Welcome to my Marin County Real Estate Market Report for September 2017! Before we get to the report, some of you have inquired about my family in Florida and Georgia. I am happy to report they are all safe and suffered minimal damage. My thoughts are with those who are still suffering the effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. This is also a good reminder for us Californians to check our own emergency preparedness with the winter storms right around the corner.

Summer is wrapping up and the fall real estate season has begun with many new homes coming to market compared to the last three months. The trend all year has been fewer homes (inventory) coming to market versus the same period last year so it will be interesting to see if that continues through the fall. In August 2017 we saw a whopping 39.4% fewer new listings than August of 2016! This is on the heels of a similar double-digit decline last month. Unsurprisingly, median pricing continued to increase, up 4% versus the same month last year.

One of the reasons I try to compare to the same month in prior years is because it strips seasonality out of the equation. When I read articles about sales being down in a summer month compared to a spring month, I scratch my head — of course they are, summer is slower than spring. What’s more relevant is how we are comparing to last year at the same time. If you read my reports each month, you’ll notice a consistent trend — fewer homes on the market, prices up about 3-5% versus last year.

Barring any significant economic event, it is likely the market will continue along the same lines – buyers competing for fewer homes on the market, pushing prices up. However, buyers in Marin County are sophisticated (meaning tech-savvy) and willing to wait for THE home that ticks most if not all the boxes. See below for what buyers are looking for in the market right now.

Speaking of homes on the market, I am launching two exciting listings this week. 134 Madrone in San Anselmo is priced at $1,299,000, a great value for a single-level newly re-built home in a neighborhood with exemplary schools and an easy walk to San Anselmo’s downtown.

Also launching this week is 40 Twain Harte in San Rafael, a mid-century masterpiece at the top of Bret Harte Heights. This stunning home evokes 1950s glamour — I call it Hollywood Hills in Marin — with walls of glass that look out to the bay to the east and Mt. Tamalpais to the west. I have already received several calls from people wanting to see it prior to the broker’s open this Thursday. 40 Twain Harte is offered at $2,600,000.

Later this month I will be attending the Sotheby’s International Realty Global Networking Event in Las Vegas to serve as a member of the social media experts panel as well as to learn best luxury home marketing practices from some of Sotheby’s top agents around the globe. The Sotheby’s International Realty brand continues to grow in strength and reach around the globe, and I am proud to be associated with it.

I hope you had a wonderful summer. The days are just beginning to feel a little like fall – the light is a little lower in the sky and the leaves on the California Buckeyes are starting to turn. As always, I am happy to discuss the Marin real estate market with you — just give me a call at 415-847-5584. Please scroll down to see this month’s Marin real estate market graphs.