Welcome to my Marin County Real Estate Market Report for May 2017! The spring real estate market in Marin County is now in full bloom along with all the flowers. My rose garden has awoken from its winter slumber with a dramatic display of blooms and new growth. The market is also at a fever pitch, with the only negative being lack of inventory, which is actually a national lament.

In April we saw average “for sale” prices increase 4% versus last month and 9% versus April 2016, but sold prices decreased 5% versus last month and were about flat to last year. Sellers may try to push the market up, but buyers are more willing to wait for the perfect home to come along and are well-armed with home value information. Great agents — and there are many — educate their buyers on values at both the tangible level, such as price per square foot, and the intangible level, such as which neighborhoods are especially “hot” right now and seeing increases versus last year.

Average days on market is at a 14-month low, with the average home on market just 38 days in April. The fact that this is an average means that many homes are selling even quicker than that. In my experience I have seen homes sell before they move from Top Agent Network to the Multiple Listing Service.

Sentiment, also known as “conventional thinking,” is that the market will continue to plateau as interest rates increase and San Francisco cools off. I do not foresee a significant correction to our market unless we see turmoil in the stock market — which often funds the Marin real estate market.

In my business, 2 Foothill Road in San Anselmo (pictured above) went into escrow and should close soon after you read this. The rhythm of the market seems to have reached a fever pitch right now with a whopping 203 open houses scheduled for this weekend and my phone ringing with buyers and sellers wanting to take their next steps in this market. Usually we see the market begin to slow down in mid-June as people leave for summer vacations.

Speaking of which, watch my website for a new listing coming soon: 87 Brodea Way in San Rafael’s Country Club neighborhood is a beautifully-built single-level gated estate built in 2001. Great outdoor entertaining spaces, high-ceilings and wide hallways — the agents who have seen this predict it will go quickly. It also happens to be owned by four-time Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson, who has given me permission to share that information with prospective clients. The gold medals are not included with the home, however!

Check out my Featured Listings page to see beautiful homes for sale throughout Marin County as well as in Sonoma and Mendocino.