COMMUNITIES | Woodside

Woodside, as the name might suggest, began as a logging town centered around the Woodside Store. Beginning in the 1830's, the local sawmills supplied the first growth redwood lumber used to build much of old San Francisco. As early as 1852, a regular stagecoach ran between San Francisco and Woodside, which by that time had developed into a community of farms,

cattle ranches and vineyards. The forested seclusion of the area attracted well-to-do San Franciscans, who began constructing often-elaborate county estates, some of which still exist. Woodside was incorporated in 1956 with the purpose of limiting development and preserving the bucolic character of the Town. Today, most of the parcels in central Woodside are a minimum of three acres. Horses are a common sight, and there are several equestrian facilities, as well as miles of trails.

2008 in Review | Woodside

In 2008, the average price of a home in Woodside transcended the $3,000,000 mark, soaring to an unprecedented $3,150,553. This continues a four-year rise and represents a jump of nearly $400,000 over the previous year, when the average was $2,762,906. In 2006, the average sale price was $2,528,738 and in 2005 the average price for the year was $2,389,596. The 2008 figure shows an increase of more than $1,000,000 over 2004, which saw a five-year low of $2,077,307. At the previous "peak" of the market in 2000, the average sale price was $2,401,609.

Interestingly, the median price of a property in Woodside declined to $2,050,000 in 2008; however, it still held steady above the $2,000,000 mark. In 2007, the median price of a home in Woodside was a record $2,172,500, representing an increase over the median for 2006, which was $1,900,000. In 2005, the median sale price was $1,825,000. The 2008 figure is nearly $500,000 higher than the median price of 2004, which was $1,566,000.

The average length of time it took to sell a home in Woodside during 2008 narrowed slightly to 120 days on the market, down from 128 in 2007. This average is still three weeks longer than the 99 days properties remained on the market in 2006. The 2006 figure in turn, was two weeks longer than the 82 average days on the market of 2005. The average of days on the market for residential properties for all of 2004 was 74 days, showing an increase of six and a half weeks overall for the past five years.

the average price of a home in Woodside for all of 2008 was $3,150,553

Thirty fewer residential properties sold in Woodside during the past year: 48 as compared to 78 in 2007. While the 2007 number represented a nice increase over the 2006 figure of 60 closed transactions, the 2008 total represents an unsettling decrease, resulting in a record 10-year low. By comparison, 97 properties closed escrow in 2005 and 108 closed in 2004, both years posting totals over twice the number for 2008. A comparison of the fourth quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2007 shows that the number of last quarter sales has fallen by approximately 63 percent.