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Ross Valley School District Above Capacity

Posted on December 18, 2007 by Ginger Wilcox

Manor School, FairfaxSchools in the Ross Valley School District are feeling the pinch of increased enrollment. Over the last two years, enrollment has increased. Some of the district’s schools exceeded their capacity this year including Manor School in Fairfax and the lower Brookside campus in San Anselmo, resulting in some Manor kindergartners attending Wade Thomas & Brookside.

For all the details, read the letter below that was sent out to families in the district.

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$65 Million Marin Home Sale

Posted on December 14, 2007 by Ginger Wilcox

Locksley Hall, Belvedere MansionIf you have been waiting for a price reduction to write an offer on Locksley Hall, the Belvedere Mansion , you are out of luck – it appears another buyer snatched it up for a mere $65 million . The historic home owned by mining magnate Robert Friedland has been on the market for three years. It is 12,000 square feet and sits on an acre of prime Belvedere real estate. According to the Wall Street Journal, the sellers accepted a full price offer. Amazing! The sale is expected to close in January. It if closes, it will be the largest sale in Northern California.

Get the full story here.

Reminder: Property Tax Deadline on Monday, 12/10/07

Posted on December 7, 2007 by Ginger Wilcox

Marin property owners have until Monday, December 10, 2007 to make their first installment toward the 2007 – 2008 property taxes. Payments must be received or postmarked by December 10, 2007 in order to be considered timely paid. If the payment is late, it is subject to a 10% penalty plus interest.

Marin property owners should submit their payments to:

Michael J. Smith, Tax Collector
Civic Center, P.O. Box 4220 Rm. 202
San Rafael, CA 94913-4220

Alternatively, taxes can also be paid online at www.co.marin.ca.us/paytax, or by telephone at 800-985-7277, using a credit card or electronic fund transfer. Credit card charges will also include a “convenience fee” of approximately 2.25% of the total transaction and electronic funds transfers will include a fee of $1.95 per transaction.

Tour de Noel- Holiday Tour of Kentfield and Ross Homes

Posted on December 5, 2007 by Ginger Wilcox

Looking for something fun to do in Marin this weekend? How about visiting four beautiful Ross and Kentfield homes decorated in spectacular holiday style at Tour de Noel, the 21st annual holiday tour of homes sponsored by St. John’s Church?Wreath

  • When: Saturday, December 8, 2007. Five reserved admission times between 9:30 am -4:00 pm.
  • Where: Four Homes in Ross & Kentfield
  • How Much: Tour tickets $30 each, Lunch $10
  • Info & Tickets: Tourdenoel.org

Who doesn’t love a home tour?

Fairfax California Real Estate Update

Posted on by Ginger Wilcox

It was a slow November for Fairfax, California real estate. The MSI (Months Supply of Inventory) jumped up to 9 months, compared to 3.3 last month. This was the highest MSI in Fairfax since it spiked in November 2006 at 23 months. Hopefully just another anomaly!

Fairfax California Real Estate- MSI November 2007

(click on chart to expand)

The number of homes for sale in Fairfax, CA was down almost 27% from the previous November. Only 3 Fairfax homes sold as compared to 7 in November 2006.

Fairfax California Real Estate Supply and Demand Nov 2007

What is on the horizon? I am still optimistic for a good first quarter of 2008 but December 2007 is likely to be quiet.

Kentfield Real Estate Update

Posted on December 4, 2007 by Ginger Wilcox

The sales stats didn’t look pretty for Kentfield real estate in November. This chart says it all.
(Click on the chart to expand it)

Kentfield Real Estate- MSI November 2007

Yes, you are seeing that right. Kentfield MSI= 19 months. This means that if no more homes come on the market, it would take 19 months to sell all homes on the market in Kentfield at the current sales rate. This is an 850% increase as compared to the 2 months supply of inventory in November 2006. Ouch, again.

We have not seen very many new listings coming on the market in Kentfield. The listings on the market are stale. 10 day old bread so to speak. Fresh blood is needed. Bring it on!

Mill Valley Real Estate Update

Posted on by Ginger Wilcox

What’s happening in Mill Valley real estate? A substantial decrease in supply of homes for sale as compared to November 2006. The number of Mill Valley homes for sale decreased almost 30%, while the number of Mill Valley homes under contract decreased 27% and the number of homes closing escrow decreased almost 18%.

Mill Valley Real Estate Supply and Demand Nov 2007

The Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) improved slightly over last November. Mill Valley’s MSI was 3.6- indicating a pretty healthy market. The median price for Mill Valley single family homes in November 2007 was $1,225,000.

Mill Valley Real Estate- MSI November 2007

(click on image to expand)

Tiburon Real Estate Update

Posted on by Ginger Wilcox

Tiburon Real Estate Supply and Demand Nov 2007

Tiburon sales activity increased substantially from October to November, as well as from November 2006 to November 2007. The number of Tiburon homes going under contract improved almost 62% over last November, while the number of Tiburon homes closing escrow improved by almost 40%.

In September, Tiburon had 26 months on inventory. OUCH! The sales pace picked up and the MSI was down to only 3 months in November 2007. This is a substantial improvement over November 2006, when Tiburon had 6.6 months of inventory.

Good news for Tiburon homeowners!

How’s the Marin Real Estate Market?

Posted on by Ginger Wilcox

I get asked this question numerous times a day, but it is a tough one to answer. What information are you really looking for? Do you want number for all of Marin, or just Southern Marin? Mill Valley single family homes or Kentfield too?

For all Marin County single family homes, overall supply and demand are down compared to November 2006. The number of homes going under contract and closing escrow are down almost 25% countywide. While November is normally a slow month, this November has been particularly slow.

Marin County Real Estate Supply and Demand Nov 2007

The MSI (Months Supply of Inventory) is up to 4.7 compared to 3.9 in November 2006. This number is still very low compared to the majority of the country. (Click on the chart to expand it)

Marin County Real Estate- MSI November 2007

What’s next? I anticipate a slow December with a sharp increase in activity in the early part of next year.

Stay tuned for Marin County city specific real estate updates.

Marin Real Estate: Week of Nov 17-24

Posted on November 26, 2007 by Ginger Wilcox

What’s happening in Marin real estate?

As expected, activity was S.L.O.W. this week with the Thanksgiving holiday. Only a few brave souls put their houses on their market, while a large number went off the market. A big question for sellers right now is to stay on the market or put it back on after the holidays. For the stale, old listings that aren’t getting much activity, many may come off the market with the hopes of being “fresh” in the new year.

The numbers below reflect activity from Saturday, November 17-Saturday, November 24 for Marin residential real estate (includes condominiums).

# of New Marin Home Listings this week 17
# of Marin Homes Back on the Market (fell out of contract) 12
# of Marin Home Listings with Price Reductions 34
# of Marin Homes that went under contract 27
# of Marin Home Listings Expired or Withdrawn (not sold) 38
# of Marin Homes Sold 32

*Information pulled from BAREIS MLS.
(November 17 5:01 pm -November 24 5:00 pm)