Selling your house
Bay
Area Real Estate Sales.com Newsletter
July
2009
In
This Month’s Issue:
June
Marin Real Estate Statistics
Trying
to Evaluate the Marin Real Estate Market?
Foreclosures/Bank
Owned And Auction Properties
Liz
McCarthy Listings
What
Did Homes In Your Neighborhood Sell For?
Search
The Marin Multiple Listing Service
Federal
Appraisal Regulation Causing Headaches
What
Do Clients Say About Working With Liz McCarthy?
The
Bay Area Real Estate Newsletter Is Provided To You By:
JUNE
MARIN REAL ESTATE STATISTICS
|
June
2009 Closed Sales
Single
Family Residences
|
|
|
Days
on Market
|
List
Price
|
Selling
Price
|
|
Average
|
103
|
$1,078,000
|
$1,034,000
|
|
Median
|
69
|
$849,500
|
$831,500
|
|
June
2009 Closed Sales
Condos
|
|
|
Days
on Market
|
List
Price
|
Selling
Price
|
|
Average
|
123
|
$388,672
|
$377,904
|
|
Median
|
81
|
$324,900
|
$358,500
|
Below
you will find a break down by city and price range of how many homes
are in contract compared to how many homes are listed. Overall Marin
is in a “Buyers Market” category, but this is a bit
misleading. The very low end of the market (homes priced under
$500,000) is actually in a “Strong Sellers” market, and
homes priced from $749,000 - $500,000 are in a Balanced Market which
tips the overall averages. The high end of the market (over
$2,000,000) is in an Extreme Buyers market. I think if you took out
the low end of the market (condo sales) the market would be in an
overall “Strong Buyers” market.
In
Novato multiple offers have been the norm. (as can be seen by the
fact that Novato is now considered to be in a “Strong Sellers”
category). Keep in mind that these multiple offers and the sellers
market is in the low end, where there have been numerous foreclosures
and short sales. It’s very interesting to note that this month
Corte Madera, Fairfax and San Rafael are all in a “Balanced”
Market. The Middle to high end of the Marin market is s still
challenged, as there is a lot of inventory and it’s harder to
get Jumbo loans. This is especially the case for homes priced over
$2,000,000.
I’ve
heard of some distressed sellers taking offers for as much as
$500,000 off the asking price. Every sellers’ situation is
different, so It’s important that your buyers agent investigate
the reasons as to why the seller is selling. If I can help you
devise a strategy, feel free to contact me:
Liz@BayAreaREalEstateSales.com
For
readers of my newsletter, I recently listed another home in Mill
Valley: www.724AltaVista.com
This home was purchased by it’s sellers just 2 years ago and
due to a relocation situation, put it on the market for less than
they purchased it. With my counseling, the Sellers put some effort
into de-cluttering the house, doing fabulous outside
landscaping/staging, and Guess what! We just received an offer on
the house and went into contract in just one week!
If
you are looking to sell your home, know that it MUST be well-priced
and show in pristine condition! That’s where a good Sellers
agent comes in, you need advice to help you get the house ready as
well as stage/prepare it for showing. Let me know if I can help you
devise a strategy to sell your home. My last 3 listing have all gone
into contract the first week after I listed them! Yes, in this
market! It is possible to sell your home!
|
MARIN
HOME (CONDO + SFR) SALES STATISTICS - BY CITY AS OF 7/23/2009
|
|
City
|
Total
|
Active
|
Number
in Contract***
|
Percent
in Contract*
|
Type
of Market*
(See
Key)
|
|
Belvedere
|
38
|
34
|
4
|
11%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
Corte
Madera
|
49
|
34
|
15
|
31%
|
Balanced
|
|
Fairfax
|
47
|
32
|
15
|
32%
|
Balanced
|
|
Greenbrae
|
46
|
33
|
13
|
28%
|
Buyers
|
|
Kentfield
|
44
|
35
|
9
|
20%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
Larkspur
|
35
|
29
|
6
|
17%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
Mill
Valley
|
192
|
156
|
36
|
19%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
Novato
|
341
|
174
|
167
|
49%
|
Strong
Sellers
|
|
Ross
|
29
|
24
|
5
|
17%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
San
Anselmo
|
90
|
67
|
23
|
26%
|
Buyers
|
|
San
Rafael
|
309
|
206
|
103
|
33%
|
Balanced
|
|
Sausalito
|
84
|
69
|
15
|
18%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
Tiburon
|
111
|
101
|
10
|
9%
|
Extreme
Buyers
|
|
Others
|
118
|
103
|
15
|
13%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
Total
Marin 7/23/09
|
1533
|
1097
|
436
|
28.44%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total
Marin 6/15/09
|
1554
|
1096
|
458
|
29.47%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total
Marin 5/12/09
|
1552
|
1120
|
432
|
27.84%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total
Marin 3/30/09
|
1323
|
1006
|
317
|
23.96%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total
Marin 2/18/09
|
1136
|
870
|
266
|
23.42
|
Buyers
|
|
Total
Marin 1/22/09
|
1037
|
819
|
218
|
21.02%
|
Buyers
|
|
MARIN
HOME SALES STATISTICS - BY PRICE RANGE AS OF 7/23/09
|
|
Price
|
Total
|
Active
|
Number
in Contract***
|
Percent
in Contract*
|
Type
of Market*
(See
Key)
|
|
$100,000-$499,999
|
297
|
128
|
169
|
57%
|
Strong
Sellers
|
|
$500,000-$749,999
|
337
|
224
|
113
|
34%
|
Balanced
|
|
$750,000-$999,999
|
303
|
229
|
74
|
24%
|
Buyers
|
|
$1,000,000-$1,499,999
|
237
|
196
|
41
|
17%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
$1,500,000-$1,999,999
|
131
|
116
|
15
|
11%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
$2,000,000-$2,499,999
|
69
|
63
|
6
|
9%
|
Extreme
Buyers
|
|
$2,500,000-$2,999,999
|
53
|
47
|
6
|
11%
|
Strong
Buyers
|
|
$3,000,000-$3,999,999
|
41
|
37
|
4
|
10%
|
Extreme
Buyers
|
|
Over
$4,000,000
|
64
|
62
|
2
|
3%
|
Extreme
Buyers
|
|
Total
|
1532
|
1102
|
430
|
28%
|
Buyers
|
|
*Key
to
market type:
|
|
0%
- 10% of Homes in Escrow: Extreme Buyers
|
36%
- 45% of Homes in Escrow: Sellers
|
|
11%
- 20% of Homes in Escrow: Strong Buyers
|
46%
- 55% of Homes in Escrow: Strong Sellers
|
|
21%
- 30% of Homes in Escrow: Buyers
|
56%
- 100% of Homes in Escrow: Extreme Sellers
|
|
31%
- 35% of Homes in Escrow: Balanced Market
|
**Based
on information from Bay Area Real Estate Information Services,
Inc. (BAREIS). Information has not been verified, is not
guaranteed, and is subject to change and is based on one period of
time.”
***Includes
all: Sale Pending & Contingent properties
The
real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up
of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular
neighborhood or for an evaluation of your home's worth, call me. If
I can help you devise a strategy, call or click the buying or selling
link in the menu to the top.
If
you know of anyone who would like to receive this monthly newsletter
or is thinking of either buying or selling a home please let me know.
I’d love your referrals!
TRYING
TO EVALUATE THE MARIN REAL ESTATE MARKET?
I’ve
mentioned in the past, I’m constantly on the look out for
information to better prepare my clients to understand the local real
estate market. I’ve got 2 great new stat evaluation programs
that I’m providing FREE of charge to my clients and viewers of
my newsletter!
1.
FREE HOME EVALUATION REPORT:
If
you would like a personalized Market evaluation of YOUR home, within
30 minutes of submitting your request, or if you are a home Buyer and
want to do a Market Snapshot of a particular zip code, that works
too! Check it out, I PROMISE you you’ll love what you see!
These reports will include recent comp data. just click here:
Free Home Value Evaluation Report
2.
DETAILED
MARKET EVALUATION REPORT BY CITY:
Additionally,
you can sign up to receive a detailed weekly market update of your
interested city.
To
see a sample Market Analysis report, here is the Mill Valley Reportfrom last week. REMEMBER that you can get this report updated weekly
by signing up here: To do so, click here and choose your market
location. Marin Market Evaluation Report
Here
are the overview Altos Research Marin Region Specific Data sheets on
the market:
Southern
Marin Report:
Central
Marin Report:
San
Rafael Report
Western
Marin Report
3.
FORECLOSURE
ACTIVITY
Foreclosure
activity, in the article/chart below: you’ll see that the
number of Pre-foreclosures, Auction and Bank-owned property was about
the same as in May overall. The number in pre-foreclosure did
decrease. If you’d like to see the bank owned homes on a map,
you can do a search here: Search
the Map Based REO (Bank Owned) Homes in Marin Click Here
Of
course, if you have any questions please call me at 415-250-4929 or
drop me an email at Liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
FORECLOSURES/BANK
OWNED AND AUCTION PROPERTIES
|
Type
|
Number
as
Of
7/24/09
|
Number
as of 6/16/09
|
Number
as of 5/12/09
|
Number
As
of
4/24/09
|
|
Pre-foreclosure
|
504
|
451
|
538
|
426
|
|
Auction
Sale
|
241
|
253
|
245
|
152
|
|
Bank
Owned
|
354
|
329
|
319
|
266
|
|
TOTAL
|
1154
|
1033
|
1102
|
846
|
I
can provide you a list of all of the current properties in any of the
above types anywhere in Marin.
Now,
let’s get into the detail on these homes and others that are on
the MLS. The majority of the bank owned properties are listed on the
MLS as the banks hire local real estate agents to sell the
properties. In addition to these 266 bank owned there are also
approximately 500 additional homes on the MLS being marketed along
with these bank owned. These distressed properties will pull down the
sales price for any home in the neighborhood.
If
you would like to see the public Bank Owned properties in Marin, here
they are on a map:
Search
the Map Based REO (Bank Owned) Homes in Marin Click Here
I
have access to all of these homes!! If you would like me to pull a
more customized list for any town in Marin that will show:
Pre-foreclosure, Auction and/or Bank owned properties, just email me:
Liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
FREE…..You
can search for Marin listings directly on BayAreaRealEstateSales.com:
Search
for Homes
Back
to top
LIZ
McCARTHY LISTINGS
JUST
LISTED!!
724 Alta Vista Road, Mill Valley
Wonderful
Mid-Century modern 1-level home. Sunny and bright with open beam
ceilings, hardwood floors, skylights, fireplace in living room,
breakfast bar in kitchen, and dining/family room. Garage & lots
of parking. 2 level lawn areas! Spacious patio and deck with
incredible Mt Tam views, Gardens have flowering plants, fruit trees
and wandering paths. Price includes extra parcel: (049-131-04),
approx 3500sf lot (total approx 8500 SF lot) Excellent Mill Valley
schools, near Golden Gate Recreational Area trailheads, easy San
Francisco commute.
So
much charm and warmth, it's a must see!
Price:
$899,000
In
Escrow after just 1 week!!!!
View
the Property website:
View
the Virtual Tour for 724 Alta Vista Rd
27
Rutherford, San Anselmo
This
is what you have been waiting for - Fall in love with this sunny and
bright 2 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom charming San Anselmo home. You'll find
1930's period details, an updated kitchen with marble counters and
high-end stainless-steel appliances, hardwood floors and decorator
colors. It is just up the street from one of San Anselmo's award
wining elementary schools. It has a sunny deck for entertaining, a
flat, grassy yard and a private drive with a locking gate. Ample
storage and parking for more info and pictures. !!!
Price:
$799,000
In
Escrow in 1 week!
(This is a short sale, so the escrow process can be very long
awaiting bank approval)
View
the Property Website for 27 Rutherford
View
the Virtual Tour
22755
S Central Ave, Sonoma
Wonderful
horse/vineyard property located in convenient East Sonoma with so
many amenities you have to see it in person: 5 private acres
includes: Breath-taking vineyard views, an organic Chardonnay
vineyard (located in prestigious Carneros Vineyard Region), gated
property, custom spacious main house with 2 master bedroom suites +
additional room/office (no closet), 2.5 bathrooms, granite kitchen
and stainless appliances, pool, sauna and landscaped back-yard,
detached guest house (1BR/1BA) with private driveway/garage, separate
artist/studio/retreat, beautiful barn with 5 horse stalls, tack room,
electricity and water, paddocks and turn outs, hay barn with trailer
parking the property even has numerous redwood trees for peace and
tranquility.
Price
reduced again – Make any offer, very motivated Seller!!
Price:
$1,199,000 (was originally $1,790,000!)
In
escrow
(due to short situation, this is a long escrow process)
View
the Property Website for 22755 S Central:
www.SonomaHorseProperty.com:
View
the Video
Others
may say the Marin Real Estate Market is slow, Liz doesn’t
agree:
Liz’s
Recently Sold Homes:
133
Locust Ave, Mill Valley
This
downtown (Sycamore Park setting) is a 2,750 square foot lovely home,
with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms right next to Park School. I helped
a family relocated from New York. We spent may days touring all of
Marin County before they decided that Sycamore Park was where they
had to be. They have 4 children which proved hard to find a large
enough home for their family!
Represented
Buyers
Original
List Price: $1,800,000
SOLD
Price: $1,600,000
143
Forbes Ave, San Rafael
This
home is located on arguably the most desired street in all of San
Rafael. It’s location is next to many historic Victorian era
homes rich with San Rafael history. This 2 bedroom home has warmth
and sun and it couldn’t’ be in a better location. My
newlywed clients will are expecting their first child and already
love living in San Rafael. They moved from San Francisco in order to
get to the sun and start their family together.
Represented
Buyers
List
Price: $769,000 (Originally listed for sale in 2008 for $939,000
SOLD
Price: $749,000
208
Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley:
Mid-Century
Classic just a few blocks from downtown Mill Valley. This 1950's home
has never before been on the market. Update it to current mid-century
modern standards or build your dream home nestled in the redwoods
just around the corner from town with it's many parks, schools and
quaint shops. This home has been well-loved for many years by its
owners. The gardens all around the house feature many varieties of
plants and flowers and are all on drip-irrigation.
This
won’t last long!
Represented
Sellers
Price:
$899,000
SOLD
$899,000 in 41 days, with 3 offers!
View
the Virtual Tour for 208 Corte Madera Ave
View
the Property Website
WHAT
DID HOMES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SELL FOR?
Are
you Curious to know what the Median home price is in your
neighborhood?
Click
here to get an automated Market Snapshot of your house and the
surrounding home comps.
Free Marin Home Valuation Report
FEDERAL
APPRAISAL REGULATION CAUSING HEADACHES
By
Liz McCarthy
It’s
imperative to understand the current appraisal situation brought
about by the mortgage crisis. This is even more important if you are
looking to sell your home and you have in inflated opinion of what
you think the home is worth. If a buyer is going to get a loan on
your property, they will have to order an appraisal. IN the past,
local mortgage brokers could call up a local Marin Appraiser, who
understood our home values. Now, with the new regulations put into
place, the lender itself has to order an appraisal through an
“Appraisal Clearing House” of sorts. There is no
guarantee that you will be getting a local appraisal who is versed on
the Marin market.
You
HAVE to price your home for it’s current market value, not what
it was worth a year ago. Even if by lucky chance you list your home,
get an offer at an inflated price, there is a very good chance that
the house won’t appraise for that price and the buyer will not
be able to get their loan without reducing the purchase price.
Also,
the timelines for appraisals have lengthened significantly. Due to
the middle-man ordering the appraisal, the appraisal turn-around time
has lengthened substantially. Buyers and Sellers have to keep this
in mind when determining contingency removal time-lines. I’ve
heard of many loans approvals becoming delayed due to the length of
time required to get appraisals back, which can ultimately delay
close of escrows.
Here
are some quotes from a recent AP story on the subject:
USA Article on Appraisals
“The
rules, dubbed the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, are meant to
eliminate conflicts of interest that created pressure on real estate
appraisers to inflate the value of a property. Lenders, agents and
brokers have been known to pressure appraisers to "hit the
number" that the homebuyer and seller agreed on so the deal
would close and everyone could collect their fees. Inflated
appraisals were partly blamed for fueling the housing bubble.”
“So
lenders started giving more business to appraisal management
companies, which critics say draw appraisers from a pool of
candidates willing to do the job for less money and who, in some
cases, may be unfamiliar with a neighborhood.”
SEARCH
THE MARIN MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE
The
following links will take you to home searches for different cities
in Marin.
All
search results are displayed from the highest price to the lowest
price. You can scroll through pages at a time.
Belvedere
homes for sale: Belvedere
Homes For Sale
Corte
Madera homes for sale: Corte
Madera Homes For Sale
Fairfax
homes for Sale: Fairfax
Homes For Sale
Greenbrae
homes for sale: Greenbrae
Homes For Sale
Kentfield
homes for sale: Kentfield
Homes For Sale
Larkspur
homes for sale: Larkspur
Homes For Sale
Mill
Valley homes for sale: Mill
Valley Homes For Sale
Mill
Valley condos for sale: Mill
Valley Condos For Sale
Novato
homes for Sale: Novato
Homes For Sale
Novato
Condos for Sale: Novato
Condos
Ross
homes for sale: Ross
Homes For Sale
San
Anselmo homes for sale: San
Anselmo Homes For Sale
San
Rafael HOMES for sale: San
Rafael Homes For Sale
San
Rafael CONDOS for sale: San
Rafael Condos For Sale
Sausalito
homes for sale: Sausalito
Homes For Sale
Tiburon
homes for sale: Tiburon
Homes For Sale
Back
to top
WHAT
DO CLIENTS SAY ABOUT WORKING WITH LIZ MCCARTHY?
"We
contacted Liz McCarthy after doing much research on the agencies in
the area. We were attracted by the small, boutique nature of
her agency as well as the fact that she is e-Pro certified. We were
gifted a home through the estate of an alumnus and needed someone who
could work efficiently through electronic means. She did a superb
job coordinating clean-up, advertising and negotiating in very
unusual circumstances. Liz provided timely advice, support, and
communication that kept the selling process going forward.
Every phone call was returned and feedback given after every
showing. We were in contract within weeks of the listing and
her negotiations got us top dollar. We appreciate all she has done
for us and would not hesitate to refer her to anyone looking to sell
their home in the Mill Valley area."
-
The Ohio State University Foundation, Columbus, Ohio (June 2009)
THE
BAY AREA REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER IS PROVIDED TO YOU BY:
If
you would like to have Liz help you sell your Marin home or help you
find a home, or you know of someone that could benefit from her
services, just send her an email: liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
or give her a call: 415-250-4929
“High-Touch
through High-Tech”:
Did you know that Liz McCarthy is ePro Internet Certified by the
National Association of Realtors and that 70 percent of home buyers
today use the internet in their home search? Why are you still
working with a Realtor who isn’t a technology expert?
What
this means to you:
Home
Buyers:
Liz is an expert in helping save you time by using the internet,
email and other technology resources to help save your valuable time
and money. She knows how busy you are!
Home
Sellers:
Liz will hire a professional photographer and market your home
extensively on the internet: a personal property website (see
www.SonomaHorseProperty.com
or www.48LibertyDock.com
for samples), she will post your home on over 50 websites.
FREE…..You
can search for Marin listings directly on BayAreaRealEstateSales.com:
Search
for Homes
Be
sure to check out all the other great content & features of my
website:
www.BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
Liz
McCarthy
“High-Touch
through “High-Tech”
Real
Estate Broker, e-PRO certified
McGuire
Real Estate
Liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
www.BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
BLOG:
http://bayarearealestatesales.blogspot.com/
415-250-4929
License
Number: 01421997
Is
this email going into your junk folder? If so, add
Liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
to your address book to ensure that all future
BayAreaRealEstateSales.com emails appear in your mailbox.
Spam
Free Guarantee
We
do not share, sell or rent our mailing list and we do not place
pop-up ads on your computer.
