Bay Area Real Estate Sales

Selling your house

Bay Area Real Estate Sales.com Newsletter

April 2005

In this Issue:

Marin & San Francisco Home Sales Statistics

Marin median home price: $918,000

Implications of the Terri Schiavo Case: What You Need To Do

ARMs Help Buyers Reach Homebuying Goals

Fast Facts

Marin & San Francisco Home Sales Statistics**

There continues to be a strong sellers market for homes priced under $1,500,000. If you are looking to buy a home in any of the communities with greater than 40-50% of the homes in contract, be prepared for multiple offers. If you are thinking of selling your home, now is the time, as we are still experiencing a lack of inventory. For example, 79% of all the homes for sale in Greenbrae and 57% of the homes in Mill Valley are currently in contract!

Marin Home Sales Statistics - by city as of 4/10/05
City	Total	Active	Number in Contract***	Percent in Contract*
Marin County
Belvedere	21	17	4	19%
Corte Madera	30	14	16	53%
Fairfax	32	17	15	47%
Greenbrae	14	3	11	79%
Kentfield	24	15	9	38%
Larkspur	19	8	11	58%
Mill Valley	94	40	54	57%
Novato	170	65	105	62%
Ross	13	11	2	15%
San Anselmo	51	26	25	49%
San Rafael	152	67	85	56%
Sausalito	48	39	9	19%
Tiburon	70	46	24	34%
Total Marin 4/10/05	738	370	368	50%
Total Marin 3/3/05	659	331	328	50%
Total Marin 2/1/05	460	265	195	42%
Total Marin 1/10/05	458	246	212	46%
Total Marin 12/6/04	756	367	389	51%
Total Marin 11/4/04	927	489	438	47%
Total Marin 10/5/04	968	564	404	42%

Marin Home Sales Statistics - by price range as of 4/10/05
Price	Total	Active	Number in Contract***	Percent in Contract*
$100,000-$499,999	65	22	43	66%
$500,000-$749,999	143	42	101	71%
$750,000-$999,999	162	62	100	62%
$1,000,000-$1,499,999	149	80	69	46%
$1,500,000-$1,999,999	91	56	35	38%
$2,000,000-$,2499,999	45	34	11	24%
$2,500,000-$2,999,999	33	24	9	27%
$3,000,000-$3,999,999	38	30	8	21%
Over $4,000,000	44	40	4	9%
Total Marin 4/10/05	770	390	380	49%
Total Marin 3/03/05	659	331	328	50%
Total Marin 2/01/05	498	293	205	41%
Total Marin 1/10/05	458	246	212	46%
Total Marin 12/4/04	756	367	389	51%
Total Marin 11/4/04	927	489	438	47%
Total Marin 10/5/04	968	564	404	42%

San Francisco Home Sales Statistics - by price range as of 4/20/05
Price	Total	Active	Number in Contract***	Percent in Contract*
$100,000-$499,000	211	82	129	61%
$500,000-$749,000	564	219	345	61%
$750,000-$999,000	335	158	177	53%
$1,000,000-$1,499,000	148	78	70	47%
$1,500,000-$1,999,000	64	36	28	44%
$2,000,000-$2,499,000	21	12	9	43%
$2,500,000-$2,999,000	18	10	8	44%
$3,000,000-$3,999,000	13	8	5	38%
Over $4,000,000	29	22	7	24%
Total SF 4/20/05	1,403	625	778	55%
Total SF 1/10/05	1323	523	800	60%
Total SF 2/16/05	1113	501	612	55%
Total SF 1/10/05	984	360	624	63%
Total SF 12/4/04	1402	556	846	60%
Total SF 11/4/04	1530	746	924	60%

*Key:

0% - 10% of Homes in Escrow: Extreme Buyer's Market 36% - 45% of Homes in Escrow: Seller's market

11% - 20% of Homes in Escrow: Strong Buyer's Market 46% - 55% of Homes in Escrow: Strong Seller's market

21% - 30% of Homes in Escrow: Buyer's Market 56% - 100% of Homes in Escrow: Extreme Seller's market

31% - 35% of Homes in Escrow: Balanced Market

**Charts represent information gathered from BAREIS and SFMLS at a specific point in time.

***Includes all: Sale Pending & Contingent properties

Jack McLaughlin is ready for a new analogy for the red-hot Marin real estate market, which recorded a median price of $918,000 for single-family homes in March. Like most in his business, the president of the Marin Association of Realtors eschews the idea that the continued escalation of home prices in Marin is comparable to a bubble that grows so big that it bursts.

"It feels a little bit like thin ice to me," McLaughlin said. "How can you possibly keep sustaining 21 percent growth year over year? It's just astonishing."

The median price of a single-family home in Marin last month jumped from $808,000 in February to $918,000 in March, and the combined median for single-family homes and condominiums was up from $760,000 in February to $812,000 last month, DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla reported yesterday. In both cases, it was the first time the Marin median prices breached the $900,000 and $800,000 marks.

Those prices continue to climb for several reasons, experts say. The biggest factor at play, according to another real estate agent in Greenbrae, is that inventory continues to be strikingly low. As a result, she said, eager prospective homebuyers have an increasingly smaller number of homes to choose from and therefore end up paying inflated prices well over the asking price.

For instance, only 102 condos were sold in March, an 11 percent drop over the same period a year ago. Single-family home sales sustained a nearly 1 percent dip. March was the second consecutive month that home sales in those categories have actually gone down. Total sales went up slightly at 6 percent, but that includes homes sold within newly built subdivisions.

Knowing that the current feverish pace of price appreciation can't be sustained, Mc-Laughlin said the time was right for homeowners thinking about selling to make the plunge.

"If you're a seller, what do you do? Do you wait?" he said. "I don't think so. If I were thinking about selling, I'd get in now."

The combined median price in March of $812,000 represented a nearly 21 percent jump from the median of $672,000 in March 2004. The median of $918,000 for single-family homes was a 22.4 percent jump over the median of $750,000 last year.

Even condos saw a nearly 8 percent jump year over year, to $508,000 in March from $473,000 in March 2004. The same factors were at play across the Bay Area, albeit to a lesser degree, according to DataQuick.

"Demand still appears to be stronger than supply, which puts upward pressure on prices," DataQuick President Marshall Prentice said. "People seem to be increasingly willing to let the homes they live in represent a higher portion of their net worth. I suppose parking wealth in real estate is more attractive than investing in the stock market."

The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $568,000, a new record. That was up 3.5 percent from $549,000 in February, and up 19.8 percent from $474,000 for March a year ago. Prices are going up at their fastest pace in four years, the firm reported.

Home sales in March across the nine-county region only picked up 2.7 percent, to 11,310 new and resale houses and condos, up 2.7 percent from 11,015 for March last year, DataQuick reported.

In Marin, McLaughlin emphasized that a slowdown was inevitable, but that it would be far from a bursting bubble when it eventually happens.

The Terri Schiavo case is certainly not the first of its kind. Thirty years ago Karen Ann Quinlan went to the hospital in a coma. It took a full year for the New Jersey courts to figure out what to do. Her tragedy popularized a legal concept called a "Living Will". In 1983, Nancy Cruzan was found on the side of a road following a car accident. She was permanently unconscious and without any higher brain function. It took seven years and the U.S. Supreme Court to open the door so an incompetent person's wishes could control the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. And now Terri Schiavo has overtaken the media.

Whether you believe the courts were right or wrong in removing Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube, the case has made us think, "What would I want if I were Terri Schiavo?" Many of you have asked yourself, "Do I need a Living Will?"

This month, Liz interviewed Michelle Lerman a partner with Lerman & Lerman. In addition estate planning, wills and trusts, Ms. Lerman focuses her practice on family wealth transfer of retirement assets, charitable giving and business succession.

A: You do not need a Living Will, but you do need an Advance Health Care Directive. In California, the Advance Health Care Directive has replaced the Living Will. The Advance Health Care Directive is flexible and broad enough to cover many issues not covered in the classic living will. Living wills did not name specific people to act for you. The Advance Health Care Directive allows you to name a specific person, plus back-up people. You will know who is authorized to act for you, and you will instruct that person about whether you want nutrition and hydration provided or withheld if you are in a coma. The Advance Health Care Directive should be custom drafted to meet your needs; not a "one-size-fits-all" document.

Q: I am only 35 years old. Aren't I too young to need an Advance Health Care Directive?

A: If you think you are too young to need an Advance Health Care Directive, think again. Karen Ann Quinlan was 21 when her legal odyssey started, and Nancy Cruzan was 25 when she had her accident. It's obvious that healthcare documents are not just for old people. Even your young adult children should be aware of and take action on this most important topic.

A: If your Advance Health Care Directive is more than a few years old, it's time for a review. Many state's laws have changed. For example, we have recently updated and enhanced our Advance Health Care Directive form. HIPAA (the new medical information privacy law) was one reason. You want the agent you have chosen to be able to easily obtain information about your condition and not be harassed and hindered by red tape.

Q: I have a Living Will that I prepared before the law that replaced the Living Will with the Advance Health Care Directive. Is my Living Will still valid?

A: Yes, the Living Will is still valid. However, since the Advance Health Care Directive is so much broader than the Living Will, you should prepare one even if you already have a Living Will.

Michelle Lerman can be contacted at michelle@lermanlaw.com (415) 492-4505 or visit: www.lermanlaw.com