Marin County, California, Luxury Homes Report (May 2008–Sales and Inventory Analysis)
Marin County’s $2 million to $4 million luxury home market saw a slight rise in the number of homes for sale this past month with 124 active listings, compared to 115 homes last month. This mild rise in inventory was accompanied by a strong month of sales–25 homes sold (just 15 sales closed in March 2008). Worth noting here is the fact that although the number of non-luxury homes sold this year compared to last year is down significantly (e.g., about 20%), the luxury market has NOT experienced a similar decline–in April 2007, there were 26 sales. Great news for owners of luxury homes in Marin.
Tiburon, Mill Valley, and San Anselmo each registered 5 sales in the $2 million to $4 million range, followed by Sausalito, Belvedere, and Kentfield with 2 sales apiece. Larkspur, Greenbrae, and Corte Madera each had one sale. The average days on market for homes that sold was a mere 48 days and the average sales price was just over $2.786 million (roughly $820/per sq. ft.), with an average of 3,530 square feet.
The inventory level in Marin County’s ultra-luxury market (homes priced in the $4 million and up range) also rose–to 44 active listings, compared with 35 in April 2008. Tiburon, as usual, boasts the largest number of such homes with 15. It is followed by Belvedere with 9. Kentfield and Ross each claim 5 such homes. Last month saw 3 sales (2 in Kentfield and 1 in Belvedere) and 7 more are currently in escrow. And again, these sales numbers are above last year’s totals (there was just one home sale in this price range in April of 2007). Ultra-luxury homes that sold last month averaged 252 days on the market, sold for an average of $6.241 million (about $1,270/sq. ft.), and were 5,147 square feet.
Note that all homes in contract are included in the category “Pending” even though some are technically “Contingent” properties (e.g., the buyers have not removed all contingencies). This information is limited to Marin County’s Highway 101 corridor towns and cities that consistently maintain a monthly inventory of luxury and ultra-luxury homes (Western Marin coastal homes are not included). Call Kyle Frazier, CRS, Broker Associate, Frank Howard Allen Realtors of Marin, at 415/350-9440 with any questions about a particular neighborhood or your situation. You can also e-mail Kyle at [email protected].