June Marin Real Estate News

It’s hard to believe that the year is just about half over. Summer solstice (the longest day-light day of the year) was just last week. I hope that you and your family are having a wonderful 2007 so far and are enjoying the start of summer.

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes in Marin County fell 0.2% in May from the record set in April. This is 10.1% higher than last May. The average price fell 4.2% from April, up 15.4% year-over-year. Sales of single-family homes were up 13.2% from April, an increase of 16.5% year-over-year.

The median price for condos rose 6.4% to $584,500, a year-over-year gain of 9.8%. The average price gained 7.4% to $635,377, up 4.5% compared to May 2006. Condo sales were up 42.9% from April, and were up 3.4% year-over-year.

These statistics show how many homes are available for sale in Marin, and of those how many are currently in contract (either pending or contingent. For the 9th month in a row, the Marin overall real estate market is in a “Buyers Market.”

As always, it’s important to view the individual city and price range stats for more details:

Although the overall market shows that it’s a “Buyers Market’: Fairfax and Greenbrae are in a “Sellers Market,” and Larkspur and Mll Valley are in a “Balanced Market.” The remainder Marin towns are all in varying levels of “Buyers Markets.” It is very interesting that homes priced from $750,000 to $1.5M are all hovering very close to a Balanced Market.

My take on the current market: The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or for an evaluation of your home's worth, call me.

If I can help you devise a strategy, just let me know.

I think that the general consensus among agents currently is that there is a lack of inventory. Interest rates have been very good and there are buyers ready to purchase homes, but there is still a lack of homes that are finished and priced correctly. Multiple offers are becoming commonplace again, especially in popular walk-to-town areas like: Mill valley, Larkspur, Fairfax San Anselmo and San Rafael.

If you are looking to purchase a home, it’s important that you be ready with a pre-approval letter so that you can be ready if the home that fits your requirements comes on the market. Buyers once again have to forgo some of their “must-haves” and make compromises for what they are looking for.

MY ADVICE?

For buyers, the same as last month: prime property is selling quickly and, in many instances, with multiple offers. Buyers need to be prepared to make an offer immediately on prime property. That means you need to have a loan in place. For more information about buying in a multiple offer situation, call me.

For sellers, where your home is, the condition and what segment of the market it's in, entry-level, move-up or million plus, are the determining factors in whether or not you will be able to sell your home quickly and for a good price. Demand in the entry-level market has fallen, which will impact the move-up market. The million dollar plus market is pretty much immune to the sub-prime mortgage tightening.

The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or for an evaluation of your home's worth, call me. If I can help you devise a strategy, call or click the buying or selling link in the menu above.

I’m always searching for ways to bring my clients and readers more local real estate statistics. I’m pleased to announce the launch of my new Marin home Sales Statistics page. To view, go to: Marin Real Estate Statistics.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this monthly newsletter or is thinking of either buying or selling a home please let me know. I’d love your referrals!

To read the entire June Marin Real Estate Newsletter, go to: June Marin Real Estate News