Low Inventory Turns San Bruno Home Sales Into 'Bidding Wars'

This week, we are back down to 16 houses for sale in San Bruno, with the least expensive being $510,000. That is because last week's homes for sale had offer dates and they all sold with 20-plus offers on them.

My co-worker, Lee Ginsburg, had over 20 offers on his recent listing on Fleetwood Drive, an average three-bedroom, two-bath home in Rollingwood. 

This has become a phenomenon throughout the Bay Area. Every time a median-priced house hits the market—whether it's a short sale, bank-owned home or a regular sale—it has an offer date and gets multiple bids. The homes are not underpriced either.

Realtors who work in San Bruno know that the "underpricing" strategy is misleading, and it makes for a lot of extra work for the agent and seller. We check the most recent, comparable sales and base our list price on an average sale price. 

Hopefully, in the near future, there will be more homes on the market to choose from so that there won't be so many offers and buyers will have a better chance.

Karin Cunningham, "Your San Bruno Neighborhood Specialist," is a Realtor with Prudential California Realty. She can be reached at 650-438-3504 or karinc@prucal.com. Visit her on the Web at www.KarinCunningham.com or check out her blog, San Bruno Life, on Facebook.