Marin Real Estate Market Report May 2016

Welcome to my Marin Real Estate Market Report May 2016, brought to you in part by the excellent analytics team at Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty, the premier brokerage here in Marin County. The charts in this report reflect data as of month-end April 2016. As expected, we saw a large number of homes come on the market in this time frame, and saw an increase in sales activity after a rainy and somewhat slower-than-expected March. 

Marin Real Estate Market Report May 2016 Executive Summary:

• As expected, we are beginning to see more homes (inventory) come on the market
• The median price increased $123,000 to $1,232,000 from March to April
• My own listings have been selling in just a few days with multiple offers over asking
• Reported softening in tech sector and San Francisco market may begin to impact Marin

As far as my own business, I have been fortunate to be extremely busy with both buyers and sellers. My listing at 21 Underhill Road in Mill Valley sold in one day, right after the broker’s tour! A week later, I launched 20 Loma Linda Road in San Rafael and it also sold days later. Both properties sold over asking price with multiple offers. (Watch my blog for an article coming later this month on the transformation of 21 Underhill as we prepared it for market.) Across the bay, my waterfront listing in Point Richmond also went into escrow quickly with multiple offers over asking.

This is not to say that all homes for sale are selling quickly. I have seen more price reductions in the Spring of 2016 than the Spring of 2015. This suggests that buyers are becoming more discriminating. Properties priced and presented well are still moving quickly. Buyers are out in force — and aren’t waiting for the Sunday open houses to make offers on new listings.

Marin Real Estate Market: Homes For Sale And Sold

In Marin County, the inventory of homes for sale seasonally increased in April from 281 to 317. This number is still well below (89%) inventory levels in 2007 at the peak. The number of homes sold in April also increased across the county to 192, up from 126 in March:

Marin Real Estate Market: Months of Inventory

Months of inventory, the measure of how long it would take to sell all the homes on the market at a given time, was 1.7 in April 2016 versus 1.3 in April 2015, well below the national average of 4.5 months. It is too early to declare a trend but this could be an indication that the market is slowly moving from a seller’s market to a more balanced market:

Real Estate Market Report: Average Sale Prices

April saw an increase in average sale price in Marin County for single family homes at $1,603,991, up $168,000 from March averages. The median price, which more accurately reflects the mid-market, was up $123,000, to $1,232,000. There was also a slight increase in average listing price to just above $2 million:

Marin Real Estate Market Activity By Price Point

Homes priced from $1 to $2 million remain the most active market in Marin County with 79 sales in April. Homes under $1 million followed closely with 67 sales. There was an increase of active homes priced between $3 – $4 million, at 35, up from 26 active listings in March. More homes were sold at every price point except $10 million and above, compared to March levels, for a total of 259 sold properties.

Marin Real Estate Percent of Homes in Contract

Fairfax and Corte Madera led Marin County in April for the highest percentage of single family homes in contract at 65% and 75%, respectively. Greenbrae, at 44%, saw the highest increase in homes under contract compared to March levels, at 20%. Larkspur had the greatest decrease in homes in contract at 33%, just half of March’s 67%. Kentfield, Belvedere and San Rafael also had strong month-over-month increases. Remember, as I say each month, the percentages for the smaller towns can be deceiving since the overall numbers are so small. Generally I advise you look at Mill Valley, San Rafael, and Novato, averaging near 50%, as a good indication of homes in contract in the county:

Marin Market Report: Home Sales By Area

April marked an increase in the number of homes sold in Marin County, 192, from 126 in March. San Rafael and Novato continued to see the highest number of homes sold at 43 and 33 respectively. Mill Valley showed the greatest increase in homes sold at 33, more than double the number sold in March, which was 12. Tiburon, San Anselmo and West Marin also recorded month-on-month increases in number of homes sold:

I hope that you found the information in my Marin Real Estate Market Report May 2016 informative. I would be delighted to discuss the real estate market with you and answer any questions you might have. Please call / text me at 415-847-5584 or complete the contact form below. And remember, to receive notifications of new Marin real estate market reports and blog articles, please subscribe here: