Welcome to my Marin County real estate market report for February! The law of supply and demand is in full effect – and those who thought that the market would rise indefinitely may be disappointed this year. Inventories in January increased by 56% vs. the same time in the prior year, and the median sold price was down close to 14%. The Marin County real estate market has definitely entered a new phase — reversing the multi-year-long trend of low inventories and steadily increasing prices.

Home Inventories Predicted to Surge in the Spring Season

Regular readers of my monthly real estate market report will remember that the pattern of “inventories down, prices up” began to shift just after Labor Day last year, and has continued since then. Calling inspectors last week to set up inspections for my new (BEAUTIFUL!) listings coming soon, most inspectors were already fully booked for the month of February. That is unprecedented at this time of the year, at least compared to the last 4 years or so. To me this is an indicator that we are going to see a lot of homes come on the market this spring, as well as those that didn’t sell last fall likely re-appearing on MLS.

January Results

As I said above in my introduction, we saw inventories increase and pricing decline in January 2019 compared to January 2018. We are also seeing sellers begin to compromise on their pricing, knocking an average of 7% off the list price last month to get their homes into contract. This is compared to the hot spring season last year, where selling price vs. original listing price was close to 100% for that critical March / April / May period. The median sold price was down 13.6% in January compared to the prior year.

What’s driving this? We still have a good local and national economy, and new houses are not being built in Marin. The answer may be hidden in my paragraphs above. For years we saw inventories that were down year on year. Many who might have decided to sell during those years may have chosen instead to “hang on a little longer” since the market was steadily marching up. Now that the market is flattening and even declining, those same people may have decided to sell, fearing it may decline further.

Paging Chicken Little?

No, it’s not quite time to run around screaming “the sky is falling.” While sellers may be disappointed that they may not be able to command the pricing of the top of the market, pricing is still very strong compared to where we were several years ago. Generally a balanced market is still a healthy market.

Buyers and sellers should keep in mind that appropriately-priced and well-presented homes will continue to command a premium in this market. There are still plenty of home shoppers out there who have the funds — driven by a healthy bay area economy — to purchase their dream homes in Marin. The Federal Reserve recently announced they are finished raising interest rates for a while, which should also help stabilize the situation.

I Am Never Too Busy For You

Please keep an eye on My Featured Listings page or call me for details on homes coming soon or being held as pocket listings. Whether you are a buyer, a seller, or just want to learn more about the market for a potential future move, I am always happy to talk about the Marin real estate market.

These market reports are a great place to start — but let’s continue the conversation. Call me at 415-847-5584 and I can provide you with a personalized market overview tailored to your specific situation. To those who read this report, thank you for all your support of my business. I couldn’t do it without you.