May 24th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

Single Family homes under contract in Marin County

April 2008 vs. April 2007

Countywide, the number of Marin homes for sale was up almost 16% from last April. The number of homes under contract was down about 13% while the number of units sold is down about 31%.

While the number of homes sold in April 2008 vs April 2007 is dismal, the glimmer of hope is in the units under contract. We have gradually seen this number get closer to 2007 numbers for many Marin cities, indicating next month’s sold number may be even better.

March 1st, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

Many cities and towns in Marin County require mandatory re-sale inspections before a seller transfers home ownership to a buyer.

Marin Cities that require resale inspections

• Belvedere
• Corte Madera
• Fairfax
• Larkspur
• Mill Valley
• Novato
• San Anselmo
• San Rafael
• Tiburon

Fees range widely from about $100 to close to $300 in Novato.  Ouch!  In addition, what is inspected during these inspections vary widely.  Most check to make sure permits for any property improvements have been pulled.   The cities also note issues that may not be compliant with current building codes, check on zoning, property usage, etc. Re-sale inspections in Marin county do not cover property condition, quality of construction, general defects with the property, termites, etc.  Look for a general home inspection and a termite inspection to cover these items.

Marin sellers are strongly encouraged to perform the city/town re-sale inspections prior to going on their market.  Your Marin real estate agent should help you arrange this.  Some Marin cities and towns take an extended period of time to schedule inspections and also to return the inspection report.  If you do not get the report in time, you could end up delaying close of escrow.

If you have not pulled permits, you may be fined, asked to pull those permits retroactively and in some instances, sellers have been asked to remove unpermitted improvements. 

I have seen many deals fall apart after the reports are returned on a city/town resale inspection.  Buyers don’t like surprises at the last minute.  It is much better to know any issues relating to the city inspection before you find a buyer!

Marin home buyers:  Never sign off on your resale inspection unless you have seen the report in your hands.  Even if you attend the inspection, the city inspector may add mandatory items that you aren’t expecting.  View the actual report.  Some Marin cities and towns (such as Tiburon)do a re-inspection of required items (with an additional fee).  If you fail to make corrections within your allotted time period, you may get fined per day.  At last check, Tiburon fines racked up fines at a cool $103 a day.    Now that can add up quickly!

February 19th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

Single Family Residential Homes Only.
Statistics as of February 19, 2007 from BAREIS Marin County MLS®.

February 11th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

The median home sale price in Corte Madera was $850,000 in January 2008.  The number of homes on the market decreased almost 22% from one year ago.   The number of  Corte Madera homes under contract dropped almost 90% with just one home going under contract while the number of Corte Madera homes sold stayed the same as January 2008.. 

The average days on the market in Corte Madera was 13, down almost 75% from January 2007.

*Single family homes only

January 13th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

There are many child friendly restaurants in Marin.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Fish

350 Harbor Dr, Sausalito – (415) 331-3474

This Sausalito restaurant is pricey, but I love it. Order at the counter and sit inside or out (but bring a coat). The fish tacos are great, the setting is fantastic. The fish is fresh and local!

P.F. Changs

301 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera (415) 413-9890

P.F. Changs in Corte Madera is a great addition to kid friendly restaurants in Marin. Mine seem to love all the noodle and rice dishes. We dined recently at 5:30 p.m. and ran into many families just like us, trying to dine early before bed time for young kids. P.F. Chang’s is located at Corte Madera Town Center. Check out my review of P.F. Changs when it first opened in Corte Madera.

Pizza Antica

800 Redwood Hwy, Mill Valley – (415) 383-0600

Pizza Antica is located in Mill Valley’s Strawberry Village, just off the 101 Highway at Tiburon Boulevard. It is noisy and perfect for kids, with a large menu featuring pizza, pasta and salads. Think black and white checkered floors in a big open room. The decibel level goes up at Pizza Antica when it gets crowded, so don’t go for a romantic dinner for two.

Waypoint Pizza

15 Main St, Tiburon – (415) 435-3440

Located on Main Street in downtown Tiburon, this charming pizzeria is a great place to take the kids. The atmosphere is very warm and inviting. The menu includes pizza, pasta and some really good salads. If you are going with a larger group, check to see if the back room is available. It is a great place to let the little ones run around while you have an adult conversation.

Yankee Pier

286 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur – (415) 924-7676

Great food, and kid friendly- hard to imagine! This Larkspur restaurant is part of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group- so the food is simply outstanding. It is located just a short distance from the Lark Cree Inn in an old house. The front has outdoor picnic tables which are great for families. It is open and inviting in the summer months, enclosed and heated in the warm months. Kids love the sandbox on the outdoor patio.

December 30th, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Many Marin County home sellers took their homes off the market over the holidays. This helped overall stats. Despite the holidays, we still saw quite a few homes go into contract. Many areas of Marin are considered seller’s markets including Corte Madera, San Anselmo, Sausalito and Mill Valley. The situation in Novato still looks dismal. Below are the stats by city. These numbers are likely to fluctuate widely after the New Year when sellers put their homes on the market.

Marin Market Update By City

• Over 35% in contract is usually indicative of a sellers’ market.
• Under 25% in contract is usually indicative of a buyers’ market.
• 25%-35% in contract indicates a balanced market.

*Marin County Real Estate statistics pulled from BAREIS MLS on 12/29/2007.

October 1st, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

October 3, 2007 is International Walk & Roll to School Day! Children and adults around the globe will be walking & biking to school.

Why?

• Reduce traffic
• Get some physical activity
• Create less pollution

Teams of parents & students will have staging areas where students who live far from school can meet to join neighborhood children as they form “walking school buses” and “bike trains” to school. Check with your school to find out the location of the staging area closest to your house. According to Safe Routes to schools, the following schools have events planned for Walk & Roll:

• Fairfax: Manor and St. Rita’s
• Mill Valley: Edna Maguire, Tam Valley, Old Mill, MV Middle, Mt. Tam and Marin Horizon
• San Rafael: Vallecito, Dixie, Mary Silveira, Miller Creek, Gallinas, Glenwood, and Bahia Vista
• San Anselmo: Brookside Schools and Wade Thomas
• Tiburon: Bel Aire and Reed
• Ross: Ross School
• Corte Madera: Neil Cummins School
• Larkspur St. Patrick’s
• Kentfield: Bacich, and Kent Middle School
• West Marin: Bolinas/Stinson and Lagunitas
• Novato: Pleasant Valley, Rancho and Hill Middle School

Related Posts
Get Out and Walk to School

September 4th, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

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%??

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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September 1st, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Initial numbers are in for August Marin real estate sales!

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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August 22nd, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Corte Madera has long been a hidden gem in Southern Marin.

Everyone knows where Corte Madera is- it is the retail center of Southern Marin. Corte Madera Town Center and the The Village at Corte Madera Shopping Mall flank highway 101. From Nordstroms & Williams Sonoma, to Il Fornaio & Champagne Bakery. Corte Madera has tons of fabulous shops and restaurants.

But do people actually live in Corte Madera? Yes! They do! (more…)