The most exciting new listing we saw on broker’s tour today in Southern Marin was this iconic, historic home in Mill Valley, listed by our colleague Chris DeNike. It was designed by architect Willis Polk and built in 1895. Tons of period charm, on a nice lot in a sunny location close to town. It’s the kind of house that makes you wish you could go back in time for a day to see what life was like in Mill Valley at the turn of the century. Details from MLS below.
(Note: I notice when our blog plugin pulls the listing data it shows the days on market as 79, which is clearly not correct. It just came on this week.)
Not available for over 40 years this iconic home celebrates a time where song & love were in the air. As referenced in Mill Valley-The Early Years this home was one of the centers of early Mill Valley cultural and social life. Sited near dt on a private, large lot this gated home offers 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths & 2 offices-1 w/separate entrance. Period carpentry, high ceilings, built-ins and classic hardwood flooring all contribute this treasure.
I was just looking at market stats and came across an amazing one that paints a clear picture of what’s happening around here lately–the absorption rate for Marin homes under a million dollars. It was over 90% for March (April numbers will be out in the next week or so). You get that number by dividing the number of pending sales for the month by the number of active listings. It’s a little lower for all price ranges, but still pretty crazy, especially compared to the way things were just months ago.
Marin absorption rate for residential properties under $1 million.
Marin absorption rate for residential properties in all price ranges.
If you’d like market stats tailored for your town or price segment just drop me a line at george@sfnorth.com.
You may not have heard about Outstanding in the Field, but it’s an exciting culinary adventure that I am just itching to experience. The creators have a mission to reconnect people with the food they eat. They call them restaurants without walls and set up long farm tables in unique places, like in the middle of a vineyard, on a ranch, in a cave, or right by the ocean. We just discovered this but it’s been going on for 20 years. The aim is to bring people as close as possible to the ingredients on their plate–literally so close that they may be grown just a few feet away.
Take a look at the schedule and see if there’s an event for you. Tickets run in the $200 price range and they have been selling out fast. If you missed the one you want (we missed the Michael Minna event at Devils Gulch – bummer!) then sign up on the email list so you are sure not to miss out next year.
Outstanding in the Field does many events here in California, but they also travel. How about dining in a vineyard in the Rioja region of Spain? Or sampling some Mahi Mahi, taro, and starfruit at an organic farm on the island of Hawaii? Honey, I think it’s time to plan a vacation!
Here are the slightly delayed pending rate reports for last month. We should have the ones for March before long but in the meantime it’s interesting to look at what happened in February. Other than a few areas with a large proportion of luxury listings, like Kentfield, Belvedere, Tiburon, and Ross, most towns in Marin were humming along, and that activity level has continued so we should see similar numbers for this month.
The pending rate is the percentage of the total listings going into escrow. Fairfax had a rate over 100% due to a couple of off market sales–homes that were not listed but were entered into the MLS for comp purposes.
If you’d like stats for your neighborhood or have questions about what’s happening in the Marin housing market feel free to drop me a line at george@sfnorth.com.
Big things are in the works in the Larkspur-Corte Madera school district. Bond Measure A, which passed last year, is providing funds for upgrades to Neil Cummins Elementary and Hall Middle School, and the biggie–a brand new elementary school at the site of the old San Clemente School on Paradise Drive, which has been leased to the Lycee Francais. The plan is to tear down the old facility and build a brand new public school, with construction slated for 2013 and 2014. I talked to someone in the district office who said they haven’t yet decided on enrollment boundary lines or what will determine which kids go to which elementary school, but she said to keep an eye on the website for updates.
The numbers are in for February, and the anecdotal craziness that agents are reporting in the Marin housing market is supported clearly by the stats. The imbalance between supply and demand has continued, with the months supply of inventory still trending down. If you’ve been actively looking for a home in Marin lately you probably know exactly what I’m talking about, as many listings are selling right away, often with multiple offers. It’s frustrating for buyers but the best time in quite a few years to be a seller.
Marin County months supply of housing inventory
Here’s a look at the overall trend in homes for sale vs. those pending and closing. You’ll notice how the light green bars representing homes for sale are lower lately than they are in the rest of the chart, and the red line that represents houses going into escrow has shot up. There’s an important conclusion to draw from this: if this trend continues it will drive prices up. While it’s nice to see some strengthening in the Marin housing market after the wild ride of the last several years, we like to see things a bit more balanced because it’s healthier all around, so here’s to seeing more properties coming on the market to satisfy the demand.
As always, if you have questions about what’s going on in Marin or would like market stats specific to your town or price range please drop me a line at george@sfnorth.com.
We’ve talked before about the cool program the Ross Valley Sanitary District has had in place for the last few years, where they’ll pay for half the cost (up to $4000) of a new sewer lateral for homes in the district that qualify. Unfortunately the money has dried up for now. I talked with someone at the office who said to keep checking back as they think they’ll have funds again sometime before July, so it sounds like this might be a temporary situation.
You can get more info at their website, www.rvsd.org, or by calling (415) 259-2949.
Johnson and Daly is a moving company in San Rafael that we often recommend to clients. Today we found a LivingSocial deal on their services so couldn’t resist sharing with you. If you’re moving this spring consider nabbing one of these offers and saving yourself $128. Heck, that’s dinner out! You have just two days to purchase so if your interested, don’t wait! And you have to use it by June 1st to get the discount.
The wait is over and Fairfax has its fancy new natural foods store, with the Good Earth location at 720 Center Blvd. having its grand opening yesterday. We stopped by this afternoon to take a look and it’s impressive. They did a really nice job and the place is huge, especially compared to the old spot, and it was packed– both with shoppers and those just curious to check it all out.
While it’s a great addition to Fairfax and it’s very cool to have such a nice, big market in town, it’ll be interesting to see how it affects the vibe of the area. With all the traffic and cars in the parking lot it sure looks like it’s not going to be the same for the many cyclists who’ve been accustomed to having a mellow and convenient place to meet up, with easy parking. We’re wondering what happens when people want to keep parking there while they go on rides. Will the market have to end up monitoring the lot, and citing those who aren’t shopping?
The trend of low inventory and plenty of demand has continued into the new year, with the months supply of homes (based on pended sales) at its lowest level in Marin County since 2006. Basically, there are not a lot of homes coming on the market but there are a plenty of active buyers out there looking. Here’s a look over the last five years:
And here’s a closer look at the downward trend since the peak in 2009:
This trend combined with the amazing weather has made this a good time to bring a listing on in Marin, as we’ve been seeing well-priced homes in popular areas getting multiple offers in many cases. On the flipside this atmosphere can be frustrating for buyers, but we’ll see more inventory heading into Spring.
If you’d like market stats for your particular town or price range just drop me an email at george@sfnorth.com.
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