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.

February 28th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

Many people are surprised to find out I live in Larkspur when they thought I lived in Greenbrae but I have a Kentfield zip code. Did I confuse you?

Our little cities in Marin County are so close together, I think it is confusing to everyone. So how does this whole city/town/county thing work in Marin?

Part of Greenbrae is unincorporated, meaning it is not part of a city or town with its own government. Another part of Greenbrae is incorporated into Larkspur. Need a building permit and you live in that half of Greenbrae? You go to the City of Larkspur. Live in the unincorporated are of Greenbrae? Permits and other services fall under the domain of Marin County.

The zip code for Greenbrae is 94904. 94904 is also the Kentfield zip code. Like Greenbrae, Kentfield is also unincorporated.

The school district for Greenbrae is not the Corte Madera -Larkspur School District, it is in the Kentfield School District. Go figure.

Got it?

February 11th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

The median home sale price in Kentfield was $1,045,000 in January 2008.  The number of homes on the market dropped 11% from one year ago, a small drop in inventory compared to most of Marin County. 

Kentfield is suffering from old inventory- buyers are not out writing contracts because the majority of homes on the market are homes that did not sell last year.  Buyers are still out looking for nice Kentfield homes! 

*Single family homes only

February 6th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

I am moving a little slow today after a late victory celebration for Measure A, which renews the parcel tax for the Kentfield School District. According to the Marin County Registrar of Voters, the measure passed with 71% of the vote. This is a crucial win for the Kentfield School District, which receives 25% of its annual budget from parcel taxes. The campaign was run by Mark Epstein, a Greenbrae resident, parent and past President of the Kentfield School District. He was quoted in the Marin IJ, saying “I feel really great that we came out with our school parcel assessment at a time when the maximum number of voters would be voting.”

Thanks Mark for your tireless dedication to this campaign, and thanks to the Kentfield and Greenbrae communities for recognizing the importance of strong schools for our children!

February 4th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

Protect your property values and Kentfield schools! Vote YES on Measure A!

Although I am sure you know by now that if we do not pass Measure A, our schools will lose approximately 25% of their annual budget (about $2.6 million), you may not be aware of how hard a measure like this is to pass. It takes 2/3rds of the total vote in order to pass a parcel assessment. In 1986, our schools lost the election by only 2 votes. In the more recent election in 2002, the measure passed by only 27 votes. With the elections consistently so close, EVERY VOTE COUNTS.

Why vote YES?

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January 10th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

To Kentfield & Greenbrae Residents: protect your property values and support the local schools- vote YES on Measure A. Why?

1. Our schools depend on Measure A. Approximately 25% of the funding for Bacich and Kent comes from the existing parcel assessment (about $2.6 Million a year). If Measure A does not pass, Bacich and Kent will be forced to cut approximately 25% of their budgets, including teacher/staff layoffs and reductions in the arts, technology and language programs. Class sizes will dramatically increase.
2. Measure A is NOT a new assessment. Measure A is a proposal by the Kentfield School District (“KSD”) for a continuation of the existing parcel assessment set to expire next year. Measure A continues the existing parcel assessment formula.
3. Kentfield Schools are some of the best schools in the state and in the nation. Bacich and Kent are award winning schools, both having been recognized as “California Distinguished Schools” and both scoring in the top 3% in recent statewide testing. KSD continues to attract the best educators that consistently receive multiple teaching awards, grants and even California’s highest teaching honor, the California State Teacher of the Year Award. Forbes Magazine recently recognized Marin County as having the best schools in the nation for the money.
4. Property values rely on the quality of our schools. Property values have continued to increase rather than suffer the fate of the recent real estate market downturn due in large part to our schools. People move to Marin County, and specifically to Greenbrae and Kentfield because of the quality of our schools. If the quality of the schools goes down, people will move to other neighborhoods in Marin with stronger school systems. This could have a dramatic impact on property values in Greenbrae and Kentfield.
5. Senior Citizens can be exempted from the assessment. The Kentfield School District has provided for an exemption to Measure A for senior citizens. Exemption forms are available at the Kentfield School District office.

Need more info? Visit the Kentfield-Greenbrae Measure A website.

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.

December 4th, 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)

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!

November 4th, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Five Mill Valley homes sold (closed escrow) last week. 3 of the 5 sold over the list price, 1 sold at the list price, and 1 sold under. Does that sound like a real estate market in the tank?

Are we still seeing multiple offers? Absolutely! The best cities in Marin to negotiate below the listing prices are San Rafael and Novato.

• Belvedere- 1 below asking
• Fairfax- 1 below asking, 1 above
• Greenbrae- 1 above asking
• Kentfield- 1 at asking, 1 above
• Larkpsur-1 above asking
• Mill Valley- 1 below asking, 1 at list price, 3 above
• Novato-6 below asking, 2 at list price
• San Anselmo- 1 below asking, 1 above
• San Rafael-8 below asking, 1 above
• Sausalito -2 below asking, 1 above
• Tiburon- 3 below asking, 1 above asking

*Closed sales for week of October 27-November 3 . Information pulled from BAREIS MLS.

November 2nd, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Looking to send flowers to a friend in Marin? My all time favorite floral shop is the floral department at Woodland’s Market in Kentfield. This isn’t your average grocery store floral department. It isn’t even your average upscale grocery floral department.

Woodland’s rocks, plain and simple. A few weeks ago, I needed some flowers on the fly. I called Woodlands and asked if they had anything pre-made. They said, no- everything is made to order, but they could whip something up.

“I wish I had time,” I said. “I need it now!” “We’ll have it done by the time you get here”, they said. Guess what- it was done, and it was spectacular! I tried to take pics of the actual arrangement, but it was lost into the abyss of my cell phone camera. It was stunning, to say the least.

Woodland’s Floral in Kentfield- gets it done and does it just right every time!

Woodland’s Floral is located at 735 College Avenue in Kentfield, CA 94904. Phone is (415) 455-8856.