Welcome to my monthly Marin County real estate update for March 2020. The spring real estate season is underway, and buyers are out in full force. Home inventories declined 5.7% versus the same period last year while most pricing metrics began trending upward, with the exception of median sold pricing which was down 4.4%. It is a turbulent time with the Corona (COVID-19) virus continuing to spread and a stock market that is showing volatility unlike anything we have seen since the financial crisis but so far the market here in Marin continues to perform very well.

The Impact of COVID-19 (Corona) Virus on the Marin Real Estate Market

Many of us are wondering what the impact of the spread of the COVID-19 (Corona) virus will be on the Marin real estate market. Recent stock market declines have been the largest since the financial crisis, and the Federal Reserve has responded by cutting interest rates a half a percentage point. While residential mortgage rates have declined some, most financial institutions seem to be taking a “wait and see” approach to adjusting their rates. The San Francisco Chronicle published this week an interesting article on the topic: “Treasury yields have fallen to record lows. Why haven’t mortgage rates followed?”

The local market has been driven by several factors including shortage of supply, a booming job market, low interest rates and high stock market returns. All of those factors except the last one — the stock market — are unchanged for now. That means to me that in the short term at least we should not see a significant impact to our local market.

However how local real estate agents market homes may change when and if the virus becomes more prevalent. Agents who rely on more traditional tools to market properties such as open houses may need to beef up their social media and online presence and prepare more robust and compelling property marketing videos since buyers may be less likely to be out and about, only touring homes they have thoroughly vetted online.

In the short term, I will make sure the hand sanitizer pumps at my brokers and public open houses are full, avoid shaking hands and follow the other recommendations the CDC has made in preventing Corona virus. Golden Gate Sotheby’s has released a number of guidelines for its agents including suspension of all food at open houses and cancellation of upcoming group meetings.

Fortunately I already have a best-in-class online presence and have devoted a lot of time to building a robust property video capability that I am proud of. I am currently evaluating additional technical options for presenting properties to sellers who may not want to tour homes in person.

For my buyers, my website is equipped with a number of tools to allow them to virtually tour properties online. Some of my sellers are opting to suspend open houses. We are all figuring this out together.

I do not mean to minimize this in any way and I defer to the experts on what this pandemic will look like and its impact. However, I am thinking a great deal of how to best serve my clients in this ever-changing world. I would like to wish all of you a continued healthy and safe 2020.

In My World: SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!

Now that we have the COVID-19 virus out of the way, let’s get back to my favorite topic, real estate. I have had a very busy winter and early spring, far exceeding my expectations. Buyers and sellers are out in force, and my phone has been ringing constantly with new clients wanting to buy or sell homes. Let’s hope that continues!

At this point, all of the homes I launched for sale so far in spring are either sold or are in escrow. Some have sold before we even placed them on the market, saving my clients the inconvenience of open houses.

Just Listed & Coming Soon

I have a number of exciting property launches this month, including 57 Loring Avenue, a modern stunner built in 2017 in Mill Valley. This home is currently offered as a pocket listing and is not on MLS. I also just launched 125 Bayview Drive in Mill Valley, a gated retreat with incredible views off Panoramic Highway.  Finally, I also just launched 481 Cascade Drive in Mill Valley, a beautifully remodeled home on bucolic Cascade Drive. That’s just March!

Coming in April is a gorgeous new-construction Modern Farmhouse estate in the Dominican neighborhood of San Rafael and a mid-century modern in Fairhills. 

I am thankful for all your referrals and support.