Karin Cunningham

Why I love San Bruno…
May 21, 2013 · · 5 Comments

So, I thought I would write a fresh new post about why I love San Bruno to go along with this fresh new spring season that is upon us! When I first uprooted from San Francisco and went to work at the Hyatt in Burlingame, I didn’t even know that San Bruno existed. It wasn’t until I became a real estate agent 15 years ago at Prudential in San Bruno that I ever stepped foot! It wasn’t but a few months of working here that I bought my first place in Shelter Creek!

A few years after that, we bought our place on Cypress Ave. A big ‘ole fixer upper built in 1907! Still here and no plans on moving! I shouldn’t be driving since everything I need is within walking distance or a short bus ride. There’s the library down the street, Speedy Spot, Wendy’s, and every kind of food from around the world on San Mateo Ave. Read more

Karin Cunningham

Homes Popping Up For Sale Like Crazy in San Bruno!
May 10, 2013 · · 2 Comments

 

1302 Park Ave., San Bruno 4 bd/ 1ba $699,000

Last week there were “0″ homes for sale in San Bruno…today there are 20! I am not kidding! From last Thursday to this Wednesday there has been a whole movement of for sale signs that have gone up! Yes, they all have offer dates and yes, they will all sell fast, that is the kind of market it is …and these homeowners have heard!

It didn’t take long for these homeowners to figure it out. We have word of mouth and plenty of news media talking about the real estate inventory being all dried up. Home buyers are making 20-30 offers on different homes and just getting beat out! I hope we are heading towards a nicer market where there is plenty of homes for people to choose from and home sellers able to sell and make a profit!      Read more

Lee Ginsburg

South San Francisco has the Best Graduation Rates
April 25, 2013 · · 3 Comments

Being in real estate, I get requests to live in the best school districts. People look at the API scores… (http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr12/yr12rel96.asp).

I have been married to a school teacher for 35 years. Parents cannot expect that living in a good school district will manufacture Stanford graduates. I believe teachers are important but parents and family are more important. You must lead by example. You go to work everyday, and they learn to go to school every day. When your children come home you ask what they learned, review their homework assignments, talk to them about the day, help them with their homework assignments, get help if they need help and you are involved. This needs to be done at all ages. Yes, the way you approach the subject needs to change, but cannot be eliminated.

Read more

Karin Cunningham

Prudential’s Paper Shredding Party Sets a Record!
April 22, 2013 · · 3 Comments

 

Last Saturday, April 20, in conjuction with Earth Day, Prudential Cailfornia Realty, San Bruno, held its 7th annual Paper Shredding Party. It was the biggest paper shredding party that anyone has ever seen! People came from Daly City, Burlingame, San Mateo and all over the Bay Area to shred their confidential documents for free! We also had a hot dog bbq and served popcorn and water which was great because it was a warm day!

We had two paper shredding trucks by 10:00 am and by 12:00 pm a third was on its way! Clearly the biggest paper shredding party San Bruno has ever had! We helped people sort through files, break down boxes, and answer questions about real estate.

We invited our entire community and we mingled, laughed, worked, and ate. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was really pleased! Our next big San Bruno based event will be our Speaker Series event in June where we will have a panel of speakers talk to the public about real estate investing. In October, we have a pumpkin patch which is always a big hit with the community’s school age kids. Thanks to everyone who attended the paper shredding event!!

Karin Cunningham-Prudential California Realty, 180 El Camino Real, San Bruno, Ca . 94066 650-438-3504 Email: sanbrunokarin@gmail.com Facebook Blog: www.facebook.com/sanbrunolife Home search website: www.KarinCunningham.com

Karin Cunningham

Prudential’s 7th Annual Paper Shredding Party
April 11, 2013 · · 3 Comments

 

Prudential Paper Shredding Party Pic from 2010

Every year for the past 7 years, Prudential California Realty, San Bruno holds it’s Paper Shredding Party in April to coincide with Earth Day. This year the Shredding Party will be help on Sat., April 20, 10am-2:00pm in the back parking lot. Prudential offers this FREE event to the community to bring us all together and help! We will also have a hot dog BBQ, coffee, doughnuts, and popcorn with an area to hang out and mingle.

Bring your closets full of confidential documents and watch them shred into a million peices right before your very eyes in two huge paper shredding trucks! This will help you protect your identity, recycle, keeping the earth “green”, and make room in your house for you to enjoy!

For more info, feel free to call me anytime! Karin Cunningham, Prudential California Realty, 180 El Camino Real, San Bruno 650-438-3504 Email: sanbrunokarin@gmail.com Website: www.KarinCunningham.com Blog: www.facebook.com/sanbrunolife

Lee Ginsburg

Oh Where, Oh Where Has All of the Inventory Gone???
April 4, 2013 · · 3 Comments

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The lack of available homes for sale along with the strong job market bringing lots of qualified buyers are driving prices up in San Mateo County.  Inventory of available homes is down substantially in San Mateo County as compared to a year ago.

I think this might be the new real estate environment for years to come.  I say that because the recession we just got out of has scared a lot of people.  It has made them be more conservative financially.  In my opinion that is a good thing for the long term.  Similar to when our parents or grandparents went through the depression. That thought stayed with them for a lifetime.  In the past people owning an $800,000 home would step up to a $1,200,000 home or the person with a $500,000 home to $800,000.  Yes people are working today in San Mateo County but they remember just a few years ago their job and home were in jeopardy.  When the thought of moving up to a larger home with larger payments comes up, it gets shut down very quickly.  People are staying put, they are comfortable, their home is good enough, they do not want to take the risk, they don’t want to live for their mortgage, and they want to save for that rainy day.  I think that thought will stay with us for quite a while. Read more

Karin Cunningham

Awesome Estate Planning Seminar this Thursday!
March 19, 2013 · · 2 Comments

Our office, Prudential California Realty-San Bruno, is hosting a really cool seminar on “Estate Planning” this Thursday, March 21, 6:30 pm at the Millbrae Library, Meeting Room A! Learn how to protect your real estate investment, transferring to children, trust vs. will, prop 60 & 90, and tax consequences and benefits!

The person speaking to us will be Peter Landes, a local San Mateo County attorney.

We will also have a brief presentation from our broker/owner, Larry Franzella about the activity in the current real estate market.

Please join us or tell a friend! Thanks!

Karin Cunningham

San Bruno Homes Skyrocket!
March 6, 2013 · · 2 Comments

365 Angus Ave., San Bruno $439,000

Most of us San Brunans have experienced a huge rise in our home values. Everywhere we turn there are offer bid dates with offers of $20,000-$100,000 over the list price.

I sent a real estate information flyer out last week to home owners that live outside of the area with a trendy chart of list prices versus sale prices and got a call from someone making sure I hadn’t made a mistake!

It has been really tough for home buyers in this market. I have a couple that have written four offers over the list price with no success on homes in San Bruno, South San Francisco, and Daly City. We go out house hunting every weekend but there isn’t a whole lot to choose from. Most of the homes we have seen are being sold by investors who bought foreclosures and are “flipping” them.

We would really wish that the real estate market would just be steady with a stream of homes available to buy and a manageable number of home buyers…never seems to happen that way in the Bay Area though…