Buyers jumping off the fence

Marin Real Estate October Months Supply of Inventory ChartOctober sales charts are in! The months supply of inventory (MSI) for all residential Marin real estate was down to five months as compared to eight months county-wide in September . This means that if no more homes go on the market, it would take 5 months to sell the existing listings at the current sales pace.

In October 2006, the county-wide MSI was 4.9, so very little change over last year. Sort of surprising- based on what we are hearing, you would think it would be higher.

So why the change? Buyers uncertain about the market in August jumped off the fence where they have been waiting and starting writing offers again. The number of listings was higher in October than in September, but we saw significantly more Marin County homes go into contract and sell. 207 homes went into contract in October as compared to only 143 in September. Lots more activity happening!

September   October  
Homes for Sale 1428 Homes for Sale 1452
Under Contract 143 Under Contract 207
Sold 132 Sold 166

Despite the improvement from September to October, overall demand was down as compared to October 2006. Marin saw a 34% decrease in the number of units sold in October 2007 as compared to 2006. The median price was up 8.43% over October last year.

Marin Real Estate News

What’s happening in Marin real estate?

Lots of price reductions and lots of old stale stuff going away. The numbers below reflect activity from Saturday, October 27-Saturday, November 3 for Marin single family homes and condos.

# of New Marin Home Listings this week 69
# of Marin Homes Back on the Market (fell out of contract) 21
# of Marin Home Listings with Price Reductions 85
# of Marin Homes that went under contract 50
# of Marin Home Listings Expired or Withdrawn (not sold) 91
# of Marin Homes Sold 45

*Information pulled from BAREIS MLS.

What is happening in Marin Real Estate

How do I describe the Marin real estate market? Hot and cold and mostly lukewarm is my best description. The market varies widely depending on the location and the price range. The upper end homes continue to move through out the Bay Area but own a condo in Novato? Now is not the time to sell. We can’t hardly give them away! Want to buy a condo in Novato? It is a FABULOUS time to buy- make an offer!!

Looking for a remodeled four bedroom, three bath house with a flat grassy yard in a good school district in Southern Marin for under two million dollars? Cross your fingers and say a prayer, it is virtually impossible to find. Own one of these coveted homes? There is a huge pent up demand from buyers looking for this home and it will sell.

Even sellers who own that perfect Southern Marin four bedroom home need to be very careful where they price their home. Buyers are cautious and in most instances, they have lots of choices. Don’t be tempted to test the market unless you don’t want to sell your house. First impressions (AKA your initial listing price) are the most important. If you don’t capture a buyer’s attention in the first week, you rarely get it back again. Put your best face forward and price it right.

The question of the day: Should you buy or sell or wait? One answer does not fit all in this case. Give me your specific situation and I will guide you.

Too many listings in Marin?

The market has definitely changed in Marin County. The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) is always a good gauge of where the market stands. The MSI for September 2007 was 6.8. This means that if no more homes go on the market, it would take 6.8 months to sell the existing listings at the current sales pace. An MSI of 6.8 is still good compared to the rest of the country, but high for Marin in recent years. In September 2005, the MSI was 2.9 in Marin. The city of Novato has taken the hardest hit, and definitely impacts the county-wide numbers. Novato’s MSI in September 2007 was 15.7 as compared to 4.6 in 2006 and 2.5 in 2005! A 521% change since ’05. Ouch.

The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) for the rest of Marin in September 07 is as follows:

City

MSI- Sept ’07

MSI- Sept ’06

Change

Belvedere

9.0

25

Down

Corte Madera

3.8

2.4

Up

Fairfax

8.0

3.7

Up

Greenbrae

6.2

7.0

Down

Kentfield

4.0

7.0

Down

Larkspur

4.0

2.4

Up

Mill Valley

4.8

4.1

Up

Ross

6.7

5.5

Up

San Anselmo

2.1

4.1

Down

San Rafael

7.3

5.7

Up

Sausalito

3.0

13.8

Down

Tiburon

6.8

6.2

Up

When the MSI goes down, there are fewer homes on the market. When it goes up, supply is increasing faster than demand. The city of Novato is definitely in a big time buyer’s market.

Buyers waiting- # Marin Homes for Sale Down

Looking at the Marin County median home prices for August is pretty depressing. The percentage change for many cities is down. Tiburon is down 38.23% since August of 2006. Does this mean home prices have dropped almost 40%??BuyersWaitingtoBuy

No, they haven’t. Many Marin County areas only have a handful of sales each month. (Tiburon had 12, Larkspur 2, Corte Madera 7).

The median isn’t a great gage of what is happening in the market when you look at this few of sales. For the past couple of years, August has been a slow month for Marin real estate. August 2007 was exceptionally slow as both buyers and sellers waited to see what would happen in the Marin real estate market.

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Marin Real Estate Market Trends- August 07

Initial numbers are in for August Marin real estate sales!

Marin Median Home Prices

According to initial numbers, the median price is $1,045,000 for single family residential homes. The median price for all residential (including condos) is $947,000. This represents a 6.4% change over last year, and a 12.81% change over August 2005.

Initial sales numbers by Marin County City

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Should You Buy, Should You Sell? Part 1

Marin Mortgage PuzzleThe mortgage market is definitely on shaky ground and it is impacting the real estate market- even in Marin County. So, should you buy, sell or hold? This is a great question without a blanket answer.The news reports indicate that the market is going to tank, but they often paint a wide doom and gloom picture of what is happening. The Marin real estate market is substantially different than the rest of the country. The cities, towns and even subdivisions within Marin vary greatly with regards to the state of the market. Some areas have been hit pretty hard this year. Many have not. There is no doubt the lowest priced homes and the more affordable neighborhoods have suffered but overall, Marin County has still done pretty good.

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Marin Median Price Falls in July

So, what’s happening? August is here and the Marin real estate market is definitely feeling a little sluggish. With the stock market sliding and lenders closing doors left and right (or so it seems) , many people are feeling pretty dismal when it comes to the real estate market. What’s happening?
Median Home Price Marin County, July 2007The median price for single family homes in Marin County fell to $970,000 in July, down 16% from a median high of $1,160,000 in June. The average days on the market stayed relatively consistent at 63 days, up 1 from 62 days in June. This drop is consistent with the drop we saw in the same time period last year. In June 2006, the median was $1,075,000. In July 2006, the median was $940,000.

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