Marin County, California, Luxury Homes Report (December 2008–Sales and Inventory Analysis)

Ponzi schemes, equity markets, banking woes, mounting unemployment, diminished home values and equity, generalized fear, and a palpable spending paralysis continue to weigh down and negatively impact luxury real estate sales in Marin County, California. I struggle to find the appropriate adjective to describe Marin County’s current luxury home market. Torpid? Sluggish? Drowsing? You get the idea. The same holds true nationwide as caution and prudence carry the day (click here to view the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s Housing Report dated 12/12/08).

There are 85 homes on the market between $2 million and $4 million. As predicted in last month’s update, November sales slowed significantly following the mid-September meltdown in the financial sector–there were only 5 sales (down from 19 in October). 

[click HERE to view the full report from www.ImagineMarin.com].

Marin County Real Estate Update–December 2008 (Homes For Sale & Price Ranges)

Insofar as Marin County goes, the holiday season is not traditionally an active time for home sales–this year is no exception. Inventory is down to 607 homes for sale (we had about 716 last month). Although reports of multiple offers continue–especially on well-priced bank owned properties in Novato–even the foreclosures are sometimes taking a long while meandering to a close. Despite the ongoing financial crisis, interest rates are very attractive and they are being pushed down further for those that qualify. I do feel that there is a large level of pent-up demand that will expose itself in the new year. But, until then, enjoy your families, your friends, and the holidays. 

The graph below breaks down the current number of homes (not including condos) for sale and in escrow in Marin County’s HWY 101 corridor (e.g., Marin’s coastal communites are not included) in December 2008, along with the price ranges for each town/city. 

Marin Single Family Homes For Sale

Mill Valley Real Estate Market Report (December 2008 Home Sales Update)

To avoid sounding like a Pollyana, this month’s Mill Valley market report is brief and restrained; necessarily so–sales numbers are dismal in the wake of the September meltdown in the equity markets. Clearly, the Mill Valley real estate market favors buyers. The “undercover buyers” (e.g., financially stable people waiting for the “right time” to buy) are not writing offers despite the delicious variety of choices. Continuing a trend first noted in my September 2008 market report … [Click HERE for the rest of the article courtesy of www.MillValley101.com].

San Rafael Real Estate Market Report (December 2008 Home Sales Update)

The San Rafael real estate market has been the model of consistency this year–up until last month. Although 29% of homes are currently in escrow in the low end (under $800,000), the rest of the market is at a standstill. In the $800,000 to $1 million range, we have 14% of homes in escrow. And when it comes to the higher end of the spectrum, the market is virtually flat-lining with just one home in escrow over $1 million. Nobody can recall a time where the market has exhibited such an utter lack of vitality. 

There are currently 20 houses on the market under $600,000, and another 25 under $750,000. As reported the past few months, it is apparent to me that buyers seem unimpressed with our San Rafael housing inventory and that these buyers are exploring Novato. Click HERE for my this month’s market report provided by www.Novato101.com. Perhaps this is in part due to the fact our San Rafael inventory is very low–just 141 units are currently on the market. I do expect a large uptick in listings come the new year as sellers who decided to sit out this past year begin testing the market early and buyers begin to take advantage of the ever-lower interest rates, which some predict may go down as far as 4%.  

Of the 19 homes that sold in November 2008 (26 sold in October), the average days on market was 123 days. These homes averaged about 2,159 square feet and sold for an average price of about $954,000–roughly $434 per sq. ft. San Rafael’s strongest micro-climate markets in November 2008 included Terra Linda, Peacock Gap, and Lucas Valley. For those of you who missed it last month, check out the October 2008 edition of Architectural Digest for some sublime examples of modern architecture, including an amazing prefab green home built by Marmol Radziner in the Utah desert.

If you have any questions regarding the current real estate market in San Rafael, California, please contact Kyle Frazier, Marin Realtor & CRS, Frank Howard Allen Realtors Marin: (415) 350-9440. 

Novato Real Estate Market Update (December 2008 Home Sales Report)

“Unscrew the locks from the doors! Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!”

Never thought Walt Whitman would appear in a real estate article? Neither did I. Yet, this past year’s real estate market in Novato evokes a poetically disjointed and disarticulated scene from Leaves of Grass. It’s been 20 years since I read the book, but I recall the broad themes carrying despair and hope within and between stanzas of its several poems. Those same themes echo metaphorically throughout the Novato market.

On the one hand, as prices dip back to 2003 levels for condos and entry level homes, those who bought these properties with 100% financing are often finding themselves well underwater. And those positioned to buy are now snapping up Novato’s value properties at previously unfathomable prices. By way of example, earlier today I e-mailed some clients about a Novato condo they sold  in 2006 for $420,000–it is currently a short sale priced under $200,000. Alternately, the number of Novato’s upscale homes in escrow equates with the rate of the traditionally stronger Southern Marin market.

As such, Novato “contain[s] multitudes.” [click here for the rest of the article, courtesy of www.Novato101.com)].