Last February, Foster City posted an average sale price of $2.94 million and a median of $3.13 million, posting a staggering 50% year-over-year gain in property value. After that, prices fell to the mid-$2 millions, finishing the year at an average of $2.41 million (an increase of 6%, year-over-year) and a median of $2.32 million (also up 6% from 2021). However, in a story similar to every other San Mateo County city, Foster City real estate closed out 2022 showing significant declines in average and median sale prices. From October to December, the average and median home in Foster City sold for between $1.9 and $2 million, an average of 18% less than homes sold in October to December, 2021. So far in 2023, prices have held at that level.
Sales Prices for single-family homes in Foster City
2023 YTD Average
$2.33M
2.9%
2022 Average
$2.4M
5.4%
2023 YTD Median
$2.31M
0.8%
2022 Median
$2.33M
5.8%
2022 HOME SALES BY PRICE RANGE
Raziel's Commentary
Fifteen percent of Foster City buyers paid between $3 and $4 million for their home in 2022, almost three times as many as did in 2021. Buyers spending between $2.5 and $3 million also increased their market share (though not as dramatically), from 21.9% in 2021 to 25.8% in 2022, and while the bulk of Foster City buyers still spent between $2 and $2.5 million (38.7%), that market segment lost 5% of its share in 2022, and the entry-level (between $1 and $2 million), lost more than a quarter of its share, falling from 28.1% of the market to 20.4%.
| Beds Bedrooms | 1M - 2M | 2M - 3M | 3M - 4M | 4M - 5M | Over 5M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2 |
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
3 |
10 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
|
4 |
7 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
|
5 |
0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
|
6 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 22 | 54 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
2022 HOME SALES BY PRICE RANGE for single-family homes in Foster City
1M - 2M
20%
2M - 3M
49%
3M - 4M
11%
Sale Price to List Price Ratio
Raziel's Commentary
As a mid-level market, Foster City has traditionally posted strong sale price-to-list price ratios, and in 2021, buyers paid an average of 114.3% of asking price. Overall, that figure softened in 2022, despite showing gains in three of the year’s first four months. For the year, buyers paid 108.1% of asking price for Foster City real estate, but closer to 100% during 2022’s second half. In fact, Foster City’s sale price to list price ratio fell below 100% four times between July and December, 2022, never getting higher than September’s 102.4% and bottoming out at 93.8% in November.
Sale Price to List Price Ratio for single-family homes in Foster City
2023 YTD
102.6%
4.9%
2022
107.9%
5.3%
Number of Home Sales
Number of Home Sales for single-family homes in Foster City
2023 YTD
47
43.4%
2022
83
27.2%
2021 Home Sales by Neighborhood
2021 Home Sales by Neighborhood for single-family homes in Foster City
Carmel Village
16
sales
Dolphin Bay
7
sales
Harbor Side
6
sales
Average Days on Market
Average Days on Market for single-family homes in Foster City
2023 YTD
18
days
5.9%
2022
17
days
88.9%
Foster City Neighborhoods
Bay Vista
Flush with the success of Treasure Isle, still-unincorporated Foster City plowed ahead, creating a second neighborhood beginning in 1965. For this one, the streets would be...
Carmel Village
Built concurrently with any Vista, Foster City’s third subdivision is another bayfront neighborhood with a mix of single-family homes and newer condominiums, townhouses and...
Dolphin Bay
Sea Colony) closest neighbor was actually built first, despite its Dolphin Bay moniker. This south end neighborhood shares many characteristics with Sea Colony, including...
Harbor Side
The backyard of your two-story, 2,500 square-foot, 1977-built home ends at the water. You have a large deck and a private dock, where you keep a small boat. The sun sets...
Isle Cove
The “last” of T. Jack Foster’s original nine planned neighborhoods is also one it Foster City’s most unique. Isle Cove has a condo-heavy housing inventory and access to...
Marina Point
Located south of Foster City Boulevard, between Beach Park and Shell Boulevards, Neighborhood #4 (commonly called Marina Point by the MLS) was the last Foster City...
Sea Colony
Located in the southeast corner and the last Foster City area built under T. Jack Foster’s original plan, Sea Cloud Park is the home of Foster City Little League, its...
The Islands
“The Islands,” after the 174-unit condominium complex that gives the area much of its identity. Winner of the 1976 Award of Excellence from “Architectural Record” and the...
Treasure Isle
The Foster City neighborhood whose streets are named for famous ships (Niantic, Balclutha) is the city’s oldest. It was here, on Pilgrim Drive, that the family of San...
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