September 2016 Marin County Real Estate Market Report

September 2016 Marin County Real Estate Market Report Market Snapshot

Welcome to my September 2016 Marin County Real Estate Market Report! Summer is drawing to a close and the next “mini real estate season” is set to start now that the Labor Day holiday has passed. So far this year we have seen a fairly typical story — a robust spring season followed by a quieter summer. The weeks after Labor Day typically feature more activity from sellers and buyers eventually tapering off in mid-November as people begin focusing on the holiday season. It remains to be seen if we will see a recovery from the summer slowdown in September as we have in the past few years.

Compared to 2015, we have seen a fair number of price reductions in all areas of Marin, particularly in homes priced $2M and above. Buyers are getting the sense that there has been a softening in the market, particularly in the upper end of the market and they are taking their time and also being more selective when it comes to the price and the condition of the home. As the fall season begins and summer vacations end, I expect to see more serious buyers in the market again.

Overall, we saw average selling prices increase from last month while the percentage of homes in contract and number of homes in active status and sold were down 17% and 16%, respectively — so inventory and sales down about the same amount. This indicates a fundamentally healthy market. What we would not want to see is inventory up and sales down.

My business continues to be brisk with some great listings on the market in Mill Valley, San Rafael, and San Anselmo. You can see them on my Featured Properties page. Also, I have some very exciting listings coming later this month — watch this site or my Facebook page for details.

Key Takeaways in the September 2016 Marin County Real Estate Market Report:

• August saw an increase in average sale price in Marin County for single family homes at $1,467,693, up from $1,425,590 in July.
• Average price per square foot increased from last month to $695 vs. $566 last month vs. $543 in 2015.
• Percentage of homes in contract declined again, as expected during the summer season. During the peak spring season, about 50% of homes were in contract at any given time. Mill Valley held flat at 31% compared to last month, while San Rafael declined from 41% to 39%. (I tend to ignore the smaller towns in this metric as the percentage can be distorted easily by the relatively few transactions in those towns.)
• August inventory in Marin County decreased again for the third time after a four-month upward trend, with 332 single family homes for sale, compared to 350 in July.
• There continues to be talk about raising interest rates. If indeed this does happen, there may be an impact on some buyers’ ability to purchase. This may also add stock market volatility into the equation.

Bottom line, as I said last month this is a great time of year to be a buyer. Inventory should increase in September and October, and buyers will have less competition for those homes than in the spring selling season. Having said that, homes that are priced and presented well will sell more quickly than they did in the summer months. Please let me know if I can be of assistance in helping you find your dream home.

Here are more slides and graphs if you would like to drill down into the numbers:

I hope you have found my September 2016 Marin County Real Estate Market Report helpful, and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. Please call or text me at 415-847-5584, or fill out the below contact form, and I will be in touch right away. Feel free to leave your own comments and observations in the comments section below.