Marin Real Estate Trends (October 2008)

… [A] bona fide enthusiasm exists in the voices of people of who have been waiting to buy while prices moderated or dropped (depending on the area they are looking in). They are excited because they have suppressed their prior urges to buy and think now is the time. 

My listing inventory has dwindled to just one home as all have sold in the past couple of months or are now in escrow (one listing had 3 offers). Marin-wide, the number of homes for sale in the HWY 101 corridor stands at 750 (down from 756 in September 2008). As noted above, reports of multiple offers continue–the most likely targets are aggressively priced Southern Marin homes in good locations and bank owned properties in Novato. And even though the number of homes sold has decreased this year, sellers are holding fast to their prices (particularly in Southern Marin). While interest rates are generally creeping upwards, they remain at historically low levels….

[click here for the rest of the story and for a table breaking down home prices in Marin County]

Marin Real Estate Trends (September 2008)

Looking outside last night, my wife commented that it was “dark already” (it was about 7:15 p.m.). I personally confirmed her observation–it looks like the seasons are changing. Predictably, after the annual slowdown of sales in Marin County during the Summer months, it seems as though activity has really picked up over the past couple of weeks. Half of my listings are in escrow (one had 3 offers) and the rest are getting lots of attention. The number of listing is up slightly (it would be up more significantly, but for the high number of Novato homes that are in escrow) and open houses are busy. Buyers seem to recognize that now may be the time to act as they are not convinced the market will tread further south and because of low interest rates (I heard that mortgage rates are down to around 5.75% for conforming loans). Qualifying for those loans is the big issue now–the underwriting process has become very demanding and unforgiving.

[click here for the rest of the story and for a table breaking down home prices in Marin County]

Marin Real Estate Trends (August 2008)

Besides having good air (the best in the country, in fact), excellent schools (click HERE for last month’s Forbes article discussing Marin Schools), a relatively short commute (even the Novato commute to San Francisco will soon be improved further when the HWY 101 widening project is completed in December), lots of dedicated open space, beaches, hiking trails, proximity to Lake Tahoe, and everything else we sometimes take for granted living here, we can also be pleased that we don’t see the wild down-swings in pricing like other parts of the country (click HERE for my recent article on Fundy Markets).

We currently have 748 active listings (down from 772 in July 2008). While Summer is traditionally slower for home sales, buyers continue visiting open houses en mass. Reports of multiple offers continue, especially for aggressively priced Southern Marin homes in good locations and bank owned properties in Novato. 

 

[...click here for the rest of the report courtesy of NorthBayRE.com.]

Marin Real Estate Trends (June 2008)

Marin County, California, was the ONLY county in the entire Bay Area to have a year-over-year increase in median price last month (prices were up 5.8%) according to DataQuick which surveys all recorded sales. The numbers for the HWY 101 corridor covered by this update are pretty amazing–the average price for single family homes sold in May 2008 was $1.493 million and if you exclude Novato that number increases to $1.647 million. We currently have 815 active listings (down from 881 in May 2008). This time of year historically sees an up-tick in listings as families leave town for vacations, etc. Yet, buyers are visiting open houses in droves. Reports of multiple offers continue.