Welcome to my Marin County real estate market report for July 2018, with the latest information and charts on the home buying and selling scene here in Marin. We are entering the lazy hazy days of summer and the latest numbers reflect it, with home inventories up 2% versus last month and 9.4% vs. last year, and sales down about the same amount. Median home pricing has set another new record, at $1,595,000. Please scroll down to see all the numbers.

Everyone keeps asking when this market is going to take a breather. It is anyone’s guess, but I am hearing more and more of my esteemed real estate colleagues say we have reached a peak. “This is feeling like a pricing plateau,” one of them said to me last month. In fairness, this is the conversation among agents every year around this time, just before the fall market — our second most active after spring — takes off.

We are seeing the lowest mortgage interest rates since April, so it’s a great time to be shopping for a home in Marin County with some of the buying competition on vacation.

In my business, I helped my buyers purchase 16 Tara Lane in Novato (pictured above) for $85,000 under the asking price. They are very excited to move into their spacious new home, and I will be listing their current beautiful home in San Rafael’s Bret Harte neighborhood soon. I’m also working on several other listings, including a gorgeous home in Corte Madera with water views AND walk-to-town, a rare combination. Later this summer I will be launching a stunning Craftsman-style estate in San Anselmo with pool, and guest houses (yes, that’s plural!) in one of San Anselmo’s most-desired locations.

To those who read this report, thank you for all your support of my business. I couldn’t do it without you.

A Market Built on Strong Fundamentals

The current trends in the real estate market, unlike those that led to the financial crisis, are built on strong fundamentals. The San Francisco Bay Area continues to be one of the fastest-growing economic engines in the world, with tech companies continuing their push northward from Silicon Valley to San Francisco, where their younger employees want to live. You may want to read this recent San Francisco Chronicle article about the integration of  Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. As those tech workers in San Francisco begin to have families, they are more and more attracted to the lifestyle and weather in Marin County.

Finally, this article in the SF Chronicle last week proclaims that the Bay Area economy is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the country, and if we were a country, our GDP would be greater than that of Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, many of my tech friends are looking for investment properties in Reno, Nevada, which is reportedly the next big market for tech.

I’m Never Too Busy For You

I have quite a few exciting listings in my pipeline coming soon. Please keep an eye on My Featured Listings page or call me for details on homes coming soon in Tiburon, Corte Madera, San Rafael and San Anselmo. 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.