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]