In San Mateo County, many First Time Home Buyers purchase a Condominium or a Townhome.  Condominium and Townhome developments are traditionally located in downtown areas close to shopping and other amenities.  Due to high land values on the San Francisco Peninsula, condominium ownership gives homebuyers a lower price option than buying a single-family home in sought after cities like Burlingame.

Search for townhomes and condos for sale in San Mateo County.

Condo vs. Townhome
Condominium - a form of collective ownership of real property. In a condominium, the individual property owners typically own the airspace within their own walls. The structures themselves, the land and the amenities built on the land, are owned in common with the other members of the association.

Townhome - an architectural style; a dwelling characterized by two-story construction with a common wall or walls bordering neighboring dwellings. The common form of ownership is similar to a condominium project in that the property owner not only owns his or her respective unit, but also an undivided interest in any common area. Townhouse ownership sometimes differs from condominium ownership in that the townhouse owner owns the physical structure rather than just the airspace between the walls, floor and ceiling. However, in many areas "townhouse" now refers to the physical style of the structure rather than the form of ownership.