Bay
Area Real Estate Sales.com Newsletter
October 2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
Marin
Home Sales Statistics
Marin
Homes Sales Up in September
Update
On Current Economic Situation
What Did Your Neighbors' House Sell For?
Search the Marin Multiple Listing Service for A New Home
What Has Liz Been Up To?
Fast Facts
The Bay Area Real Estate Newsletter Is Provided To You By:
MARIN HOME SALES
STATISTICS
By Liz
McCarthy
If you would like to see all of the recent home sales (by
address) in Marin my Real Estate company (Vision Real Estate) publishes these
here: http://westbayre.com/frame_main.htm
|
MARIN HOME (CONDO + SFR) SALES STATISTICS - BY CITY AS OF 10/29/08
|
|
City
|
Total
|
Active
|
Number in Contract***
|
Percent in Contract*
|
Type of Market*
(See Key)
|
|
Belvedere
|
27
|
23
|
4
|
15%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Corte
Madera
|
42
|
35
|
7
|
17%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Fairfax
|
43
|
40
|
3
|
7%
|
Extreme Buyers
|
|
Greenbrae
|
24
|
20
|
4
|
17%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Kentfield
|
28
|
23
|
5
|
18%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Larkspur
|
32
|
28
|
4
|
13%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Mill Valley
|
147
|
129
|
18
|
12%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Novato
|
354
|
244
|
110
|
31%
|
|
|
Ross
|
18
|
16
|
2
|
11%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
San
Anselmo
|
88
|
77
|
11
|
13%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
San Rafael
|
333
|
246
|
87
|
26%
|
Buyers
|
|
Sausalito
|
60
|
55
|
5
|
8%
|
Extreme Buyers
|
|
Tiburon
|
95
|
84
|
11
|
12%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Others
|
86
|
76
|
10
|
12%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Total Marin10/29/08
|
1377
|
1096
|
281
|
20.41%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 6/16/08
|
1586
|
1220
|
366
|
23.08%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 5/21//08
|
1582
|
1226
|
356
|
22.50%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 4/15/08
|
1375
|
1085
|
290
|
21.09%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 3/16/08
|
1157
|
913
|
244
|
21.09%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 2/18/08
|
949
|
742
|
207
|
21.81%
|
Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 1/17/08
|
802
|
674
|
128
|
15.96%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 12/18/07
|
932
|
757
|
175
|
18.78%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 11/17/07
|
1,146
|
904
|
242
|
21.12%
|
Buyers
|
|
MARIN HOME SALES STATISTICS - BY PRICE RANGE AS
OF 10/29/08
|
|
Price
|
Total
|
Active
|
Number in Contract***
|
Percent in Contract*
|
Type of Market*
(See Key)
|
|
$100,000-$499,999
|
295
|
161
|
134
|
45%
|
Sellers
|
|
$500,000-$749,999
|
285
|
229
|
56
|
20%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
$750,000-$999,999
|
244
|
208
|
36
|
15%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
$1,000,000-$1,499,999
|
220
|
195
|
25
|
11%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
$1,500,000-$1,999,999
|
129
|
117
|
12
|
9%
|
Extreme Buyers
|
|
$2,000,000-$2,499,999
|
59
|
51
|
8
|
14%
|
Strong Buyers
|
|
$2,500,000-$2,999,999
|
56
|
52
|
4
|
7%
|
Extreme Buyers
|
|
$3,000,000-$3,999,999
|
36
|
33
|
3
|
8%
|
Extreme Buyers
|
|
Over $4,000,000
|
52
|
51
|
1
|
2%
|
Extreme Buyers
|
|
Total Marin 6/16/08
|
1376
|
1097
|
249
|
20%
|
Strong 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
|
Trends
at a Glance
|
|
Single-family Homes
|
|
|
Sep 08
|
Aug 08
|
Sep 07
|
|
Median Price:
|
$850,000
|
$881,500
|
$1,015,000
|
|
Average Price:
|
$1,199,096
|
$1,230,221
|
$1,511,190
|
|
Home Sales:
|
147
|
156
|
108
|
|
Sale/List Price
Ratio:
|
95.4%
|
96.6%
|
97.5%
|
|
Days on Market:
|
99
|
75
|
75
|
Sales of
single-family, re-sale homes rose 36.1% year-over-year. Year-to-date, home
sales are down 21.6%.
Prices
dropped last month with the median price down 3.6% from August, and it was off
16.3% compared to last September. The average price lost 2.5%, a year-over-year
decline of 20.7%.
Condo sales
were strong last month, up 145.5% year-over-year. The median price for condos
in Marin County fell 16.1% from August, a drop of
49.4% compared to September 2007.

The sales
price to list price ratio fell 1.2 points to 95.4%, while days on market
increased by 24 days to 99.

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 left.
Monthly
Statistics
Complete
monthly sales statistics for Marin
County are below. Monthly
graphs are available for each city in the county.
|
September
Sales Statistics
|
|
(Single-family
Homes)
|
|
|
Prices
|
Unit
|
|
|
|
Change from last
year
|
|
|
Median
|
Average
|
Sales
|
DOM
|
SP/OLP
|
SP/LP
|
Median
|
Average
|
Sales
|
|
Marin
|
$850,000
|
$1,199,096
|
147
|
99
|
91.5%
|
95.4%
|
-16.3%
|
-20.7%
|
36.1%
|
|
Belvedere
|
$3,575,000
|
$4,050,000
|
4
|
80
|
89.8%
|
90.8%
|
-6.2%
|
16.1%
|
33.3%
|
|
Corte Madera
|
$1,060,000
|
$1,132,424
|
9
|
50
|
96.8%
|
97.7%
|
6.4%
|
10.8%
|
50.0%
|
|
Fairfax
|
$680,000
|
$770,833
|
6
|
75
|
93.2%
|
96.7%
|
-6.3%
|
-16.3%
|
-30.0%
|
|
Greenbrae
|
$830,000
|
$944,000
|
6
|
102
|
93.0%
|
100.7%
|
-27.8%
|
-22.9%
|
100.0%
|
|
Kentfield
|
$935,000
|
$935,000
|
1
|
70
|
98.4%
|
98.4%
|
-59.3%
|
-56.8%
|
-66.7%
|
|
Larkspur
|
$1,350,000
|
$1,332,000
|
5
|
44
|
96.8%
|
98.7%
|
65.1%
|
62.9%
|
150.0%
|
|
Mill Valley
|
$1,325,000
|
$1,647,368
|
19
|
105
|
91.7%
|
95.0%
|
1.9%
|
16.2%
|
0.0%
|
|
Novato
|
$672,500
|
$715,552
|
46
|
122
|
88.3%
|
95.6%
|
-13.9%
|
-12.8%
|
228.6%
|
|
Ross
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
|
San Anselmo
|
$725,000
|
$1,063,429
|
7
|
123
|
87.1%
|
91.8%
|
-3.3%
|
24.4%
|
16.7%
|
|
San Rafael
|
$840,000
|
$967,909
|
23
|
99
|
92.7%
|
96.7%
|
-1.2%
|
-1.9%
|
-8.0%
|
|
Sausalito
|
$1,072,750
|
$1,072,750
|
2
|
39
|
108.1%
|
108.1%
|
-41.2%
|
-43.8%
|
-33.3%
|
|
Tiburon
|
$1,865,000
|
$3,217,250
|
8
|
73
|
91.9%
|
94.7%
|
-46.7%
|
-6.9%
|
-11.1%
|
SP/LP
= Sales price divided by the listing price at the time of sale
SP/OLP =Sales price divided by the price for which the property was originally
listed
|
September
Sales Statistics
|
|
(Condos/Townhomes)
|
|
|
Prices
|
Unit
|
|
|
|
Change from last
year
|
|
|
Median
|
Average
|
Sales
|
DOM
|
SP/OLP
|
SP/LP
|
Median
|
Average
|
Sales
|
|
Marin
|
$320,000
|
$417,960
|
54
|
96
|
93.0%
|
98.7%
|
-49.4%
|
-40.6%
|
145.5%
|
|
Corte Madera
|
$664,000
|
$592,667
|
3
|
78
|
97.3%
|
100.6%
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
|
Greenbrae
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
|
Mill Valley
|
$719,000
|
$719,667
|
3
|
89
|
93.3%
|
98.4%
|
-17.2%
|
-32.8%
|
-40.0%
|
|
Novato
|
$309,000
|
$309,732
|
25
|
98
|
92.8%
|
98.9%
|
-43.3%
|
-40.3%
|
257.1%
|
|
San Rafael
|
$260,000
|
$343,103
|
15
|
106
|
88.7%
|
97.3%
|
-48.3%
|
-41.5%
|
275.0%
|
|
Sausalito
|
$919,000
|
$919,000
|
2
|
149
|
92.6%
|
100.0%
|
27.0%
|
27.0%
|
0.0%
|
|
Tiburon
|
$630,000
|
$630,000
|
1
|
24
|
96.9%
|
96.9%
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
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!
FREE...You can search for Marin listings
directly on BayAreaRealEstateSales.com: Search for Homes
Back to top
UPDATE ON CURRENT ECONOMIC
SITUATION
William E Brown - 2008
President California Association of Realtors

Much has happened since passage of the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act earlier this month.
NAR has urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson to take advantage of the extensive
experience of local commercial and residential real estate professionals in the
management and disposition of real property as the U.S. Treasury Dept.
implements the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) as part of the Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act.
Congress has held a number of hearings over the past few weeks looking into
multiple factors that contributed to the current financial situation. Last
week, Congress heard testimony from Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
Christopher Cox, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, former Federal
Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, former U.S. Treasury Secretary John
Snow, and other leading players. The hearings are laying the groundwork to
inform legislation expected to address regulatory reform of the finance and
lending industries as well as safeguards to prevent a recurrence of the current
financial crisis. It is our expectation that the legislation will be introduced
early next year.
Additional hearings are covering the implementation of a second stimulus
package. As the U.S.
economy continues to struggle, politicians on both sides of the aisle are
feeling pressure from their constituents, creating a strong incentive for
Congress to pass meaningful legislation as the national elections near and the
country heads into the holiday season. The Senate, House of Representatives and
the White House have stated their willingness to work through a lame-duck
session to pass a second economic stimulus package prior to the end of the
year.
While many ideas have been circulated, few, if any, appear certain to be
included in a second stimulus package, according to C.A.R. policy analysts.
Some of the ideas under discussion include: An additional round of stimulus
checks; extending the temporary loan limit of $729,750 for the Government
Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA);
infrastructure spending; financial aid for states; a temporary increase in
block grants; and an extension of unemployment and welfare benefits.
One important factor determining what, if anything,
will be done during a lame-duck session is the outcome of the upcoming
presidential election. Should the Democrats take the White House and secure a
filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, they may choose to wait till after
Jan. 20 before proposing or enacting legislation. Should the Republican nominee
take the White House, Democrats may feel the Bush administration will be more
willing to compromise in order to pass last-minute initiatives prior to leaving
office. C.A.R. and NAR will continue to strongly advocate for making permanent
the $729,750 loan limit as part of any legislation that is forthcoming.
The Hope For Homeowners (H4H) initiative that was part of the July stimulus
package began to be implemented Oct. 1.The H4H program allows troubled
homeowners to keep their home, while enabling lenders to receive a Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) guarantee on the loans. Under terms of the
voluntary program, lenders agree to refinance the existing mortgage at 90
percent of the current appraised value and assume the loss on the remaining
balance; the new loan is an FHA guaranteed 30 year, fixed-rate, fully
amortized, fully documented loan; and the homeowner must forego a portion of
the home's future appreciation to the FHA when it is sold.
FREE...You can search for Marin listings
directly on BayAreaRealEstateSales.com: Search for Homes
Back to top
WHAT DID YOUR NEIGHBORS' HOUSE SELL FOR?

Are you Curious to know what the Median home price is in
your neighborhood?
The Neighborhood Homes Sold listing is a weekly reader
feature of the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle. The data posted here is typically recorded a
few months after the property officially sold.
This is the public data available in the published tax records. The home addresses, sales price, number of
bedrooms, square footage and the year the homes were built are based on
information supplied from Bay Area counties' property transaction records
which, in some cases, may not be complete.
Previous editions of
Neighborhood
Homes Sold
Click on the following links to see what price homes sold for in your
neighborhood:
Oct
26 Marin Home
Sales
Oct
19 Marin Home
Sales
Oct
12 Marin Home Sales
Oct
5 Marin Home Sales
I can also send you a link to view ALL of the current and
past home sales in Marin. I am not
allowed to publish this data publicly, so you'll have to email me and I'll send
you the link. Just click here to send me
an email automatically: email
SEARCH THE MARIN MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE FOR A NEW MARIN
HOME

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
Novato homes for Sale: Novato Homes For Sale
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 HAS LIZ BEEN UP TO?
For my dedicated readers, you may have realized that I
haven't sent out a Marin Real Estate Newsletter for the last few months. Why you may ask? Well, I am proud to announce that there has
been a new addition to the McCarthy Family.
Quinn Edward McCarthy was born a bit premature (6 weeks) on July 21,
2008. He weighed 4 pounds 14
ounces. After spending a short 3 weeks
in the NICU in SF, he came home to his big sister and is doing just great!

Kaitlyn, Quinn's big sister, just turned 3 earlier this
month. She is finally eating 100% orally
(no more feeding tube) but hasn't gained ANY weight since May of this year. (for those who don't
know, Kaitlyn was born 13 weeks early, weighing a mere 1 pound 10 ounces along
with her twin sister who only lived for a few short hours). Kaitlyn spent 4 months in the NICU.
With the craziness of the current real estate market, Liz
wasn't able to take much time off work (She closed 3 escrows in the last few
months). I'm here and ready to help you
finally find that Marin home now that prices have dropped somewhat (in parts of
Marin).
As always, you can check in on the progress of the
McCarthy's here on Liz's personal blog: www.aLizard.com
FAST FACTS
Stats:
You can download reports by actual average home prices by
county, by city, Days on Market and Number of Units Sold stats:
This is VERY important information to analyze if you are
looking to buy or sell a home this year.
Marin
2007 Home Sales Stats
You can find Year end 2007 stats for EVERY city in Marin by
clicking here: Detailed
2007 Analysis by Marin City
If you would like to see all of the recent home sales (by
address) in Marin my Real Estate company (Vision Real Estate) publishes these
here: Homes Sold in Marin
Marin median
SFR + condo price- Sept08: $756,000 2007:
$973,000 / 2006:
$864,000 [Source: BAREIS]
Marin average SFR + condo price-: Sept08: $994,956; 2007:
$1,220,000 / 2006: $1,089,129 [Source:
BAREIS]
Marin median
SFR home price - Sept08: $875,000; 2007:
$1,025,000 / 2006: $956,000 [Source: BAREIS]
Marin median
condo price - Sept08: $325,000; 2007: $570,000 / 2006:
$548,000 [Source: BAREIS]
Calif. median home price -Aug08: $350,140 [Source: C.A.R.]
Calif. highest median home price Aug08: Santa Barbara So. Coast $930,000 [Source: C.A.R.]
Calif. First-time Buyer
Affordability Index - 2nd Quarter 08: 48 percent [Source: C.A.R.]
Mortgage rates - week ending 10/23/08: (Source: Freddie Mac)
·
30-yr.
fixed: 6.04%; Fees/points: 0.6%
·
15-yr.
fixed: 5.72%; Fees/points: 0.6%
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.417Greenfield.com or www.50milland.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
Vision Real Estate
Liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com
415-250-4929
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.