Marin County Real Estate, November 2007 Update (Homes For Sale & Price Ranges)

As the Fall selling season unwinds, the number of homes for sale (inventory) in Marin County, California has dipped markedly over the past month. There are 680 active listings (down by 108 from last month). In a trend that occurs every year, November marks the beginning of the slow season as home sellers reassess their situation over the holidays–many of the homes that come off the market in November are right back on again in February, March, or April, usually with lower prices and more flexible terms. It will be very interesting to see how things shake out this year. As I have noted in past market reports, there seems to be pent up demand from buyers who are waiting for prices to bottom-out. And many brokers will agree that we are seeing strong sales momentum carrying into November 2007. I think Marin County will see solid sales numbers throughout the Winter.

Indeed, savvy buyers will continue picking off the hot properties and those with “value.” As noted last month, buyers have warmed to the market and many are coming in with large down payments and short contingencies to bolster their negotiating leverage with sellers anxious to make a deal. Novato continues to be a buyers’ dream with prices down and sellers more than willing to do what it takes to sell.  

The graph below breaks down the current number of homes for sale in Marin County, California, as of November 1, 2007, along with the price ranges for each town/city. Also included is a note indicating whether inventory is up or down over the past month:

Marin Single Family Homes For Sale

Some observations: living in highly desirable Belvedere is an expensive proposition–you’ll need $2.5 million to buy at the entry level. The highest priced home in Marin, however, is an ultra-luxury Tiburon estate on about 8.5 acres, with 12 Bedrooms, 10 full baths and 3 half baths (it also boasts some very nice views)–asking price $38.5 million. In fact, Tiburon currently has several homes in the $10 million and up range. A few miles up Highway 101, the average asking price for homes in Kentfield is just about $3.2 million (about $955 sq./ft.), with an average days on market of 116 days. Note that Kentfield currently has just 1 home priced under $1 million (a 1 Bed/1 Bath home). Meanwhile, Greenbrae’s desirable location, schools (it shares Bacich Elementary and Kent Middle School with Kentfield), and Bay views, continues to push prices skyward–the cheapest home in Greenbrae is now over $1 million (which has been the case for several months running). And Mill Valley, despite 66 homes on the market, has just 11 homes priced under $1 million. The Southern Marin and Central Marin markets continue their strong performances in terms of price and sales.

At the other end of the spectrum, Novato has 30 homes priced under $600,000 (including 6 homes under $500,000) and another 29 priced under $700,000–that’s 59 homes under $700,000 in Novato! Novato’s 210 active listings is by far the most in Marin County (down 29 from last month). Even San Rafael in Central Marin has 34 homes priced under $750,000.

If you desire a list of Marin County’s best deals or more specific analysis of your neighborhood, please give me a call at (415) 350–9440.