Marin County, California, Luxury Homes Report (September 2007 Sales Update and Inventory Analysis)

Overall, the number of active Marin luxury homes rose slightly last month. In the $2 million to $4 million range, the number of active listings bounced up by twenty-two for a total of 145 homes. Eighteen Marin homes sold in this price range last month (and another 19 are currently in escrow–nearly 1/3 of these are in Tiburon). While we may not know the magnitude of the scope and duration of fallout relating to the financing meltdown experienced in August, these numbers reflect a relatively robust sales environment for the end of summer, which is traditionally a bit on the slow side. It will be interesting to see what transpires in coming months.

Mill Valley, with its temperate weather, good schools, and easy commute to San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge, led the way in sales last month with four. Sausalito and Kentfield each had three sales. And Belvedere, Tiburon, and San Rafael each had two sales. Overall, the luxury home market in Marin County performed well: the average days on market was 109 days (up by 30 days from the previous month), the average sales price about $2.53 million (roughly $847/per sq. ft.), and these homes averaged about 3,221 square feet.

In the ultra-luxury $4 million and up range, there are currently thirty-nine active homes on the market in Marin, down by eleven from last month. Tiburon boasts the largest number of such homes currently on the market with twelve, followed by Ross with seven, Belvedere with six, and Kentfield with five. Five of these homes sold last month (two were in Belvedere) and there are another five of these ultra-luxury homes currently in escrow (two more in Belvedere, one in Kentfield, one in Mill Valley, and one in Ross). Homes in this category averaged about 198 days on the market, sold for $8 million, and had about 6,097 sq. ft. of living space. Currently, Marin’s most expensive piece of real estate is a unique gated Tiburon estate sited on over eight acres with world-class views and gardens–asking price: $38.5 million.

The above graph contains the numbers of active listings and homes in contract in Marin County?s luxury and ultra-luxury home market segments. Note that all homes in contract are included in the category ?Pending? even though some are technically ?Contingent? properties. Also, the information above is limited to Marin County’s Highway 101 corridor towns and cities that consistently maintain a monthly inventory of luxury and ultra-luxury homes (e.g., beach homes are not included here). 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.