Making your property attractive to buyers pays off in many ways:Quicker sale
Possibility of multiple offers
Good sale price
High return on investment
Here is a recent success story. The out-of-state heirs to a townhouse in Corte Madera hired us to prepare their parent’s home and sell it. Though the townhouse was in a choice location, it was 20 years out of date and worn. 
Excited buyers continue to surprise the market with multiple offers on the more desirable properties. Often, one or more of these buyers has an all-cash offer, without sale conditions.
The supply of homes is very low, 40-50% of the supply a year ago. This is tipping the market in favor of sellers for most neighborhoods. This is definitely an opportunity to sell.
Here are the median sale prices of all homes in Marin over the last 4 months.
|
Median Sale Prices |
|||
|
March 2012 |
Previous 3 Months (Dec-Feb) | Peak of the Market 2006-08 |
|
| Single Family Homes |
$675,000 |
$690,000 |
$1,000,000 |
| Condos/Townhouses | $307,450 | $295,000 |
$499,000 |
Data from the Marin MLS.
In March, prices of single family homes were down 33% and condos were down 38% countywide, compared to the peak of our real estate market in 2006-08. However, median prices in March were about the same as the previous three months.
In March 2012, 80% of the sales were below $1M, compared to 60% at the peak of the market (2006-08).
15% of sales are now between $1M and $2M, compared to 11% at the peak. This indicates a new strength may be emerging in this mid-to-high market.
4% of homes sold over $2M compared to 11% at the peak, indicating a quiet high end.
| Price Range |
March 2012 |
Peak of Market |
||
| Number of Sales | % | Number of Sales | % | |
|
Up to $500,000 |
91 | 39 | 614 | 15 |
| $500,000 to $1M |
96 |
41 |
1787 |
45 |
| $1M-$1.5M |
22 |
9 |
809 |
20 |
| $1.5M-$2M | 15 | 6 | 350 |
9 |
| $2M-$5M |
7 |
3 |
380 |
10 |
| $5M+ |
2 |
1 |
47 |
1 |
| Total |
233 |
100 |
3987 |
100 |
Have you noticed the sweet fragrance of flowers in the air and the puffs of brilliant yellow covering our hill? Scotch Broom is bursting out over Marin–this year more than ever. 
Scotch Broom reminds me of the Forsythia that grew in my backyard in New Jersey, but broom is a stronger yellow and a stronger smell, less refined and restrained. The many naturalists who watch carefully over Mt. Tamalpais warn that it is an invasive, non-native that will alter the balance that we once had on our mountain.
When Madera del Presidio homes were built on the edge of Ring Mountain, the Town of Corte Madera required that the developer and owners remove the Scotch Broom. I’m afraid that is no longer a possibility! As a former biologist and biochemist, I wish we could develop a natural enemy of Scotch Broom so that we could remove it naturally and gracefully. Perhaps we can learn to live with and appreciate it as have our relatives in Scotland. Eventually nature will create a new balance.
1. Wonderful Schools. Almost every public school is outstanding and will provide your children with the best education in the country. Our website, livinginMarin.com, describes your choices of schools. If you’re looking for private schools, there are many outstanding choices at marincountyprivateschools.com.
2. Hiking and Biking on Mount Tamalpais. Open space is everywhere, with about 80% of Marin preserved in a natural state. The graceful curves of Mount Tamalpais and its foothills provide endless trails and fire roads for quiet walks or bike rides. The Marin IJ publishes Tracy Dunham’s delightful “Hike of the week” — enough to keep you hiking for years with endless variety. A local bicycle shop, Mike’s Bikes, has one of many useful websites describing trails for getting away into the fresh air.
Buyers are actively searching for homes, while the inventory of homes for sale is very low–down about 40% from last year at this time. Here is the situation:
Real estate sales are active in Silicon Valley, which is now a strong seller’s market, and have greatly improved in San Francisco. If economic predictions are accurate, we can expect this wave of increased activity to travel from south to north and reach Marin this year. All indications are that the Marin real estate market is quickly recovering from three years of recession.
Marin Country home sales ended 2011 on a steady course, without many surprises. Interest rates ranging from 3 to 4% and demand from many well-qualified buyers kept the market strong.
It is easy to expect that 2012 will see stable to slightly increased sale prices. It is very likely that we have passed through the low point of the market and that there will a gradual recovery of prices over the next few years. With an exceptionally low inventory of homes, there may be multiple offers on sensibly priced homes. While the market will continue to favor buyers, the limited inventory could edge up prices.
To see the whole picture of Marin home sales, it is useful to look at single family homes versus condos, and regular sales versus distressed sales (homes in default, foreclosures, short sales, and bank-owned properties).
If you are 62 or older, you may want to consider a Reverse Mortgage on your home. Reverse Mortgages have improved and bring you more benefits at a lower cost.
If you are at least 62 years old and owe very little or nothing on your home, you can use a Reverse Mortgage (FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM) to live on your equity without mortgage payments, for the rest of your life:
Homeowners with larger existing mortgage balances can pay off their mortgage with a Reverse Mortgage, obtaining immediate payment relief of principal and interest, and potentially collect equity if the approved loan size is larger than the current pay off amount. Reverse Mortgages can also be used to purchase a primary residence if you can pay upfront the difference in the cost of the home and the amount of the Reverse Mortgage.
You’ll own your home as long as you live, without mortgage payments, independent of the future value of your home.
Your responsibility is limited only to paying annual property taxes and insurance. You must also maintain your home and complete typical repairs.
Madeline Schaider recently sold a renovated Kott house in the Chapman Park area of West Corte Madera. By directing an extensive renovation of this 1956 home and gardens, the house sold quickly for $1,050,000, more than the asking price of $1,029,000. The sellers received two good offers within three days, sold their house for a good price, and realized almost a 5-fold return on their investment in renovations.
From now till November 1st, you can request a review of your property taxes and may be able to obtain a reduction in your next tax bill. The process is simple—a one page form—and the application is free.
The first step is to obtain the form from the Marin County Tax Assessor at their web site:
Request For Assessment Review 2011
Then, you will need this information:
Don’t worry about finding this information. We can do it for you. Read on.
Marin schools have uniformly high scores in the California Academic Performance Index (API). A school with a score of 800 or more is considered excellent. 70% of our schools have scores of 800 or greater and 38% are 900 or greater.
While these do not give the complete picture of the personality of each school, they do paint a picture of how well students are learning and performing. Here is a chart of API scores reported for 69 Marin schools in 2010:
