Blog by the Bay » Greenbrae

Hal Brown Park in Greenbrae, one of our new favorites

Stephen Pringle — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:44:10 +0000

I know it reopened in February, but we just finally took the kids by Hal Brown Park (formerly Creekside Park), across from Marin General, and the renovation is impressive. It has great play structures, a large grassy area for playing soccer, an awesome loop for kids to ride their bikes around, and really sweet views of the lagoon and Mt. Tam. Great spot to picnic or have a kids birthday party. If you haven’t made it by it’s worth checking out while the weather is still nice.

Marin Luxury Homes Sold Year to Date

Ginger Wilcox — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:57:11 +0000

There have been 50 Marin homes over three million dollars sold since January 1, 2010. In the same time frame last year, there were 37 homes over three million dollars sold in Marin. Yes, despite the mortgage mess the overall luxury home market has actually improved since 2009 in terms of number of sales.

As you can see in the chart above, the town of Tiburon tops the list of the most homes over three million dollars sold. The bulk of the luxury home sales are still under 3.5 million.

Top Ten Most Expensive Homes

The top ten most expensive homes sold year-to-date in Marin are as follows:

Ross	1 Upper Rd Ross, CA 94957	17,500,000	1/15/10	14,000,000
Ross	7 Laurel Grove Ave Ross, CA 94957	10,000,000	1/20/10	8,000,000
Tiburon	3680 Paradise Dr Tiburon, CA 94920	8,800,000	4/2/10	7,800,000
Belvedere	8 Eucalyptus Rd Belvedere, CA 94920	7,500,000	10/19/10	7,140,000
Tiburon	4639 Paradise Dr Tiburon, CA 94920	7,485,000	8/3/10	7,000,000
Tiburon	133 Sugarloaf Dr Tiburon, CA 94920	6,995,000	7/15/10	6,900,000
Sausalito	77 Harrison Ave Sausalito, CA 94965	8,750,000	4/15/10	6,834,000
Tiburon	232 Trinidad Dr Tiburon, CA 94920	7,995,000	3/10/10	6,500,000
Kentfield	65 Rock Rd Kentfield, CA 94904	5,500,000	5/17/10	5,500,000
Mill Valley	401 Lovell Ave Mill Valley, CA 94941	5,695,000	9/26/10	5,500,000

Both the price per square foot and the list price to sales price ratios were almost identical in 2009 and 2010. What’s to come for the luxury market? It’s still unclear how the meltdown of the mortgage markets will impact the overall economy and confidence in the real estate market. We’ll be watching carefully to see what’s next.

*information from Bay Area Real Estate Information Services.

Exploring Easter Events Around the Bay

Ginger Wilcox — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:23:29 +0000

Exploring by the Bay

Next stop: Fun events with kids!

The Bay is brimming with fun events for kids this weekend. Here are just a few. Feel free to add additional events in the comments!

San Francisco

The 19th Annual Union Street Spring Celebration & Easter Parade takes place on Sunday April 4, 2010 from 10:00am – 5:00pm on Union Street between Gough & Steiner. The event is a fun and eclectic San Francisco tradition. The promo even mentioned roller blading cows!! The celebration features some of Union Street’s best restaurants serving attendees in an outdoor bistro setting along with a variety of activities including large inflatable bounces, kids’ rides and games, a climbing wall, a hands-on children’s activities area, costumed characters, a petting zoo, a pony ride and musical entertainment.

Spring Eggstravaganza takes place on Sunday, April 4, 2010 from 11 am – 3 pm at Stern Grove. San Francisco throws a giant Easter celebration that’s kid-friendly but open to all ages. Egg hunts, carnival rides, arts and crafts, entertainment, food and giant inflatables will keep you busy. At Stern Grove, 19th Ave. and Sloat Blvd. $5 admission. For tickets or more information, call (415) 831-2700 during business hours.

Big Bunny’s Spring Fling at the San Francisco Zoo takes place every day from now until April 4th from 11am to 3pm. All activities are free with paid Zoo admission and include live entertainment, bunnies to see and learn about from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (weather permitting), photo opportunities with a costumed bunny, crafts, and games to play. Additionally, the Zoo will offer one FREE child’s admission with one paid adult for kids ages 4 to 14 who bring along their favorite plush bunny.

Marin

Belvedere- Join the Easter bunny at the Belvedere Community Center’s Easter Bunny Brunch on Saturday, April 3, 2010 from 10 am-noon. The event includes brunch, crafts, face painting, music and of course, an Easter egg hunt! To purchase tickets, call the recreation office at (415) 435-4355 or visit the Belvedere Community Center website.

Corte Madera- The Corte Madera Parks & Recreation will be hosting a Children’s Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 3, 2010 at the Corte Madera Town Park. The hunt starts at 10am. For more info, call (415) 927-5073.

Fairfax- Fairfax hosts it’s annual Easter Egg Hunt at Bolinas Park Saturday, April 3, 2010 from 10:00 am-12:00. Call 415-456-5652 for more information.

Mill Valley- The Strawberry Recreation District will be holding their Spring Faire on Saturday, April 3, 2010 from 11:30am to 4pm at the Strawberry Recreation Center at 118 E. Strawberry Drive. The event features activities for children ages 1 to 8 and will include carnival games, prizes and an egg hunt. $5 admission per child. Call 383-6494 for more information.

Sausalito hosts their 30^th Annual Easter Parade and Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4, 2010 from 10am -2pm at Dunphy Park located on Caledonia Street and Bridgeway. The schedule of events includes:

10:00am – Parade led by the Easter bunny!
10:15am – Egg Hunt
10:30am – Live Music
11am – Easter Bonnet Contest- bring your craziest, creative and beautiful Easter bonnets.

More information

San Anselmo- The San Anselmo Parks and Recreation holds an egg hunt on Friday, April 2 from 7:50 pm (don’t be late) for kids ages 8 and older at Memorial Park in San Anselmo. For kids under 7, check out the Children’s Egg Hunt at 11am on Saturday, April 3, 2010 at Memorial Park in San Anselmo. Call (415) 258-4640 for more information.

Santa Cruz Area

Time for a Sunday drive? Consider heading down to Felton in the Santa Cruz Mountains for the Eggstraordinary Egg Hunt III on Sunday April 4, 2010 at 2:00pm at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton. Kids take the steam train to Bear Mountain to hunt for thousands of chocolate candy eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny in a redwood forest and win prizes. Special Easter crafts and games for families and kids. Sounds like a blast!

Say it isn’t so! Default notices rising in Marin?

Ginger Wilcox — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:16:45 +0000

If you read the San Francisco Chronicle or sfgate.com, you might have come across a very noticeable article (at least noticeable if you are buying, selling, or interested in Marin County real estate!) The article even got picked up by a national blog – Calculated Risk – which is widely read by Wall Streeters and investors.

Mortgage distress is rising in affluent areas around the Bay Area, according to a Chronicle analysis of foreclosure notices.

Not very positive, especially when the article mentions Greenbrae and other “high end” zip codes in the Bay Area. Well, here’s what I’m seeing locally:

So far, so good this Fall. Asking prices have remained steady and are slightly above price levels from 2006. Certainly not where we were in 2007, but these seem to be holding well.

What about the number of Greenbrae homes available for sale (a.k.a “inventory”):

Definitely rising….

So yes, markets like Greenbrae are showing trends the don’t exactly jive – you’d expect prices to fall a little with the increased number of homes of the market.

October has been the busiest month in Marin all year for sales, but we are also seeing a buzz in the general market. Open houses are busier, even my web traffic has been up this month.

It’s never a perfect science but getting in to the details is important. Real estate is local and you can’t believe everything you read in the newspapers.

Courtesy of Altos Research

Greenbrae’s Value & My Interview on Forbes

Ginger Wilcox — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:12:05 +0000

Forbes recently published their list of America’s most expensive zip codes, most of which have seen very sluggish home sales. As part of the story, they focused on real estate markets that have tremendous value for being the luxury home market “next door” to the toniest of neighborhoods. The Marin County neighborhoods of Kentfield and Greenbrae received the majority of the focus in the story which I was interviewed for.

Kentfield has seen prices decline 20% this year while Greenbrae is only down 9% according to stats by Altos Research.

Check out the video here:

View Greenbrae Homes for Sale
View Kentfield Homes for Sale

Kentfield School District Reinstates Teacher Aides

Ginger Wilcox — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:58:37 +0000

I was thrilled to open an email earlier today from Kentfield School District Superintendent Mary Jo Pettigrew. In the letter to Bacich and Kent parents, Mary Jo said the school board reinstated 21 classroom aides and approved the hiring of a 5th grade teacher to keep class sizes small. The funds for the positions are coming from “receipt of federal stimulus monies, a lower projected reduction in categorical funding for 2009-2010 from the state, the continued support of the Kentfield Schools Foundation and the fiscal prudence of the District.”

Despite lower property tax revenues and state budget cuts, the school has been able to keep small class sizes and enrichment programs such as art, music, woodshop, drama and physical education.

In addition to being good news for parents, the news is great for Kentfield/Greenbrae property owners. The high ranking school district helps keep property values in the community steady.

Interested in living in the Kentfield School District?

View Greenbrae Homes for Sale

View Kentfield Homes for Sale

Greenbrae Real Estate Report

Ginger Wilcox — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:03:35 +0000

This market profile is a snapshot of what is happening in Greenbrae. Home prices remain flat this week. The number of Greenbrae homes for sale and the days on the market are both climbing. The Greenbrae market action index has improved this week, implying increased demand in the Greenbrae real estate market.

Greenbrae Real Estate Market Update

There are currently 21 homes* for sale in Greenbrae, California. There are 7 homes under contract. (*single family)
Median List Price	$1,199,000
Highest Priced Home in Greenbrae (single family)	$2,695,000 26 La Cuesta Drive, Greenbrae
Lowest Priced Home in Greenbrae (single family)	$799,000 265 Vista Grande, Greenbrae
Asking Price per Square Foot	$544
Average Days on Market	122
Percent of Properties with Price Decrease	42%
Percent Relisted	0%
Median House Size (sq ft)	2,168
Median Lot Size	0.25-0.50 acre
Median Number of Bedrooms	4.0
Median Number of Bathrooms	2.4
Market Action Index	16- Cold! Buyer’s Market

The Market Action Index answers the question: “How’s the Greenbrae Real Estate Market?” By measuring the current rate of sale versus the amount of inventory. Index above 30 implies seller’s market conditions. Below 30, conditions favor the buyer.

Greenbrae Real Estate Market Data effective as of June 28, 2009. Data provided by AltosResearch and Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. Are you a Marin real estate junkie? Sign up to receive very detailed real-time market reports in your email. Just register and let me know which neighborhoods you are interested in. Download a sample report.