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.

Woodside Highlights     Population: 5,523 Elevation: 379' Date incorporated: 1956 Average household income: $200,823 Number of homes: 1,989 Lowest sale price 2010: $400,000 Highest sale price 2010: $15,400,000 Average sale price 2010: $2,512,570

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.

2010 in Review | Woodside

Last year, the average price of a home in Woodside climbed back up to $2,512,570. This increase comes after values hit a five-year-low of $2,171,968 in 2009, plummeting from an unprecedented high of $3,150,553 in 2008. In 2007, the reported average sale price was $2,762,906; in 2006, the average price was $2,528,738; in 2005 the average was $2,389,596. In 2004, the figure was $2,077,307, the lowest average price since 2000. The average price of Woodside property appears to be recovering the values of the elevated markets of 2006 through 2008. The average price of a home in Woodside for all of 2010 was $2,512,570.

The median price of residential property in Woodside rose to $1,755,000 in 2010, up from the 2009 figure of $1,576,000.  In 2008, the median price of a home was $2,050,000, which represented a $100,000 decrease from 2007, when median prices climbed to an all time high of $2,172,500. In 2006, the median sale price was $1,900,000, and in 2005 the median was $1,825,000. Though lower than the peak of 2007, the 2010 figure is still well above the median price of Woodside property in 2004, which was $1,566,000.

In 2010, the average length of time it took to sell a home in Woodside decreased to 93 days on the market, down from 125 days on the market in 2009. The 2010 figure is also substantially less than the length of time properties languished on the market in 2008 and 2007, which were 120 days and 128 days respectively. Last year’s average approximates the 99 days properties remained on the market in 2006. In 2005, properties took an average of 82 days on the market to sell; in 2004, the average number of days on the market for residential properties was 74. Woodside properties sold fastest in 2000, averaging only 38 days on the market before going into contract.

The number of reported sales in Woodside increased in 2010 to 55 closed escrows, as compared to 39 properties closed in 2009, which was a record low. In 2008, 30 fewer homes closed escrow than in 2007: 48 transactions as compared to 78 transactions. The 2007 number represented a healthy increase over the 2006 figure of 60 closed transactions; however, it paled in comparison to the 97 properties that closed escrow in 2005 and the 108 that closed in 2004. Both years posted totals well above the 2010 figure. The record number of closed sales was reported in 2000, when 117 residential properties closed escrow in Woodside.