Welcome to my Marin County real estate market report for January 2019! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and like me are excited to see what 2019 brings us. In December, we saw the trend of higher home inventories with flattening to declining home prices continue at the national, state and local levels. Please continue reading on for more detail on what we are seeing here in the Marin County real estate market.

Home Inventories Up While Pricing Continuing to Flatten and Decline

As reported in last months’ Marin County Real Estate Market Report, we continue to see the number of homes on the market increasing versus last year at this time, while pricing is flattening and even decreasing. The average price of homes sold in December declined by 2.1% versus December 2017, continuing the trend we saw last month. The median price sold was up 4.5% versus last month, but flat to the same period a year ago.

From an inventory perspective, the number of homes for sale in Marin County in December increased by 47% versus December of 2017 and the number of homes sold decreased by 12% vs. the same time last year. Days on market – a measure of how long properties are taking to sell – increased by 12%. I believe that number is deceptively low as there were many homes that did not sell in the fall and therefore show up in the higher inventory metric instead of the days on market metric.

If all of this is starting to make your head swim, call me and let’s talk. This just means to me that sellers have to be even smarter as they price and market their homes, and buyers may have the luxury of more to choose from with slightly less competition. Having said that, we are still far from a buyer’s market at this point – and I expect the spring season to be competitive when it comes to well-priced and well-presented homes.

What Does This Mean for the Spring Market?

My phone has been ringing with buyers and sellers excited about the upcoming Marin real estate season. Last year at this time, my phone was very quiet until mid- to late-March, which at the time I found a bit disconcerting. I have a number of  exciting listings in the pipeline for spring. I also have several buyers who are excited about the prospect of higher inventories and greater selection that we began to see in Fall 2018. If we can get the stock market to calm down, I believe we will see a very busy spring season here in Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area.

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.