Ross is a very special kind of small town. There are only about 800 homes with a median sale price of $2.12M in 2009. There are some grand old homes, many over 100 years old, which range in price up to $14M (10 bedrooms and 9 baths on 3 acres, sold in 2010).
It certainly looks like Marin has stayed on the crest of the real estate market in these chaotic times. While prices in many neighborhoods are back to 2004 levels, these prices are not bad compared many areas around the Bay. However, Marin home sellers who bought their homes in the highly competitive markets of 2004-2007 may now have to sell without a profit, or even at a loss.
In some cities, like Corte Madera and Mill Valley, many homes bring close to asking price and multiple offers. Others, which are either overpriced or in poor condition, are selling slowly. High-end properties, over $2-3M, are coming down in price, as buyers in this range are fewer or less motivated to buy.
An interesting article by Carolyn Said appeared last Sunday in the SF Chronicle that reinforced our observations. Areas “where prices were over $600 per square foot at the peak [summer 2006] generally have fallen about 10 to 20 percent since then—which makes them success stories” Looking at Marin home sales in the last six months, Mill Valley, Tiburon/Belvedere, Corte Madera/Larkspur, and Kentfield/Greenbrae appear to fall into this category.
Clearly Marin remains a very desirable place to live. There are many savvy buyers waiting for the right houses at reasonable prices. They seem to be acting quickly and decisively.
Marin County has many natural features that make it exceptionally attractive: Mt. Tamalpais, 59 miles of spectacular coastline, and extensive parks and open space.
Preserving its natural beauty, Marin is fortunate to have about 85% its land (more than 200,000 acres!) as parks (national, state, county, and local), open space, watershed, tidelands, and protected agricultural land. For an overview, go to this map of Marin County Open Space.
Our extensive open space limits the number of Marin homes and its population. While there are still a few homes built or rebuilt each year, Marin was considered completely “built-out” about 20 years ago.
There is still a small number of undeveloped parcels of land that are for sale each year. Madeline Schaider Real Estate has the largest of these parcels for sale at 110 Juniper Ave. in San Geronimo, a few minutes west of the Town of Fairfax.
Marin’s population is growing older, and as Marin realtors we are assisting more clients 65 year and older to find the best living situation. Here are some interesting census numbers for Marin, from ABAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments.
| Year | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2006-08 |
| Median Age In years |
29.8 | 33.7 | 38.2 | 41.3 | 44.3 |
This is almost a 50% increase in the medain age. In the same time span, from 1970 to 2008, the percentage of Marinites who are 65 years and over doubled, from 7.4% to 15.5%.
Finally, we are thinking about the resources that we are using and the environmental quality of our Marin homes. Green building is the buzzword in Marin and across the country. You can read a concise explanation of green building on Wikipedia. Here is what it means:
The rains have come to Marin the way we are used to them. We normally have intermittent rains December through March, with sunny days between.
Rain is good; it provides our drinking water. Marin has unusually good drinking water, 75 % coming from five lakes on Mount Tamalpais and two large reservoirs in north-western Marin. The lakes on Mount Tamalpais are Phoenix, Lagunitas, Alpine, Kent, and Bon Tempe. Take the time this year on a sunny or misty day to visit Alpine, Bon Tempe and Kent lakes on the south west side of Fairfax; they are spectacular. The northern reservoirs are Nicasio and Soulajoule. The rest of our water (25%) comes from Lake Mendocino via the Russian River.
So far, the rain is doing well to fill our lakes and reservoirs. The Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) reported on January 24 that water storage this year is at 82% of capacity. The average to date is 79%. The rainfall at Lake Lagunitas, high on Mount Tamalapais, has been 28 inches this rainy season, twice as much as last year. The average rainfall at Lake Lagunitas since 1879 was 52 inches. We still have time to catch up.
With our first major winter storm, it is a good day to talk about flooding. This is not a problem limited to Marin, but is a possibility wherever people live near water. Where I grew up, in Trenton, New Jersey, the major streams had been buried and diverted since the 18th century. When the rain was heavy and the Delaware River filled, buildings flooded.
In Marin, heavy rains and runoff into our creeks can cause flooding in nearby neighborhoods. If the bay tides are high, the streams drain slower and flooding can be more severe. There have been only a few years of flooding in Marin. The Marin Sheriff’s Department has a short history. 1982 was probably the worst year, with 2005-06 next in severity.
I lived on the Arroyo Holon Creek (Baltimore Canyon) in Larkspur in 1982 when we had much rain and high tides. The house was on a beautiful sunny lot with redwoods and oaks and a bridge across the creek. Close to midnight, the water came up to my front doorstep, flooding the garden and basement. My electrical sump pump in the crawl space could not keep up, and then the power went out. Winds that often accompany winter rains had taken out a power line. The furnace was under the house. One cold night!
Families move to Marin for the fine schools, and neighborhoods with the best schools appear to maintain higher home values. Marin County schools remain among the best in the Bay area and the state based on several criteria:
Kent Elementary School, Kentfield, CA
For the last 20+ years, new Marin homes and remodels have developed a modern interpretation of the Arts and Crafts or Craftsman-style home. The Craftsman movement began early in the 20th Century and is associated with architects like Greene and Greene and furniture makers like Stickley.
Marin County has 11 cities and 17 unincorporated towns and villages in an area almost three times the size of Manhattan Island. But, we have only about 3% of the population of that great metropolis. We are blessed by having 80-85% of our land as open space, parks, lakes, estuaries, bayside marshes, and seashore.
1937 was a big year for Marin, with the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge linking Marin to San Francisco. Up till then, Marin was a summer haven for San Francisco residents, who came here for summer sunshine and recreation. After that historic opening, San Franciscans built their primary homes in the canyons and on the shores of Marin.
With easy access by car, the housing industry blossomed at end of WWII. Lots of tract homes and developments were added to the summer cabins, Victorian cottages, and Craftsman bungalows that predominated throughout Marin. Of course, there were concentrations of fine housing established in the late 19th Century by affluent merchants and English expatriates: Sausalito, Belvedere Island, and Ross. These persist today, and are highly prized locations.
